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The Dark Side of LLMs: Agent-based Attacks for Complete Computer Takeover

Created by
  • Haebom

Author

Matteo Lupinacci, Francesco Aurelio Pironti, Francesco Blefari, Francesco Romeo, Luigi Arena, Angelo Furfaro

Outline

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive study evaluating the security vulnerabilities of autonomous agents based on large-scale language models (LLMs). We demonstrate that autonomous agents using LLMs as inference engines can exploit various attack vectors (direct prompt injection, RAG backdoors, and inter-agent trust) to achieve full system takeover. Experiments on 18 state-of-the-art LLMs, including GPT-4, Claude-4, and Gemini-2.5, reveal that the majority of these models are vulnerable to direct prompt injection and RAG backdoor attacks, as well as to attacks exploiting inter-agent trust relationships. This represents a paradigm shift in cybersecurity threats, suggesting that AI tools themselves can be leveraged as sophisticated attack vectors.

Takeaways, Limitations

Takeaways:
We clearly present the security vulnerabilities of LLM-based autonomous agents and demonstrate that system takeover is possible through various attack vectors.
We found that many of the latest LLMs are vulnerable to direct prompt injection and RAG backdoor attacks, as well as attacks that exploit the trust relationship between agents.
It highlights the need for increased awareness and research on the security risks of LLM, suggesting a paradigm shift in cybersecurity threats.
Limitations:
The types and scope of LLM and attack techniques used in this study may be limited.
Further research is needed to determine the attack success rate and its impact in real-world environments.
There is a lack of specific technical solutions to enhance the security of LLM.
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