Architecture Components

RAG Research

Security research involving retrieval-augmented generation systems

27 matching entries out of 99 in this category

RAG research results

27 entries

Single-interaction poisoning of agent memory

Published Aug 24, 2026Analyzed Sep 9, 2026Source: arXiv

A stored interaction can later steer a memory-augmented agent's answer without direct memory-store access. The study evaluates persistent response manipulation in MemoryOS and MemGPT.

InjecMEM: Memory Injection Attack on LLM Agent Memory Systems

Evaluated models: Qwen 2.5 7B Instruct, Qwen 2.5 1.5B Instruct, Qwen 2.5 3B Instruct+3 more

Qwen 2.5 7B Instruct
Qwen 2.5 1.5B Instruct
Qwen 2.5 3B Instruct
Qwen 2.5 14B Instruct
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Mistral 7B Instruct v0.3

Fluent Single-Document RAG Corpus Poisoning

Published May 27, 2026Analyzed Jul 20, 2026Source: arXiv

SilentRetrieval describes a specific RAG corpus-integrity vulnerability: an attacker able to add a topically relevant document to a retrieval corpus can make that document rank highly and influence the generated answer while remaining fluent enough to evade simple perplexity checks. The paper evaluates a two-stage method combining retrieval-oriented document optimization with context-adaptive claim integration. A safe defensive reproduction is to use only isolated benchmark corpora and inert…

SilentRetrieval: Hijacking Retrieval-Augmented Generation via Semantically-Preserving Adversarial Data Poisoning

Evaluated models: Llama 2 7B Chat, Mistral 7B Instruct v0.2, Qwen 7B Chat+1 more

Llama 2 7B Chat
Mistral 7B Instruct v0.2
Qwen 7B Chat
GPT-3.5 Turbo

Single-Document Reasoning Poisoning in RAG

Published Apr 14, 2026Analyzed Jul 20, 2026Source: arXiv

The paper describes a specific black-box knowledge-base poisoning attack against retrieval-augmented reasoning systems. An attacker who can add one query-specific document to the corpus can cause it to be retrieved and influence the LLM toward an attacker-chosen answer. AdversarialCoT shapes the document around the target model’s observable reasoning structure and iteratively refines retrieval relevance and persuasive reasoning using final model feedback. The paper reports this as an…

AdversarialCoT: Single-Document Retrieval Poisoning for LLM Reasoning

Evaluated models: DeepSeek R1, GLM 4.5, Qwen 2.5 7B Instruct+1 more

DeepSeek R1
GLM 4.5
Qwen 2.5 7B Instruct
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 7B

LLM Judge Manipulation

Published Mar 31, 2026Analyzed Apr 10, 2026Source: arXiv

Generative reward models deployed as LLM-as-a-Judge (LaaJ) evaluators contain a logic bypass vulnerability where superficial "master key" inputs trigger false positive rewards regardless of actual response quality. Instead of evaluating the candidate's output, large judge models are inadvertently triggered by specific token sequences to solve the prompt independently. This allows malicious actors or policy models undergoing reinforcement learning to consistently game the reward signal by…

Security in LLM-as-a-Judge: A Comprehensive SoK

Evaluated models: GPT-4o, o1, Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct+1 more

GPT-4o
o1
Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct
Llama 3 70B Instruct

RAG Arbitrary Query Poisoning

Published Mar 26, 2026Analyzed Apr 10, 2026Source: arXiv

A compound vulnerability in Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems allows attackers to deterministically hijack model outputs for arbitrary user queries without prior knowledge of the user's input. The vulnerability, identified as PIDP-Attack, requires a dual-vector exploitation: database poisoning and query-path prompt injection. First, the attacker injects a small number of poisoned passages into the RAG database, each starting with an attacker-chosen "target question" followed by a…

PIDP-Attack: Combining Prompt Injection with Database Poisoning Attacks on Retrieval-Augmented Generation Systems

Evaluated models: Llama 3.1 8B, Qwen 2 7B, Qwen 2.5 7B

Stage-Sequential Agent Escalation

Published Mar 18, 2026Analyzed Apr 10, 2026Source: arXiv

Agentic Large Language Model (LLM) systems utilizing persistent memory, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines, and external tool connectors are vulnerable to Logic-layer Prompt Control Injection (LPCI). An attacker can inject obfuscated (e.g., encoded, structurally nested, or semantically reframed) payloads into external memory stores or RAG documents. These payloads bypass conventional inference-time plaintext content filters, persist across session boundaries, and remain dormant…

LAAF: Logic-layer Automated Attack Framework A Systematic Red-Teaming Methodology for LPCI Vulnerabilities in Agentic Large Language Model Systems

Evaluated models: GPT-4o Mini, Claude 3 Haiku, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct+2 more

GPT-4o Mini
Claude 3 Haiku
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
Gemini 2.0 Flash
Mixtral 8x7B Instruct

Autonomous Agent Tool RCE

Published Mar 13, 2026Analyzed Apr 11, 2026Source: arXiv

The OpenClaw autonomous agent framework lacks execution sandboxing, running agents directly on the host machine with the disk and system privileges of the host user. This architecture allows attackers to achieve Remote Code Execution (RCE) and arbitrary data exfiltration via Indirect Prompt Injection. By embedding malicious instructions within external data sources (e.g., scraped web pages or uploaded documents), an attacker can hijack the agent's planning capabilities to sequentially chain…

Uncovering Security Threats and Architecting Defenses in Autonomous Agents: A Case Study of OpenClaw

Evaluated models: Not reported

Agent Lifecycle Compound Threats

Published Mar 12, 2026Analyzed Apr 10, 2026Source: arXiv

OpenClaw is vulnerable to persistent memory poisoning, allowing an attacker to manipulate the agent's long-term memory store (MEMORY.md) via prompt injection. Because the autonomous agent continuously integrates this memory file as context for all subsequent reasoning and task planning, injected payloads act as durable behavioral constraints. This allows an attacker to persistently alter the agent's core policy, manipulate tool selection, and hijack future sessions without any further…

Taming openclaw: Security analysis and mitigation of autonomous llm agent threats

Evaluated models: Not reported

Retrieval Memory Injection

Published Feb 17, 2026Analyzed Feb 22, 2026Source: arXiv

A vulnerability exists in the similarity-based retrieval mechanisms of long-term memory-augmented Large Language Models (LLMs), specifically affecting systems like Mem0 and A-mem. The vulnerability arises from the system's reliance on dense embedding similarity (e.g., cosine similarity) to retrieve context from dynamic, user-generated memory banks without sufficient semantic validation or conflict resolution. An unprivileged remote attacker can exploit this by injecting "adversarial…

ER-MIA: Black-Box Adversarial Memory Injection Attacks on Long-Term Memory-Augmented Large Language Models

Evaluated models: GPT-oss 20B, Llama 3.2 3B, Gemma 3 27B

Zombie Agent Persistence

Published Feb 17, 2026Analyzed Feb 22, 2026Source: arXiv

Self-evolving Large Language Model (LLM) agents that utilize long-term memory mechanisms (such as Vector Databases for Retrieval-Augmented Generation or Sliding Window buffers) are vulnerable to persistent indirect prompt injection. This vulnerability, termed "Zombie Agent," occurs when the agent's memory update function ($F_M$) processes attacker-controlled content retrieved from external sources (e.g., web pages, documents) and commits it to long-term storage without sufficient sanitization…

Zombie Agents: Persistent Control of Self-Evolving LLM Agents via Self-Reinforcing Injections

Evaluated models: Not reported

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