# Prompt Injection attack against LLM-integrated Applications

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.05499 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.05499/

## Key facts

- Cited by 605 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Prompt injection and agent security, one of 12 directions in LLM safety and security.
- Builds on 32 of its 56 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 8 Jun 2023.

## Placed in

- LLM safety and security / [Prompt injection and agent security](https://mlsanity.com/safety/prompt-injection-and-agent-security/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 32)

- [ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.03629/) (2022)
- [Toolformer: Language Models Can Teach Themselves to Use Tools](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04761/) (2023)
- [Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03442/) (2023)
- [Not what you've signed up for: Compromising Real-World LLM-Integrated Applications with Indirect Prompt Injection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.12173/) (2023)
- [RealToxicityPrompts: Evaluating Neural Toxic Degeneration in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.11462/) (2020)
- [HuggingGPT: Solving AI Tasks with ChatGPT and its Friends in Hugging Face](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.17580/) (2023)
- [Ignore Previous Prompt: Attack Techniques For Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.09527/) (2022)
- [SelfCheckGPT: Zero-Resource Black-Box Hallucination Detection for Generative Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08896/) (2023)
- [API-Bank: A Comprehensive Benchmark for Tool-Augmented LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.08244/) (2023)
- [Jailbreaking ChatGPT via Prompt Engineering: An Empirical Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.13860/) (2023)
- [Language Models can Solve Computer Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.17491/) (2023)
- [Large Language Models as Tool Makers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.17126/) (2023)
- [Role-Play with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.16367/) (2023)
- [ToolkenGPT: Augmenting Frozen Language Models with Massive Tools via Tool Embeddings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.11554/) (2023)
- [ART: Automatic multi-step reasoning and tool-use for large language models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.09014/) (2023)
- [TaskMatrix.AI: Completing Tasks by Connecting Foundation Models with Millions of APIs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.16434/) (2023)
- [Sources of Hallucination by Large Language Models on Inference Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.14552/) (2023)
- [Fundamental Limitations of Alignment in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.11082/) (2023)
- [Emergent autonomous scientific research capabilities of large language models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.05332/) (2023)
- [On the Tool Manipulation Capability of Open-source Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.16504/) (2023)
- [Adversarial Training for Large Neural Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.08994/) (2020)
- [Evaluating the Robustness of Neural Language Models to Input Perturbations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.12237/) (2021)
- [Spinning Language Models: Risks of Propaganda-As-A-Service and Countermeasures](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.05224/) (2021)
- [Fine-mixing: Mitigating Backdoors in Fine-tuned Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.09545/) (2022)
- ["Real Attackers Don't Compute Gradients": Bridging the Gap Between Adversarial ML Research and Practice](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.14315/) (2022)
- [Contrastive Learning Reduces Hallucination in Conversations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.10400/) (2022)
- [NOTABLE: Transferable Backdoor Attacks Against Prompt-based NLP Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.17826/) (2023)
- [Why So Toxic? Measuring and Triggering Toxic Behavior in Open-Domain Chatbots](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.03463/) (2022)
- [ChatGPT-powered Conversational Drug Editing Using Retrieval and Domain Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.18090/) (2023)
- [Interpreting the Robustness of Neural NLP Models to Textual Perturbations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.07159/) (2021)

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 605)

- [The Rise and Potential of Large Language Model Based Agents: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.07864/) (2023)
- [Tree of Attacks: Jailbreaking Black-Box LLMs Automatically](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.02119/) (2023)
- [GPTFUZZER: Red Teaming Large Language Models with Auto-Generated Jailbreak Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.10253/) (2023)
- [InjecAgent: Benchmarking Indirect Prompt Injections in Tool-Integrated Large Language Model Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.02691/) (2024)
- [The Instruction Hierarchy: Training LLMs to Prioritize Privileged Instructions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.13208/) (2024)
- [Large Language Models for Software Engineering: A Systematic Literature Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.10620/) (2023)
- [Agent Security Bench (ASB): Formalizing and Benchmarking Attacks and Defenses in LLM-based Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.02644/) (2024)
- [Formalizing and Benchmarking Prompt Injection Attacks and Defenses](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.12815/) (2023)
- [Knowledge Conflicts for LLMs: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.08319/) (2024)
- [Jailbreak in pieces: Compositional Adversarial Attacks on Multi-Modal Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.14539/) (2023)
- [PoisonedRAG: Knowledge Corruption Attacks to Retrieval-Augmented Generation of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.07867/) (2024)
- [Benchmarking and Defending Against Indirect Prompt Injection Attacks on Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.14197/) (2023)
- [Personal LLM Agents: Insights and Survey about the Capability, Efficiency and Security](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.05459/) (2024)
- [Large Language Model Alignment: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.15025/) (2023)
- [Security and Privacy Challenges of Large Language Models: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.00888/) (2024)
- [MasterKey: Automated Jailbreak Across Multiple Large Language Model Chatbots](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.08715/) (2023)
- [Can LLM-Generated Misinformation Be Detected?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.13788/) (2023)
- [Image Hijacks: Adversarial Images can Control Generative Models at Runtime](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.00236/) (2023)
- [Backdooring Instruction-Tuned Large Language Models with Virtual Prompt Injection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.16888/) (2023)
- [WASP: Benchmarking Web Agent Security Against Prompt Injection Attacks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.18575/) (2025)
- [EIA: Environmental Injection Attack on Generalist Web Agents for Privacy Leakage](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.11295/) (2024)
- [Tensor Trust: Interpretable Prompt Injection Attacks from an Online Game](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.01011/) (2023)
- [AgentDojo: A Dynamic Environment to Evaluate Prompt Injection Attacks and Defenses for LLM Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.13352/) (2024)
- [Progent: Securing AI Agents with Privilege Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.11703/) (2025)
- [Prompt Infection: LLM-to-LLM Prompt Injection within Multi-Agent Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.07283/) (2024)
- [The Emerged Security and Privacy of LLM Agent: A Survey with Case Studies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.19354/) (2024)
- [AI Agents Under Threat: A Survey of Key Security Challenges and Future Pathways](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.02630/) (2024)
- [Advances and Challenges in Foundation Agents: From Brain-Inspired Intelligence to Evolutionary, Collaborative, and Safe Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.01990/) (2025)
- [Securing AI Agents with Information-Flow Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.23643/) (2025)
- [Dissecting Adversarial Robustness of Multimodal LM Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.12814/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large Language Models (LLMs), renowned for their superior proficiency in language comprehension and generation, stimulate a vibrant ecosystem of applications around them. However, their extensive assimilation into various services introduces significant security risks. This study deconstructs the complexities and implications of prompt injection attacks on actual LLM-integrated applications. Initially, we conduct an exploratory analysis on ten commercial applications, highlighting the constraints of current attack strategies in practice. Prompted by these limitations, we subsequently formulate HouYi, a novel black-box prompt injection attack technique, which draws inspiration from traditional web injection attacks. HouYi is compartmentalized into three crucial elements: a seamlessly-incorporated pre-constructed prompt, an injection prompt inducing context partition, and a malicious payload designed to fulfill the attack objectives. Leveraging HouYi, we unveil previously unknown and severe attack outcomes, such as unrestricted arbitrary LLM usage and uncomplicated application prompt theft. We deploy HouYi on 36 actual LLM-integrated applications and discern 31 applications susceptible to prompt injection. 10 vendors have validated our discoveries, including Notion, which has the potential to impact millions of users. Our investigation illuminates both the possible risks of prompt injection attacks and the possible tactics for mitigation.