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Owasp Agentic AI
top10_2026
ASI01 - Agent Goal Hijack
Attackers trick the agent into changing its main goal or following hidden malicious instructions.
Intent & Description
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🎯 Intent
Prevent adversaries from redirecting an autonomous agent away from its intended objectives.
📋 Context
Agents operate with defined goals and autonomy. Attackers can inject instructions through various channels to override or subtly shift the agent primary objective, leading to unauthorized actions.
💡 Solution
Implement goal validation and integrity checks. Use immutable goal definitions. Apply input sanitization at all agent interfaces. Monitor for goal drift. Implement behavioral anomaly detection.'
Real-world Use Case
Use when building autonomous agents that operate with defined goals and interact with external inputs.
Source
📌 TL;DR
Protect agent goals from hijacking. Validate objectives, sanitize inputs, detect behavioral drift, enforce goal immutability.
Advantages
- Maintains agent purpose integrity
- Prevents objective manipulation
- Enables goal compliance monitoring
- Supports safe autonomy
Disadvantages
- Goal drift detection can be subtle
- May limit agent flexibility
- Requires continuous behavioral monitoring