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Breaking the Prompt Wall (I): A Real-World Case Study of Attacking ChatGPT via Lightweight Prompt Injection

Authors: Xiangyu Chang, Guang Dai, Hao Di, Haishan Ye

Published: 2025-04-20

arXiv ID: 2504.16125v1

Added to Library: 2025-11-11 14:12 UTC

Red Teaming

📄 Abstract

This report presents a real-world case study demonstrating how prompt injection can attack large language model platforms such as ChatGPT according to a proposed injection framework. By providing three real-world examples, we show how adversarial prompts can be injected via user inputs, web-based retrieval, and system-level agent instructions. These attacks, though lightweight and low-cost, can cause persistent and misleading behaviors in LLM outputs. Our case study reveals that even commercial-grade LLMs remain vulnerable to subtle manipulations that bypass safety filters and influence user decisions. \textbf{More importantly, we stress that this report is not intended as an attack guide, but as a technical alert. As ethical researchers, we aim to raise awareness and call upon developers, especially those at OpenAI, to treat prompt-level security as a critical design priority.

🔍 Key Points

  • Demonstrates the vulnerability of ChatGPT and similar LLMs to lightweight prompt injection attacks using a structured framework.
  • Presents three real-world injection methods: direct user prompts, search-based context integration, and system-level instructions in GPT agents.
  • Highlights specific examples where injected prompts bias outputs in high-stakes contexts like product recommendations and academic peer reviews.
  • Calls for prioritization of prompt-level security in LLM design and deployment to mitigate security risks associated with adversarial prompting.

💡 Why This Paper Matters

This paper is relevant and important as it exposes a critical vulnerability within widely-used LLMs like ChatGPT, emphasizing that current security measures are inadequate to prevent sophisticated prompt injection attacks. It raises awareness among developers and researchers about the necessity of improving model robustness against manipulation.

🎯 Why It's Interesting for AI Security Researchers

This paper is of particular interest to AI security researchers as it provides insight into novel attack vectors that can be employed against LLMs. It not only outlines the risks associated with prompt injections in real-world applications but also encourages a dialogue on enhancing security protocols and designing safer AI systems that can withstand such manipulations.

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