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Early Approaches to Adversarial Fine-Tuning for Prompt Injection Defense: A 2022 Study of GPT-3 and Contemporary Models

Authors: Gustavo Sandoval, Denys Fenchenko, Junyao Chen

Published: 2025-09-15

arXiv ID: 2509.14271v1

Added to Library: 2025-11-11 14:31 UTC

Red Teaming

📄 Abstract

This paper documents early research conducted in 2022 on defending against prompt injection attacks in large language models, providing historical context for the evolution of this critical security domain. This research focuses on two adversarial attacks against Large Language Models (LLMs): prompt injection and goal hijacking. We examine how to construct these attacks, test them on various LLMs, and compare their effectiveness. We propose and evaluate a novel defense technique called Adversarial Fine-Tuning. Our results show that, without this defense, the attacks succeeded 31\% of the time on GPT-3 series models. When using our Adversarial Fine-Tuning approach, attack success rates were reduced to near zero for smaller GPT-3 variants (Ada, Babbage, Curie), though we note that subsequent research has revealed limitations of fine-tuning-based defenses. We also find that more flexible models exhibit greater vulnerability to these attacks. Consequently, large models such as GPT-3 Davinci are more vulnerable than smaller models like GPT-2. While the specific models tested are now superseded, the core methodology and empirical findings contributed to the foundation of modern prompt injection defense research, including instruction hierarchy systems and constitutional AI approaches.

🔍 Key Points

  • Development of Adversarial Fine-Tuning as a novel defense against prompt injection attacks, showcasing significant reductions in attack success rates for smaller GPT-3 variants.
  • Empirical testing of prompt injection vulnerabilities across various models, emphasizing the correlation between model complexity and susceptibility to adversarial attacks.
  • Establishment of a structured delimiter approach for input separation which has influenced modern defenses in language models, such as instruction hierarchy systems.
  • Documentation of the limitations of fine-tuning-based defenses which foreshadow current challenges in AI security, highlighting the need for ongoing adaptation in defense strategies.
  • Insightful analysis of the evolving nature of adversarial attacks, illustrating historical vulnerabilities that remain relevant in the context of modern LLMs.

💡 Why This Paper Matters

This paper serves as a foundational study in the domain of prompt injection defenses for large language models, detailing both a novel defense strategy and an empirical assessment of vulnerabilities. Its relevance persists as it addresses critical security issues that affect contemporary LLM deployment, providing insights that inform future defense mechanisms in the rapidly evolving landscape of AI security.

🎯 Why It's Interesting for AI Security Researchers

AI security researchers would find this paper applicable due to its in-depth exploration of prompt injection attacks and defenses, which remain pressing issues in the deployment of large language models. The historical context and foundational methodologies detailed in the study offer valuable insights for developing robust AI systems resistant to manipulation, particularly as researchers strive to understand and mitigate vulnerabilities in increasingly complex AI architectures.

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