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Chameleon: Adaptive Adversarial Agents for Scaling-Based Visual Prompt Injection in Multimodal AI Systems

Authors: M Zeeshan, Saud Satti

Published: 2025-12-04

arXiv ID: 2512.04895v1

Added to Library: 2025-12-05 03:01 UTC

Red Teaming

📄 Abstract

Multimodal Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, particularly Vision-Language Models (VLMs), have become integral to critical applications ranging from autonomous decision-making to automated document processing. As these systems scale, they rely heavily on preprocessing pipelines to handle diverse inputs efficiently. However, this dependency on standard preprocessing operations, specifically image downscaling, creates a significant yet often overlooked security vulnerability. While intended for computational optimization, scaling algorithms can be exploited to conceal malicious visual prompts that are invisible to human observers but become active semantic instructions once processed by the model. Current adversarial strategies remain largely static, failing to account for the dynamic nature of modern agentic workflows. To address this gap, we propose Chameleon, a novel, adaptive adversarial framework designed to expose and exploit scaling vulnerabilities in production VLMs. Unlike traditional static attacks, Chameleon employs an iterative, agent-based optimization mechanism that dynamically refines image perturbations based on the target model's real-time feedback. This allows the framework to craft highly robust adversarial examples that survive standard downscaling operations to hijack downstream execution. We evaluate Chameleon against Gemini 2.5 Flash model. Our experiments demonstrate that Chameleon achieves an Attack Success Rate (ASR) of 84.5% across varying scaling factors, significantly outperforming static baseline attacks which average only 32.1%. Furthermore, we show that these attacks effectively compromise agentic pipelines, reducing decision-making accuracy by over 45% in multi-step tasks. Finally, we discuss the implications of these vulnerabilities and propose multi-scale consistency checks as a necessary defense mechanism.

🔍 Key Points

  • Introduction of Chameleon, an adaptive adversarial framework that exploits scaling vulnerabilities in Vision-Language Models (VLMs).
  • Demonstration of adaptive attacks with an Attack Success Rate (ASR) of 84.5%, significantly outperforming static baseline attacks at 32.1%.
  • Examination of the impact of adaptive scaling attacks on decision-making accuracy, showing a reduction of over 45% in multi-step tasks.
  • Implementation of an innovative optimization mechanism, using both hill-climbing and genetic algorithms, to dynamically refine image perturbations based on real-time feedback from the target model.
  • Proposal of multi-scale consistency checks as a potential defense mechanism against identified vulnerabilities.

💡 Why This Paper Matters

This paper highlights critical security risks associated with multimodal AI systems, particularly around preprocessing vulnerabilities such as image scaling. By demonstrating a robust adaptive attack framework (Chameleon) that effectively manipulates VLMs, it underscores the urgent need for enhanced security measures in AI systems that rely on such preprocessing steps. The findings encourage ongoing research into defense strategies and the robustness of AI models against sophisticated adversarial tactics.

🎯 Why It's Interesting for AI Security Researchers

The paper is of significant interest to AI security researchers as it uncovers a previously overlooked vulnerability in the preprocessing pipelines of multimodal AI systems. Chameleon represents a novel approach to adversarial attacks, emphasizing the need for adaptive strategies rather than static methods. The research also prompts investigations into potential defense mechanisms, making it a pivotal contribution to the field of AI security. Additionally, the high success rates of attacks on real-world models illustrate the immediate implications for deployed systems, raising awareness about the security posture of AI applications.

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