T1698Techniqueexecution
T1698Indirect Prompt Injection
Platforms: Windows · SaaS
ATT&CK version: v20.0
What it is
Adversaries may deliver malicious prompts to an LLM indirectly by embedding the prompts in content that the adversary expects may be processed by an LLM.(Citation: NIST indirect prompt injection) These prompts can be included in web pages,(Citation: Palo Alto Indirect Prompt Injection ITW) documents, emails, tickets,(Citation: Snyk Indirect Prompt Injection) code, or other sources that an agent, copilot, or other AI system may retrieve and process. When an LLM processes this content, the embedded instructions may cause the system to perform unintended behaviors.(Citation: GTIG AI Threats Sep 2026)
Adversaries may use indirect prompt injection to [Impair Autonomous Defenses](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1685/007), and for unauthorized execution of any capabilities available to the LLM.
ATT&CK tactics· 1
References
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1698
- https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/ai-agent-prompt-injection/
- https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/from-prompting-to-autonomy-the-evolution-of-adversarial-ai
- https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/indirect_prompt_injection
- https://snyk.io/blog/cline-supply-chain-attack-prompt-injection-github-actions/