Exploiting AI Agent Database Vulnerabilities for Cyberattacks

By Sean Park (Principal Threat Researcher)

Key Takeaways:

• Attackers can weaponize SQL generation vulnerabilities, stored prompt injection, and vector store poisoning to exploit AI agents.
• These exploits can lead to data theft, phishing campaigns, and financial losses.
• Organizations using database-enabled AI agents must implement robust security measures.

Research Overview

Trend Micro's latest research, Unveiling AI Agent Vulnerabilities Part IV, investigates how attackers exploit weaknesses in AI agents that interact with databases. The study focuses on three primary vulnerabilities:

1. SQL Generation Vulnerabilities: Attackers manipulate natural language-to-SQL conversions to bypass security and access restricted data.
2. Stored Prompt Injection: Malicious prompts embedded in databases can hijack AI agents to perform unauthorized actions, such as sending phishing emails.
3. Vector Store Poisoning: Attackers inject malicious content into vector stores, which are later retrieved and executed by AI agents.

Attack Scenarios

SQL Generation Exploits

Attackers use jailbreaking techniques to bypass security prompts and extract sensitive data. For example, an adversary might trick an AI agent into revealing employee records by crafting deceptive queries.

Stored Prompt Injection

A customer service AI agent retrieving poisoned data might generate and send phishing emails disguised as legitimate communications.

Vector Store Poisoning

Attackers inject malicious titles and content into databases. When users query similar titles, the AI agent retrieves and executes the poisoned content.

Recommendations

To mitigate these risks, organizations should:

• Implement robust input sanitization.
• Use advanced intent detection to identify malicious queries.
• Enforce strict access controls for database interactions.

For more details, read the full research paper.