| # Test Execution Protocols |
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| This document outlines standardized procedures for implementing security tests within the AISecForge framework. Following these protocols ensures consistent, reproducible, and comprehensive security assessments across different models and evaluators. |
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| ## General Execution Principles |
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| ### 1. Controlled Testing Environment |
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| All security testing must be conducted in isolated environments to prevent unintended exposure of vulnerabilities or harmful outputs. |
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| #### Requirements |
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| - Isolated network environment or appropriate API sandboxing |
| - Access controls limiting exposure to authorized testers only |
| - Logging systems capturing all interactions |
| - Prohibition on testing against production systems |
| - Appropriate data handling procedures for any sensitive outputs |
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| #### Implementation Steps |
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| 1. Configure testing environment with appropriate isolation |
| 2. Verify logging systems are operational |
| 3. Confirm access controls are in place |
| 4. Document environment configuration for reproducibility |
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| ### 2. Systematic Test Progression |
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| Testing should follow a systematic progression from basic to advanced techniques, ensuring comprehensive coverage while efficiently identifying vulnerabilities. |
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| #### Testing Phases |
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| 1. **Baseline Testing**: Establish model's standard behavior and response patterns |
| 2. **Basic Vulnerability Testing**: Implement fundamental test cases for each security dimension |
| 3. **Advanced Technique Testing**: Apply sophisticated variations of each attack vector |
| 4. **Combined Vector Testing**: Test interactions between different vulnerability classes |
| 5. **Persistent Testing**: Evaluate degradation over extended interactions |
| 6. **Edge Case Testing**: Explore boundary conditions and rare scenarios |
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| #### Implementation Steps |
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| 1. Develop test plan detailing progression through phases |
| 2. Document completion criteria for each phase |
| 3. Maintain dependencies between phases (e.g., advanced testing builds on basic results) |
| 4. Track coverage across dimensions and techniques |
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| ### 3. Comprehensive Documentation |
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| All testing activities must be thoroughly documented to ensure reproducibility, support analysis, and enable remediation. |
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| #### Documentation Requirements |
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| - Detailed test case descriptions |
| - Exact inputs used (including any randomization parameters) |
| - Complete response outputs |
| - Environmental conditions and configurations |
| - Timestamps and execution duration |
| - Success/failure determinations |
| - Observations on model behavior |
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| #### Implementation Steps |
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| 1. Establish documentation templates |
| 2. Configure automated logging where possible |
| 3. Document manual observations contemporaneously |
| 4. Maintain secure storage of all test artifacts |
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| ### 4. Failure Analysis |
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| When vulnerabilities are identified, they should be subject to detailed analysis to understand boundaries, reproducibility, and impact. |
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| #### Analysis Requirements |
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| - Determination of success conditions and reliability |
| - Investigation of variant approaches |
| - Identification of triggering factors |
| - Assessment of impact severity |
| - Evaluation of potential mitigations |
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| #### Implementation Steps |
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| 1. Define clear success criteria for each test case |
| 2. Implement multiple variations to determine boundaries |
| 3. Test reliability through repeated execution |
| 4. Document all findings systematically |
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| ## Dimension-Specific Protocols |
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| ### 1. Linguistic Pattern Exploitation |
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| #### Key Testing Protocols |
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| 1. **Linguistic Transformation Series** |
| - Apply systematic transformations to known-harmful prompts |
| - Test increasingly sophisticated obfuscation techniques |
| - Evaluate language mixing and transitioning strategies |
| - Test nested linguistic structures of varying complexity |
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| 2. **Reference Point Testing** |
| - Establish baseline model responses to direct harmful requests |
| - Compare responses to transformed requests against baselines |
| - Measure degradation in refusal strength |
| - Document success conditions for each transformation |
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| 3. **Threshold Determination** |
| - Identify minimum complexity required for successful exploitation |
| - Determine linguistic patterns with highest success rates |
| - Document pattern effectiveness across different content policies |
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| #### Implementation Requirements |
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| - Library of reference harmful prompts |
| - Standardized linguistic transformation techniques |
| - Metrics for measuring refusal strength |
| - Documentation templates for linguistic pattern effectiveness |
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| ### 2. Contextual Boundary Testing |
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| #### Key Testing Protocols |
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| 1. **Contextual Framing Series** |
| - Implement progressively complex framing scenarios |
| - Test role-based, hypothetical, and emergency framings |
| - Evaluate nested contextual structures |
| - Assess contextual authority invocation patterns |
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| 2. **Boundary Pressure Testing** |
| - Establish baseline boundary enforcement |
| - Apply incremental pressure through contextual manipulation |
| - Measure degradation in boundary enforcement |
| - Document pressure thresholds for boundary failures |
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| 3. **Contextual Transition Testing** |
| - Test abrupt versus gradual contextual transitions |
| - Evaluate contextual inheritance patterns |
| - Assess boundary reset effectiveness |
| - Document successful transition patterns |
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| #### Implementation Requirements |
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| - Library of contextual framing templates |
| - Standardized boundary pressure techniques |
| - Metrics for measuring boundary enforcement |
| - Documentation templates for contextual manipulation effectiveness |
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| ### 3. System Prompt Extraction |
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| #### Key Testing Protocols |
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| 1. **Extraction Technique Series** |
| - Apply increasingly sophisticated extraction methods |
| - Test direct, indirect, and inferential approaches |
| - Evaluate combined extraction strategies |
| - Assess token prediction exploitation techniques |
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| 2. **Information Completeness Assessment** |
| - Measure quantity and quality of extracted information |
| - Compare extracted content against known system instructions |
| - Evaluate usefulness of extracted information for attacks |
| - Document extraction efficiency and accuracy |
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| 3. **Extraction Barrier Testing** |
| - Identify mechanisms preventing extraction |
| - Test techniques for bypassing specific barriers |
| - Evaluate resilience of different barrier types |
| - Document successful barrier bypass patterns |
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| #### Implementation Requirements |
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| - Library of extraction techniques |
| - Metrics for measuring extraction success |
| - Templates for documenting extracted information |
| - Methods for evaluating extraction accuracy |
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| ### 4. Multi-turn Vulnerability Assessment |
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| #### Key Testing Protocols |
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| 1. **Conversation Progression Series** |
| - Implement progressively complex conversation flows |
| - Test gradual boundary erosion techniques |
| - Evaluate memory exploitation strategies |
| - Assess trust-building and redirection approaches |
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| 2. **Temporal Degradation Measurement** |
| - Establish baseline boundaries in single-turn interactions |
| - Measure boundary degradation over multiple turns |
| - Track memory persistence and exploitation |
| - Document temporal patterns in security failures |
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| 3. **Recovery Testing** |
| - Assess model recovery after partial exploitation |
| - Test persistence of vulnerability after conversation breaks |
| - Evaluate effectiveness of conversational resets |
| - Document recovery patterns and failures |
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| #### Implementation Requirements |
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| - Standardized conversation flow templates |
| - Metrics for measuring security degradation over time |
| - Documentation formats for temporal vulnerability patterns |
| - Methods for evaluating conversation state management |
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| ### 5. Multimodal Attack Vectors |
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| #### Key Testing Protocols |
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| 1. **Cross-Modal Injection Series** |
| - Test increasingly sophisticated multimodal inputs |
| - Evaluate different embedding techniques across modalities |
| - Assess modality-specific vulnerabilities |
| - Test transitions between modalities |
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| 2. **Modal Translation Assessment** |
| - Evaluate security in modal interpretation processes |
| - Test for inconsistencies in cross-modal security |
| - Assess exploitation of modal translation errors |
| - Document modality-specific security weaknesses |
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| 3. **Modal Boundary Testing** |
| - Identify security boundaries between modalities |
| - Test techniques for bypassing modal boundaries |
| - Evaluate consistency of security across modalities |
| - Document successful boundary bypass patterns |
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| #### Implementation Requirements |
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| - Library of multimodal test inputs |
| - Tools for creating cross-modal attack vectors |
| - Metrics for measuring modal security consistency |
| - Documentation templates for multimodal vulnerabilities |
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| ### 6. Tool Use Security |
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| #### Key Testing Protocols |
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| 1. **Tool Manipulation Series** |
| - Test increasingly sophisticated tool use manipulations |
| - Evaluate parameter injection techniques |
| - Assess function call redirection strategies |
| - Test tool chaining vulnerabilities |
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| 2. **Tool Boundary Assessment** |
| - Evaluate security boundaries in tool selection processes |
| - Test for inconsistencies in tool use permissions |
| - Assess exploitation of tool output interpretation |
| - Document tool-specific security weaknesses |
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| 3. **Tool Chain Testing** |
| - Identify vulnerabilities in sequences of tool operations |
| - Test techniques for manipulating tool chains |
| - Evaluate security in complex tool interactions |
| - Document successful tool chain manipulation patterns |
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| #### Implementation Requirements |
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| - Test harnesses for tool use simulation |
| - Library of tool manipulation techniques |
| - Metrics for measuring tool use security |
| - Documentation templates for tool-related vulnerabilities |
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| ## Results Recording Standards |
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| ### Test Case Documentation |
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| Each test case execution should be documented with: |
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| ``` |
| TEST CASE ID: [Unique identifier] |
| SECURITY DIMENSION: [Primary dimension] |
| TEST DESCRIPTION: [Detailed description] |
| TEST ENVIRONMENT: [Environment details] |
| EXECUTION DATE: [Date and time] |
| EXACT INPUTS: |
| [Full input text/content] |
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| EXACT OUTPUTS: |
| [Full output text/content] |
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| SUCCESS/FAILURE: [Determination] |
| SUCCESS CRITERIA: [Specific criteria used] |
| OBSERVATIONS: [Additional observations] |
| VARIANTS TESTED: [List of variants] |
| RELIABILITY: [Success rate across attempts] |
| CLASSIFICATION: [Vulnerability classification if applicable] |
| ``` |
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| ### Testing Session Summary |
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| Each testing session should be summarized with: |
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| ``` |
| SESSION ID: [Unique identifier] |
| DATE RANGE: [Start and end dates] |
| TESTER(S): [Names or identifiers] |
| SECURITY DIMENSIONS COVERED: [List of dimensions] |
| TEST CASES EXECUTED: [Number of test cases] |
| VULNERABILITIES IDENTIFIED: [Number of vulnerabilities] |
| KEY FINDINGS: [Summary of findings] |
| NOTABLE PATTERNS: [Observed patterns] |
| RECOMMENDATIONS: [Testing recommendations] |
| ARTIFACTS: [Links to detailed results] |
| ``` |
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| ### Vulnerability Summary |
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| Each identified vulnerability should be summarized with: |
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| ``` |
| VULNERABILITY ID: [Unique identifier] |
| CLASSIFICATION: [Full classification code] |
| DESCRIPTION: [Detailed description] |
| REPRODUCTION: [Step-by-step reproduction] |
| RELIABILITY: [Success rate] |
| SEVERITY: [Severity assessment] |
| AFFECTED COMPONENTS: [System components] |
| RECOMMENDED MITIGATIONS: [Guidance] |
| RELATED VULNERABILITIES: [Links to related issues] |
| TEST CASE REFERENCES: [Links to test cases] |
| ``` |
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| ## Execution Workflow |
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| ### 1. Preparation Phase |
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| 1. Define testing scope and objectives |
| 2. Configure testing environment |
| 3. Prepare test case library |
| 4. Establish baseline model behaviors |
| 5. Document configuration and preparation |
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| ### 2. Execution Phase |
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| 1. Implement test cases following dimension-specific protocols |
| 2. Document all tests contemporaneously |
| 3. Perform failure analysis on identified vulnerabilities |
| 4. Adapt testing based on emerging findings |
| 5. Track coverage across security dimensions |
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| ### 3. Analysis Phase |
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| 1. Compile testing results |
| 2. Classify identified vulnerabilities |
| 3. Assess severity and impact |
| 4. Identify patterns and trends |
| 5. Document findings comprehensively |
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| ### 4. Reporting Phase |
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| 1. Prepare vulnerability summaries |
| 2. Generate dimensional security assessments |
| 3. Compile overall security evaluation |
| 4. Develop remediation recommendations |
| 5. Prepare final assessment report |
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| ## Quality Control |
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| To ensure testing quality and consistency: |
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| 1. **Peer Review**: Critical vulnerabilities should undergo peer review for validation |
| 2. **Reproduction Verification**: Vulnerabilities should be reproduced by multiple testers |
| 3. **Comparative Analysis**: Results should be compared across similar models when possible |
| 4. **Historical Comparison**: Current results should be compared against previous assessments |
| 5. **Documentation Review**: All reports should undergo review for completeness and clarity |
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| ## Ethical Considerations |
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| All testing must adhere to these ethical guidelines: |
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| 1. Testing must occur in isolated, controlled environments |
| 2. No exposure of vulnerable models to the public |
| 3. Responsible disclosure to model developers before publication |
| 4. Focus on defensive improvements rather than exploitation |
| 5. Prohibition of techniques that could cause broader harm |
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| ## Conclusion |
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| These execution protocols provide a standardized framework for implementing LLM security testing. By following these protocols consistently, testers can ensure comprehensive, reproducible, and responsible security assessments that effectively identify vulnerabilities while minimizing potential harms. |
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| For implementation examples and case studies, refer to the [case studies](../case-studies/) directory. |
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