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Agent-based models play an important role in simulating complex emergent phenomena and supporting critical decisions. In this context, a software fault may result in poorly informed decisions that lead to disastrous consequences. The…

Software Engineering · Computer Science 2021-03-19 Andrew G. Clark , Neil Walkinshaw , Robert M. Hierons

Experience-driven self-evolution has emerged as a promising paradigm for improving the autonomy of large language model agents, yet its reliance on self-curated experience introduces underexplored safety risks. In this study, we investigate…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2026-04-21 Weixiang Zhao , Yichen Zhang , Yingshuo Wang , Yang Deng , Yanyan Zhao , Xuda Zhi , Yongbo Huang , HaoHe , Wanxiang Che , Bing Qin , Ting Liu

Computer use agents are LLM-based agents that can directly interact with a graphical user interface, by processing screenshots or accessibility trees. While these systems are gaining popularity, their safety has been largely overlooked,…

Software Engineering · Computer Science 2025-10-30 Thomas Kuntz , Agatha Duzan , Hao Zhao , Francesco Croce , Zico Kolter , Nicolas Flammarion , Maksym Andriushchenko

As AI agents become more widely deployed, we are likely to see an increasing number of incidents: events involving AI agent use that directly or indirectly cause harm. For example, agents could be prompt-injected to exfiltrate private…

Computers and Society · Computer Science 2025-08-21 Carson Ezell , Xavier Roberts-Gaal , Alan Chan

As Large Language Models transition to autonomous agents, user inputs frequently violate cooperative assumptions (e.g., implicit intent, missing parameters, false presuppositions, or ambiguous expressions), creating execution risks that…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2026-02-03 Han Bao , Zheyuan Zhang , Pengcheng Jing , Zhengqing Yuan , Kaiwen Shi , Yanfang Ye

Graphical User Interface (GUI) agents extend large language models from text generation to action execution in real-world digital environments. Unlike conversational systems, GUI agents perform irreversible operations such as submitting…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2026-02-25 Yucheng Shi , Wenhao Yu , Jingyuan Huang , Wenlin Yao , Wenhu Chen , Ninghao Liu

AI agents augment large language models with external tools such as web retrieval, enabling grounded and up-to-date responses. However, incorporating external content into the generation pipeline can weaken the safety alignment mechanisms…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2026-05-29 Aditya Nawal , Manit Baser , Mohan Gurusamy

We introduce PATHWAYS, a benchmark of 250 multi-step decision tasks that test whether web-based agents can discover and correctly use hidden contextual information. Across both closed and open models, agents typically navigate to relevant…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2026-02-17 Shifat E. Arman , Syed Nazmus Sakib , Tapodhir Karmakar Taton , Nafiul Haque , Shahrear Bin Amin

The adequate testing of stateful software systems is a hard and costly activity. Failures that result from complex stateful interactions can be of high impact, and it can be hard to replicate failures resulting from erroneous stateful…

Software Engineering · Computer Science 2020-04-20 Stefan Karlsson

This paper identifies and analyzes a novel vulnerability class in Model Context Protocol (MCP) based agent systems. The attack chain describes and demonstrates how benign, individually authorized tasks can be orchestrated to produce harmful…

Cryptography and Security · Computer Science 2025-08-28 David Noever

As the industry increasingly adopts agentic AI systems, understanding their unique vulnerabilities becomes critical. Prior research suggests that security flaws at the model level do not fully capture the risks present in agentic…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2025-09-23 Ilham Wicaksono , Zekun Wu , Rahul Patel , Theo King , Adriano Koshiyama , Philip Treleaven

LLM-based agents are becoming increasingly proficient at solving web-based tasks. With this capability comes a greater risk of misuse for malicious purposes, such as posting misinformation in an online forum or selling illicit substances on…

Modern AI agents execute real-world side effects through tool calls such as file operations, shell commands, HTTP requests, and database queries. A single unsafe action, including accidental deletion, credential exposure, or data…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2026-05-07 Chenglin Yang

Large Language Model (LLM) Agents are an emerging computing paradigm that blends generative machine learning with tools such as code interpreters, web browsing, email, and more generally, external resources. These agent-based systems…

Cryptography and Security · Computer Science 2024-10-23 Xiaohan Fu , Shuheng Li , Zihan Wang , Yihao Liu , Rajesh K. Gupta , Taylor Berg-Kirkpatrick , Earlence Fernandes

The inherent non-deterministic nature of autonomous agents, particularly within low-code/no-code (LCNC) environments, presents significant reliability challenges. Agents can become trapped in unforeseen loops, generate inaccurate outputs,…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2025-09-25 Jiexi Xu

User models in information retrieval rest on a foundational assumption that observed behavior reveals intent. This assumption collapses when the user is an AI agent privately configured by a human operator. For any action an agent takes, a…

We stress-tested 16 leading models from multiple developers in hypothetical corporate environments to identify potentially risky agentic behaviors before they cause real harm. In the scenarios, we allowed models to autonomously send emails…

Cryptography and Security · Computer Science 2025-10-17 Aengus Lynch , Benjamin Wright , Caleb Larson , Stuart J. Ritchie , Soren Mindermann , Evan Hubinger , Ethan Perez , Kevin Troy

Computer-use agents provide a promising path toward general software automation because they can interact directly with arbitrary graphical user interfaces instead of relying on brittle, application-specific integrations. Despite recent…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2026-05-01 Jinbiao Wei , Kangqi Ni , Yilun Zhao , Guo Gan , Arman Cohan

Large Language Models are being increasingly deployed as the decision-making core of autonomous agents capable of effecting change in external environments. Yet, in conversational benchmarks, which simulate real-world customer-centric issue…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2026-04-29 Amir Saeidi , Venkatesh Mishra , Souradeep Mukhopadhyay , Gaowen Liu , Ali Payani , Jayanth Srinivasa , Chitta Baral

The rapid evolution of Large Multimodal Models (LMMs) has enabled agents to perform complex digital and physical tasks, yet their deployment as autonomous decision-makers introduces substantial unintentional behavioral safety risks.…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2026-03-30 Yuxuan Li , Yi Lin , Peng Wang , Shiming Liu , Xuetao Wei