Extending the OWASP Multi-Agentic System Threat Modeling Guide: Insights from Multi-Agent Security Research

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2508.09815v1
• Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2025 13:47:55 GMT
• Title: Extending the OWASP Multi-Agentic System Threat Modeling Guide: Insights from Multi-Agent Security Research
• Authors: Klaudia Krawiecka, Christian Schroeder de Witt,
• Abstract summary: This work translates recent anticipatory research in multi-agent security (MASEC) into practical guidance for addressing challenges unique to large language model (LLM)-driven multi-agent architectures.<n>We introduce additional threat classes and scenarios grounded in practical MAS deployments, highlighting risks from benign goal drift, cross-agent propagation, affective prompt framing, and multi-agent backdoors.<n>This work complements the framework of robustness by expanding its applicability to increasingly complex, autonomous, and adaptive multi-agent systems.
• Score: 0.8057006406834466
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: We propose an extension to the OWASP Multi-Agentic System (MAS) Threat Modeling Guide, translating recent anticipatory research in multi-agent security (MASEC) into practical guidance for addressing challenges unique to large language model (LLM)-driven multi-agent architectures. Although OWASP's existing taxonomy covers many attack vectors, our analysis identifies gaps in modeling failures, including, but not limited to: reasoning collapse across planner-executor chains, metric overfitting, unsafe delegation escalation, emergent covert coordination, and heterogeneous multi-agent exploits. We introduce additional threat classes and scenarios grounded in practical MAS deployments, highlighting risks from benign goal drift, cross-agent hallucination propagation, affective prompt framing, and multi-agent backdoors. We also outline evaluation strategies, including robustness testing, coordination assessment, safety enforcement, and emergent behavior monitoring, to ensure complete coverage. This work complements the framework of OWASP by expanding its applicability to increasingly complex, autonomous, and adaptive multi-agent systems, with the goal of improving security posture and resilience in real world deployments.

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