Unvalidated Trust: Cross-Stage Vulnerabilities in Large Language Model Architectures

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2510.27190v1
• Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2025 09:38:45 GMT
• Title: Unvalidated Trust: Cross-Stage Vulnerabilities in Large Language Model Architectures
• Authors: Dominik Schwarz,
• Abstract summary: This paper presents a mechanism-centered taxonomy of 41 recurring risk patterns in commercial Language Models.<n>We argue that these behaviors constitute architectural failure modes and that string-level filtering alone is insufficient.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: As Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly integrated into automated, multi-stage pipelines, risk patterns that arise from unvalidated trust between processing stages become a practical concern. This paper presents a mechanism-centered taxonomy of 41 recurring risk patterns in commercial LLMs. The analysis shows that inputs are often interpreted non-neutrally and can trigger implementation-shaped responses or unintended state changes even without explicit commands. We argue that these behaviors constitute architectural failure modes and that string-level filtering alone is insufficient. To mitigate such cross-stage vulnerabilities, we recommend zero-trust architectural principles, including provenance enforcement, context sealing, and plan revalidation, and we introduce "Countermind" as a conceptual blueprint for implementing these defenses.

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