INP · Input & Prompt Security · Critical
INP-02Indirect prompt injection defense
Indirect prompt injection defense is applied to content returned from tools, retrieval systems, web pages, emails, documents, and agent memory. Such content is treated as untrusted data and is not executed as instruction without explicit user confirmation.
Indirect injection, where malicious instructions are placed in documents, web pages, emails, or other content the agent retrieves, is the most under-defended attack class in production today. INP-02 requires that retrieved content be processed in a trust boundary that prevents it from issuing commands to the agent. Detection rates and false-positive rates are measured.
(Critical)A Critical failure precludes HI-AAF Certification regardless of the maturity level achieved on any other control.
Table INP-02.1 · Maturity criteria · v.1.3
L1 to L5 · the lowest level in scope caps the agentControls exist informally; documentation is incomplete; no consistent review.
Controls are written down; ownership is assigned; review cadence is defined.
Controls are followed in practice; evidence is collected; deviations are tracked.
All retrieval paths apply trust boundary tagging; sampling-based human review of flagged retrievals is in place; injection-attempt rate is reported quarterly with trend analysis.
Control effectiveness is measured against documented thresholds; trends are reported.
Controls evolve based on incident learning; maturity gains are evidenced over time.
The v1.3 edition publishes a control-specific criterion at L3 (Operated). The other levels apply the general ladder to this control; see the maturity ladder.
Evidence an assessor asks for
- E.1
All retrieval paths apply trust boundary tagging.
- E.2
Sampling-based human review of flagged retrievals is in place.
- E.3
Injection-attempt rate is reported quarterly with trend analysis.
Table INP-02.2 · Framework mappings
7 of 7 frameworks carry a control-level referenceMappings are directional: meeting this control evidences but does not by itself satisfy the external requirement. A middle dot means no control-level reference is published at this edition; see the crosswalk.
Related controls and terms
Cite this control
Human Intelligence. HI-AAF v1.3, INP-02 Indirect prompt injection defense. Public review edition, July 2026. https://humanintel.net/standard/inp/inp-02
Edition v.1.3 · July 2026 · Public review · Markdown · PDF
https://humanintel.net/standard/inp/inp-02
HI-AAF v1.3 is an independent framework published by Human Intelligence. It is not affiliated with NIST, ISO, AICPA, or any government or accreditation body. The framework is offered openly for review during the current draft cycle.