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§ I · Domain MAS · Control 5 of 9
Control
MAS-05
Edition
v.1.3
Status
Public review

MAS · Multi-Agent Systems

MAS-05Cross-agent loop detection

Loop and recursion detection under ACT-05 extends across agents. Suspicious cross-agent invocation patterns, including circular calls, exponential fan-out, and unbounded delegation depth, trigger automatic suspension.

Loop and recursion detection extends across agent boundaries. Suspicious cross-agent invocation patterns, circular calls, exponential fan-out, unbounded delegation depth, are detected and trigger automatic suspension. This control prevents cascading failures and runaway resource consumption that can occur when agents invoke each other without bound.

Table MAS-05.1 · Maturity criteria · v.1.3

L1 to L5 · the lowest level in scope caps the agent
L1Ad hoc

Controls exist informally; documentation is incomplete; no consistent review.

L2Documented

Controls are written down; ownership is assigned; review cadence is defined.

L3Operated

Controls are followed in practice; evidence is collected; deviations are tracked.

Cross-agent loop detection is active for all multi-agent systems; detection covers circular calls, fan-out, and delegation depth; at least one suspension has been triggered in testing or production; detection thresholds are tuned.

L4Measured

Control effectiveness is measured against documented thresholds; trends are reported.

L5Continuously Improved

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

  1. E.1

    Cross-agent loop detection is active for all multi-agent systems.

  2. E.2

    Detection covers circular calls, fan-out, and delegation depth.

  3. E.3

    At least one suspension has been triggered in testing or production.

  4. E.4

    Detection thresholds are tuned.

Table MAS-05.2 · Framework mappings

6 of 7 frameworks carry a control-level reference
NIST AI RMFMANAGE 2.2NIST AI Risk Management Framework 1.0
ISO/IEC 42001·ISO/IEC 42001:2023 · Artificial intelligence management system
OWASP LLM Top 10LLM06OWASP Top 10 for Large Language Model Applications
SOC 2 (TSC)CC7.2AICPA Trust Services Criteria for SOC 2 Type II
EU AI ActArt. 14(4)EU AI Act · Regulation (EU) 2024/1689
MITRE ATLASExecution, Lateral MovementMITRE ATLAS · Adversarial Threat Landscape for AI Systems
SingaporeMAIGF AccountabilitySingapore Model AI Governance Framework / AI Verify / PDPA

Mappings 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, MAS-05 Cross-agent loop detection. Public review edition, July 2026. https://humanintel.net/standard/mas/mas-05

Edition v.1.3 · July 2026 · Public review · Markdown · PDF

https://humanintel.net/standard/mas/mas-05

Notice

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.