Originally posted April 2024 and updated in May 2025.
Bugcrowd has launched AI Penetration Testing services with pen testers to help organizations secure Large Language Model (LLM) applications and AI systems. As AI becomes mainstream, new vulnerabilities like prompt injection and data poisoning are emerging, and organizations must proactively test and secure these systems to protect user data and maintain trust.
Ai Pentesting Key Insights:
As access to AI technology becomes more widespread, organizations in every industry are adopting these cutting-edge technologies. However, as AI technology continues to be rapidly commercialized, new potential security vulnerabilities are quickly being surfaced.
Organizations need to be testing their Large Language Model (LLM) applications and other AI-powered tools and AI systems to be sure they are free of common security vulnerabilities. To help with this effort, Bugcrowd is excited to announce the launch of AI Penetration Testing.
There’s no better way to understand the potential severity of vulnerabilities in an AI system than the ethical hackers who are testing these AI-powered tools and systems every day. Joseph Thacker, aka rez0, is a security researcher who specializes in application security and AI. We asked him to break down the current landscape of new vulnerabilities specific to AI.
“Even security-conscious developers may not fully understand new vulnerabilities specific to AI pentesting, such as prompt injection, so doing security testing on AI features is extremely important. In my experience, many of these new AI applications, especially those developed by startups or small teams, have traditional vulnerabilities as well. They seem to lack mature security practice making pentesting crucial for identifying those bugs, not to mention the new AI-related vulnerabilities.
Naturally, smaller organizations will have less security emphasis, but even large enterprises are moving very quickly to ship AI products and features, leading to more detection of vulnerabilities than they would typically have. Since Generative AI applications handle sensitive data (user information and often chat history), as well as often making decisions that impact users, pentesting is necessary to maintain trust and protect user data.
Regular pentesting of AI applications helps organizations stay ahead as the field of AI security is still in its early stages and new vulnerabilities are likely to emerge,” rez0 said.
To learn more about AI pen testing, check out the blog AI Deep Dive: Pen Testing.
As organizations increasingly adopt large language models (LLMs) to enhance productivity, automate tasks, and drive innovation, it is imperative to acknowledge the potential vulnerabilities associated with their use.
One of the primary concerns is data privacy, as LLMs require vast amounts of data to function effectively, potentially exposing sensitive or confidential information.
These models are susceptible to bias, reflecting and perpetuating the prejudices present in their training data, which can lead to unfair or discriminatory outcomes.
The reliance on LLMs can create security risks, as malicious actors might exploit these systems through adversarial attacks or by crafting inputs that manipulate the model’s behavior. The black-box nature of LLMs also poses interpretability challenges, making it difficult for organizations to fully understand how decisions are made, which complicates accountability and governance.
Implementing robust risk management strategies for the discovery of vulnerabilities with AI Pen testing are crucial to mitigating these vulnerabilities and ensuring the responsible use of LLMs within organizational contexts.
Bugcrowd AI Pen Tests help organizations uncover the most common application security flaws using a testing methodology based on our open-source Vulnerability Rating Taxonomy (VRT).
All AI Pen Tests include:
AI penetration testing is the process of evaluating the security of AI systems, including applications like chatbots and machine learning models. It aims to identify vulnerabilities that could lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, or operational disruptions.
As AI systems become more integrated into business operations, they process sensitive data and make critical decisions. Penetration testing helps organizations identify and mitigate risks associated with these systems, maintaining user trust and safeguarding sensitive information. A penetration tester can utilize AI tools in order to help deliver faster and more reliable threat intelligence and security testing results.
Common vulnerabilities in AI systems include:
AI penetration testing should be conducted by experienced security professionals with a background in both cybersecurity and AI technologies. This includes ethical hackers, security researchers, and firms specializing in AI security.
Given the rapid evolution of AI technology and emerging threats, organizations should conduct regular penetration testing. This could be quarterly or semi-annually, depending on the sensitivity of the data and the frequency of updates to the AI system.
The process typically involves:
While traditional penetration testing focuses on conventional applications and systems, AI penetration testing specifically addresses the unique vulnerabilities and operational contexts of AI systems, including their learning algorithms and data management practices.
Organizations should seek services that:
The international AI systems standard, ISO/IEC 42001, outlines requirements for managing AI technologies within organizations. This standard emphasizes security throughout the entire lifecycle of AI systems, addressing the unique challenges associated with AI, including ethical considerations and continuous learning.
Organizations can stay informed by:
With Bugcrowd AI Pen Tests, your organization can expect the same caliber and quality of testing that has made us an industry leader. Our CrowdMatch technology means you’ll be paired with pentesters with experience in testing AI applications, which is not a common skill among pentesters at other providers.
Your organization can start your pen test in as little as 72 hours. Learn more and access a decade of vulnerability intelligence from the Bugcrowd Platform in every pen test engagement.
Here are some additional resources: