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The Confused Deputy: When an Authorised Agent Is Tricked Into Misusing Its Access

A confused deputy is a program with legitimate authority that an attacker tricks into using that authority on the attacker's behalf. AI agents are especially exposed because they act with users' or services' permissions and follow instructions found in content. This guide explains the pattern, examples, and the controls: least privilege, acting as the user, typed tools, and confirmations outside the model.

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