Evaluating RAG System Models Robustness to Hybrid Homoglyph and Emoji-Based Next-Generation Adversarial Prompt Injection

Recent advances in retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) have enabled large language models (LLMs) to reliably answer user queries by retrieving relevant documents. However, adversaries may exploit obfuscation techniques—such as homoglyph substitution, emoji injection, or invisible Unicode characters—to hide attack payloads and induce leakage of sensitive information. In this work, we systematically evaluate five RAG models running inside Docker Desktop containers under a unified pipeline designed to test for such leaks. We have used pdf, text, html and readme file format as a document loader to the RAG model and then we used FAISS vector database for index vectorization system. We generate adversarial prompts against synthetic secrets using templated generators, varied obfuscation types, and measure metrics including adversarial leak count, pass vs block rates, benign leak frequencies, and the overall leak rate. Our experiments show a high leak rate: in one aggregated run over 5 models, approximately 68.3% of adversarial prompts result in leaks under our threat model. We find that combined obfuscations (e.g. homoglyph + emojis) are especially effective. We further provide per-model comparisons, analyze failure modalities, and suggest practical mitigations including input normalization and detection. We release all artifacts—including Docker separate containerization of the models, prompt generation scripts, secret lists, and evaluation scripts—to support reproducibility and artifact evaluation. Our findings raise important implications for RAG deployment in privacy/security-sensitive applications. Keywords: RAG, adversarial prompts, homoglyphs, emoji injection, LLM leakage, model robustness

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2025-12-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18643541
Primary Topic
Spam and Phishing Detection
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Evaluating RAG System Models Robustness to Hybrid Homoglyph and Emoji-Based Next-Generation Adversarial Prompt Injection

Amit Kumar Jaiswal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Spam and Phishing Detection
article

Evaluating RAG System Models Robustness to Hybrid Homoglyph and Emoji-Based Next-Generation Adversarial Prompt Injection

Amit Kumar Jaiswal
article en

Abstract

Recent advances in retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) have enabled large language models (LLMs) to reliably answer user queries by retrieving relevant documents. However, adversaries may exploit obfuscation techniques—such as homoglyph substitution, emoji injection, or invisible Unicode characters—to hide attack payloads and induce leakage of sensitive information. In this work, we systematically evaluate five RAG models running inside Docker Desktop containers under a unified pipeline designed to test for such leaks. We have used pdf, text, html and readme file format as a document loader to the RAG model and then we used FAISS vector database for index vectorization system. We generate adversarial prompts against synthetic secrets using templated generators, varied obfuscation types, and measure metrics including adversarial leak count, pass vs block rates, benign leak frequencies, and the overall leak rate. Our experiments show a high leak rate: in one aggregated run over 5 models, approximately 68.3% of adversarial prompts result in leaks under our threat model. We find that combined obfuscations (e.g. homoglyph + emojis) are especially effective. We further provide per-model comparisons, analyze failure modalities, and suggest practical mitigations including input normalization and detection. We release all artifacts—including Docker separate containerization of the models, prompt generation scripts, secret lists, and evaluation scripts—to support reproducibility and artifact evaluation. Our findings raise important implications for RAG deployment in privacy/security-sensitive applications. Keywords: RAG, adversarial prompts, homoglyphs, emoji injection, LLM leakage, model robustness

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (RU), Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics (DE)
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 15%
Spam and Phishing Detection
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.