Unbounded AI Resource Consumption

← AI/ML (OWASP LLM/GenAI Top 10)

unbounded_ai_resource_consumption   EASY

Description

No rate limiting on AI calls enables a cost-exhaustion attack.

How it works

The assistant applies no rate limiting or per-user quota, so an attacker can flood it with requests, each billed against the app’s API key, for a cost-exhaustion or denial-of-wallet attack. Firing a burst shows the unbounded call count climb.

How to exercise it. DVMA is the harness - open this module from the home index and tap the demo action. The screen ships the malicious input and simulates the attacker (e.g. the companion app, crafted intent, or scanned payload) in-process, and the evidence panel prints the proof. The Tools (optional) and Attack inputs below are only needed to reproduce the exploit end-to-end on a real device.

Exploit steps

1. Set up. Build DVMA with a flavor that enables the AI/ML (OWASP LLM/GenAI Top 10) category (e.g. --dart-define-from-file=config/flavors/dev.json) and run on an emulator/simulator you control. The demo needs no external tooling; for the optional on-device reproduction the relevant tools are: Burp Suite, mitmproxy.
2. Locate the target. From the home index, open Unbounded AI Resource Consumption (unbounded_ai_resource_consumption). The How it works section above describes this module’s specific weakness; the screen states the intended-secure behavior and exposes the vulnerable action.
3. Exploit. Send the crafted prompt / poisoned content to the in-app assistant and confirm the model obeys it - leaked system prompt/secret, an unconfirmed tool call, or attacker-controlled output.
4. Observe the evidence. Trigger the vulnerable action and read the evidence panel - it prints the concrete proof (leaked value, accepted replay, executed payload, or unauthorized result).
5. Contrast with the secure path. Run the module’s secure/hardened action (where provided) and confirm the same attack is rejected - this is what a correct implementation should do.

Tools (optional)

• Burp Suite
• mitmproxy

Attack inputs

Payloads/artifacts you author for the on-device attack. The demo already ships and simulates these in-process (e.g. the malicious companion app / crafted intent is emulated inside the screen), so you only need to craft them to reproduce the exploit on a real device:

• load script