Agentic AI and tool execution testing
Security testing for autonomous AI agents and the tools they can call: privilege escalation, tool misuse, multi-agent chain exploitation and uncontrolled action sequences.
01What it does
What it does
Agentic AI and tool execution testing covers autonomous AI agent systems: agents that call tools, use delegated permissions and hand work to other agents.
The focus is on what an agent can be made to do, not only what it can be made to say: the actions it takes, the permissions it holds and the trust it places in other agents and tools.
Coverage is confirmed during scoping, based on the tools, permissions and workflows your application actually uses.
02Risk register
Risks we evaluate
What Q9 Continuous tests for within your agreed scope. Coverage is confirmed during scoping; not every item applies to every deployment.
- 03.01Privilege escalationWhether an agent can be pushed beyond the access it was meant to have.
- 03.02Tool misuseWhether connected tools and APIs can be invoked in ways nobody intended.
- 03.03Multi-agent chain exploitationTrust boundary failures when agents pass instructions and data to each other.
- 03.04Uncontrolled action sequencesChains of actions that run without the checks a human would expect.
- 03.05Sandbox escape vectorsWays an agent’s execution environment could be broken out of.
03Who needs it
Who needs it
- Teams building agents that take actions on behalf of users or staff.
- Products that connect models to internal tools, workflows, payment or data systems.
- Organisations experimenting with multi-agent architectures.
04Approach
How Q9 Continuous tests it
Every test follows the same path, agreed in writing before any testing starts.
Discovery
We map your AI architecture, understand your threat model, and define what’s in scope based on your risk appetite and compliance obligations.
Agreed scope & written authorisation
Scope, environments, accounts and testing windows are agreed in writing. Nothing is tested without written authorisation from the people responsible for the system.
Testing
Q9 Continuous runs AI-driven tests against the authorised system, tailored to your deployment.
Human-reviewed findings
Every finding is reviewed by a person before it reaches you, with severity, context and stated limitations.
Reporting & remediation
Severity ratings, reproduction steps and remediation guidance your engineering team can act on, plus an executive summary for board-level reporting.
Re-testing where agreed
Where agreed, fixes are re-tested within the authorised scope through Continuous AI Pen Testing.
Testing runs on Q9 Continuous: fixes and significant changes can be re-tested within the authorised scope, and Q9 Driftmark (early access) can show when a checked system changes. Automated checks complement, and do not replace, independent penetration testing.
05Deliverables
What you receive
- A findings report with severity ratings, reproduction steps and remediation guidance
- An executive summary for board-level reporting
- A clear statement of scope, including the tools and permissions tested
Each test is a point-in-time check of an agreed scope. It is not a certification and does not guarantee that every risk has been found.
What We Test
Other things we test
- 01
Large language models
Prompt injection, jailbreaks, unsafe model behaviour and the data a model can reach.
- 02
Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
Retrieval pipelines, vector stores and knowledge-base isolation.
- 04
APIs and application endpoints
The APIs and model endpoints that connect AI to your business.
- 05
AI application security controls
Model access, data flows, trust boundaries, secrets and monitoring.
- 06
AI usage discovery
Finding AI systems and integrations so they can be brought into testing scope.