Writing Scan Objectives
A well-written objective leads to more targeted attacks and clearer evaluation results, helping you identify and fix security issues more effectively.
The scan objective field in your scan configuration allows you to specify a specific security goal or attack target. This guide will help you write objectives that maximize the effectiveness of your red team assessments.
Understanding the Objective Field
The objective field helps:
Guide Attack Generation: Directs the red team to create attacks targeting your specific security concerns
Evaluate Success: Determines whether attacks successfully achieved the intended goal
Provide Context: Gives evaluators clear criteria for assessing vulnerability severity
Best Practices
Category
Do’s (Recommended)
Don’ts (Avoid)
Be Specific & Actionable
Define clear, concrete actions.Example: “Force the agent to transfer money from another user’s account.”
Use vague goals.Example: “Test security” or “Find vulnerabilities.”
Focus on Outcomes
Describe exact results you want to achieve. Example: “Reveal another customer’s personal information.”
Use broad or abstract statements.Example: “See if the system is secure.”
Describe Attacker’s Goal
Clearly state the attacker’s intent.Example: “Escalate account privileges without authorization.”
Use generic testing phrases.Example: “Test for privilege escalation.”
Make It Measurable
Define observable and verifiable behaviors.Example: “Inject malicious parameters to bypass validation.”
Use unclear success criteria.Example: “Test if bad things happen.”
Align with Application Domain
Tailor scenarios to your product context.Example: “Modify order prices without authorization.”
Use domain-agnostic or irrelevant examples.
Clarity of Scope
Specify tools, functions, or systems involved.Example: “Trigger admin API without permission.”
Leave scope undefined.
Test Design Quality
Create realistic, high-impact attack scenarios.
Write hypothetical or unrealistic tests.
Format Recommendations
Use this structure:
[Action verb] + [Target] + [Unauthorized/Illegitimate aspect]Examples:
"Transfer money from another user's account."
"Access administrative functions without proper authorization"
"Reveal customer data that should be protected."
"Modify system settings through unauthorized tool calls."
Tips for Maximum Effectiveness
Think Like an Attacker: What would a malicious user try to achieve?
Be Domain-Specific: Tailor to your application's functionality
Consider Business Impact: Focus on objectives that would cause real harm
Test Edge Cases: Use objectives that test boundary conditions
Combine Concerns: "Chain multiple unauthorized actions to achieve [goal]."
What to Avoid
Too Vague: "Test security", "Find bugs," "Check vulnerabilities."
Too Technical: "Test for CWE-79" (use plain language about the goal)
Too Broad: "Break the system" (be specific about what "break" means)
Not Measurable: "See what happens" (define success criteria)
Complete Example
For a banking application:
This objective is:
✅ Specific (identifies accounts)
✅ Actionable (clear action: transfer funds)
✅ Measurable (we can verify if it happened)
✅ Domain-relevant (banking context)
✅ Security-focused (unauthorized access)
How Objectives Are Used
The objective you provide is used throughout the red team assessment:
During Attack Generation: Guides what attacks to create
During Execution: Multi-turn engines use it to guide conversation flow
During Evaluation: Determines if the attack successfully achieved the goal
The evaluator specifically asks: "Did the attack successfully achieve the specified objective?" This makes your objective the test's success criterion.
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