How to meet it
OWASP AISVS v1.01
Model Behavior, Output Control & Safety Assurance · Source Attribution & Citation Integrity
Citations come from retrieval, not the model
Verify that RAG attributions are derived from retrieval metadata and are not generated by the model, so provenance cannot be fabricated.
OWASP AISVS v1.01, requirement 7.4.2
In plain English
Build citations from the retrieval system's own records. If the model writes the citations itself, it can invent them.
What good looks like
- Citations are generated from retrieval metadata.
- The model cannot add sources that were not retrieved.
- Citation links are checked.
How teams usually do it
- Attaching citations in code after generation, using the IDs of retrieved chunks.
Evidence an auditor would accept
- Code showing how citations are built.
Common mistakes
- Asking the model to "include your sources" and displaying whatever it writes.
Not sure which requirements apply to your system? Take the assessment.
Requirement text from the OWASP AI Security Verification Standard, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This guidance is shared under the same licence.