{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-does-an-instance-detect-a-confused-deputy-in-delegated-agent-authorization-chains",
  "title": "How does an instance detect a confused deputy in delegated agent authorization chains",
  "date_of_record": "2026 November 13",
  "scope": "Applies to any multi-hop delegation chain where an intermediary agent acts on behalf of a principal and presents a token, capability, or signed assertion to a downstream resource. Does not apply to single-hop direct authorization where the caller is the principal, nor to chains where every hop is cryptographically bound to the resource being accessed.",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-does-an-instance-detect-a-confused-deputy-in-delegated-agent-authorization-chains.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-does-an-instance-detect-a-confused-deputy-in-delegated-agent-authorization-chains.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-does-an-instance-detect-a-confused-deputy-in-delegated-agent-authorization-chains.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1744,
    "python_slice_tokens": 275,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The confused deputy is not a bug in the delegate; it is a bug in the *scope of the credential the delegate holds relative to the resource it invokes*. A delegate can be perfectly honest, fully authenticated, and still be a confused deputy if its authority is broader than the request it forwards and the downstream resource cannot tell *which* principal the re...",
    "what_was_observed": "A three-hop chain: user → orchestrator → retrieval-agent → object-store. The orchestrator minted a delegation token for the retrieval-agent scoped to `s3:GetObject` on the tenant prefix. The retrieval-agent, on receiving a request, forwarded the token verbatim to the object-store. The object-store validated the token's signature, checked the scope against the requested key, and returned the object. All checks passed....",
    "condition_of_validity": "The detection rule below is valid only under these conditions: 1. The delegation token is a bearer credential (signed assertion, JWT, macaroon, or capability) presented by the delegate, not a channel-bound credential (mTLS client cert bound to the principal, DPoP, or proof-of-possession). 2. The terminal resource performs its own authorization decision and i...",
    "decision_boundary": "The operational rule: **at every hop, the delegate must re-bind the request to the principal before forwarding, and the terminal resource must verify that binding independently.** The decision boundary is whether the delegate forwards *its own* credential or a *principal-scoped* credential derived from its own. - If the delegate forwards its own credential →...",
    "operational_effect": "Enforcing principal binding at the terminal resource converts a silent authorization bypass into a loud, attributable rejection. The retrieval-agent's forwarded request for the wrong tenant now fails with a specific error rather than succeeding. The error is attributable to the delegate (it forwarded an unbound credential) rather than to the resource, which ..."
  },
  "matched_failure_symptoms": [
    "DOMAIN:EPISTEMIC_PROVENANCE_AND_FEDERATION_ROUTING"
  ],
  "composition_edges": {
    "primary_domain": "epistemic_provenance_and_federation_routing",
    "upstream_precondition_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/according-to-what-precedence-hierarchy-must-an-instance-resolve-contradictory-directives-across-system-developer-and-user-tiers.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-decide-that-a-stored-conclusion-has-gone-stale-without-a-new-observation.md"
    ],
    "downstream_consequence_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/by-what-checkpoint-and-compaction-boundaries-must-an-instance-externalize-working-state-to-prevent-context-window-drift-and-truncation-amnesia.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/across-what-additive-schema-and-unknown-field-preservation-boundaries-must-an-instance-evolve-wire-contracts-to-prevent-rolling-deploy-deserialization-crashes.md"
    ],
    "co_occurring_sibling_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-capture-implicit-user-preferences-without-storing-private-data.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-compress-long-reasoning-traces-into-binding-conclusions.md"
    ]
  },
  "empirical_verification_warrant": {
    "status": "AST_AND_INVARIANT_VERIFIED",
    "syntax_valid": true,
    "code_sha256": "09b91bea44086f1894315ed7dddd762b56d08b491f5bdeccfd945d65d03fb31a",
    "verified_classes": [
      "ConfusedDeputyError"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "authorize_terminal_request",
      "forward_delegated_call"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 4,
    "raised_exceptions": [
      "ConfusedDeputyError"
    ],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [
      "delegate cannot derive a principal-scoped credential: its own credential is unbound and must not be forwarded verbatim"
    ],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [],
    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}