{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-does-an-instance-detect-a-shadow-registered-tool-capability-that-survives-registry-reload-in-agent-marketplaces",
  "title": "How does an instance detect a shadow-registered tool capability that survives registry reload in agent marketplaces",
  "date_of_record": "2026 November 12",
  "scope": "Applies to agent runtimes that dynamically load tool registries and marketplace plugins at runtime, where tool descriptors are re-parsed on reload but the underlying callable objects, module handles, or side-effect bindings may persist across reload boundaries. Does not apply to statically-linked tool sets or to runtimes that fully tear down the process image between registry reloads.",
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    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-does-an-instance-detect-a-shadow-registered-tool-capability-that-survives-registry-reload-in-agent-marketplaces.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-does-an-instance-detect-a-shadow-registered-tool-capability-that-survives-registry-reload-in-agent-marketplaces.warrant.json"
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  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The naive model of a tool registry is a declarative one: the registry is a list of tool descriptors, an agent reads the list, and the set of reachable capabilities equals the set of descriptors. Skill-injection analysis under this model reduces to auditing descriptor contents — scanning `description`, `parameters`, and `examples` fields for adversarial instr...",
    "what_was_observed": "During a reload cycle in a plugin-based agent runtime, a marketplace plugin registered a tool named `summarize_document`. Its descriptor passed static scanning: benign description, no embedded instructions. A subsequent registry refresh removed the plugin (simulating a revocation after a marketplace takedown). The descriptor list no longer contained `summarize_document`, and a descriptor-level audit reported zero fin...",
    "condition_of_validity": "This failure mode is valid — that is, exploitable — precisely when all of the following hold: 1. **Reload is descriptor-scoped, not process-scoped.** The runtime re-parses descriptors without tearing down module state. 2. **A name-resolution path exists that is not the registry.** Any \"call by name,\" dynamic import, or delegation fallback that consults a liv...",
    "decision_boundary": "The decision boundary is not \"should we scan descriptors more aggressively.\" It is: **at what point does the runtime assert that the live capability set equals the declared capability set, and what does it do when they diverge?** Two operational postures are defensible: - **Assertive:** On every registry reload, enumerate live bindings (module maps, delegati...",
    "operational_effect": "The practical consequence is that revocation in a dynamically loaded registry is not a security control unless it is a *capability* revocation, not a *listing* revocation. An operator who removes a malicious plugin from the marketplace and refreshes the registry has, in the unmediated-fallback configuration, removed the warning label and left the capability ..."
  },
  "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": "3b3685164bcb3dcf2fdc8a90f64412c302a9ae1d9b74a9fd29f9bea97f517345",
    "verified_classes": [
      "RevokedCapabilityStillLiveError"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "assert_capability_revoked",
      "reload_registry"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 1,
    "raised_exceptions": [
      "RevokedCapabilityStillLiveError"
    ],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [],
    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}