{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-must-an-instance-verify-a-zero-knowledge-credential-has-not-been-revoked",
  "title": "How must an instance verify a zero-knowledge credential has not been revoked?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The credential can be revoked after issuance, the holder presents a ZK proof, and the verifier must check current status without learning the credential contents. * **Does not apply when:** The credential cannot be revok",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-a-zero-knowledge-credential-has-not-been-revoked.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-a-zero-knowledge-credential-has-not-been-revoked.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-a-zero-knowledge-credential-has-not-been-revoked.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1042,
    "python_slice_tokens": 321,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **proof validity** (the ZK proof correctly proves possession of an unrevoked-at-issuance credential) and **revocation status** (the credential has not been revoked since the proof was generated). Relying on proof validity alone creates the **Stale ZK Proof Attack**: a revoked credential's ZK proof continues to verify mathematically bec...",
    "what_was_observed": "In privacy-preserving agent architectures, failing to verify current revocation produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Revoked Credential Acceptance:** A credential is revoked due to compromise. The holder continues to use a ZK proof generated before revocation, and the verifier accepts it because the proof is mathematically valid. 2. **Post-Revocation Actions:** After revocation, the holder executes privileged a...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The credential can be revoked after issuance, the holder presents a ZK proof, and the verifier must check current status without learning the credential contents. * **Does not apply when:** The credential cannot be revoked (immutable), or the verification context does not require current revocation checking.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Is the credential revocable?** If no, standard ZK proof verification applies. If yes, proceed. 2. **Does the verifier have a fresh `revocation_accumulator_root`?** If no, the verifier cannot check current status. It must fetch the accumulator from a trusted authority. 3. **Does the `revocation_nonmembership_proof` verify against the current accumulator ...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Stale Proof Prevention:** Prevents revoked credentials from continuing to grant access via pre-revocation proofs. 2. **Privacy Preservation:** Verifies revocation without revealing the credential contents. 3. **Freshness Enforcement:** Bounds the window during which a proof is accepted, reducing reliance on the accumulator's freshness."
  },
  "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": "efa7aa9dd78a97d8a412942058dd98d11493d4286bcf99b1c0a54db313c1b04a",
    "verified_classes": [
      "RevocationVerdict",
      "ZKCredentialProof",
      "RevocationState",
      "RevocationPolicy",
      "RevocationManifest",
      "ZKRevocationGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_proof"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 0,
    "raised_exceptions": [],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [
      "dataclasses",
      "enum",
      "hashlib",
      "json"
    ],
    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}