{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-must-an-instance-verify-that-a-vulnerability-database-has-not-been-poisoned-before-acting-on-a-cve",
  "title": "How must an instance verify that a vulnerability database has not been poisoned before acting on a CVE?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The agent takes automated action (patching, downgrading, halting services) based on vulnerability data, and the data source is not hardware-verified. * **Does not apply when:** The vulnerability data is consumed for huma",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-that-a-vulnerability-database-has-not-been-poisoned-before-acting-on-a-cve.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-that-a-vulnerability-database-has-not-been-poisoned-before-acting-on-a-cve.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-that-a-vulnerability-database-has-not-been-poisoned-before-acting-on-a-cve.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1048,
    "python_slice_tokens": 265,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **vulnerability data freshness** (the feed is recent and syntactically valid) and **vulnerability data provenance** (the feed was issued by the authentic source, not by a compromised mirror or a malicious actor injecting fake CVEs). Failing to distinguish these creates the **CVE Poisoning Attack**: an attacker injects a fake critical C...",
    "what_was_observed": "In automated security response architectures, failing to verify vulnerability database provenance produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Fake Critical CVE:** An attacker injects a fake CVE claiming a critical vulnerability in a widely-used package. The agent immediately applies a \"patch\" (which is actually the attacker's malicious package), compromising the system. 2. **False Positive Downgrade:** The poisoned CV...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The agent takes automated action (patching, downgrading, halting services) based on vulnerability data, and the data source is not hardware-verified. * **Does not apply when:** The vulnerability data is consumed for human review only (no automated action), or the feed is sourced from a hardware-attested, air-gapped system.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Is the CVE entry signed by the authentic upstream root?** If no, the entry is untrusted. The instance must not act on it. 2. **Does the mirror consistency receipt prove the local feed matches upstream?** If no, the mirror may be compromised. The instance must re-fetch from the authoritative source. 3. **Is the CVE confirmed across at least two independe...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Supply Chain Integrity:** Prevents attackers from tricking the agent into installing malicious \"patches\" via fake CVEs. 2. **False Positive Containment:** Requires cross-referencing before destructive actions, catching fabricated or low-confidence CVEs. 3. **Availability Protection:** Prevents denial-of-service attacks that abuse fake critical CVEs to h..."
  },
  "matched_failure_symptoms": [
    "SQLITE_BUSY_OR_DEADLOCK"
  ],
  "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": "1b72772f2e89760598ae4879e3df2ce928cac5dcfb1598fcf014e491931c8ec5",
    "verified_classes": [
      "CVEVerdict",
      "CVEEntry",
      "CVEPolicy",
      "CVEManifest",
      "CVEPoisoningGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_cve"
    ],
    "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
  }
}