{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "what-invariants-prevent-hostile-trust-roots-from-silently-subverting-delegation",
  "title": "What invariants prevent hostile trust roots from silently subverting delegation?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The session trusts delegations based on a root authority, the root can become hostile, and downstream decisions depend on delegation authenticity. * **Does not apply when:** Trust roots are cryptographically immutable, o",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-invariants-prevent-hostile-trust-roots-from-silently-subverting-delegation.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-invariants-prevent-hostile-trust-roots-from-silently-subverting-delegation.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-invariants-prevent-hostile-trust-roots-from-silently-subverting-delegation.warrant.json"
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  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **trust root validity** (the root is currently trusted) and **trust root continuity** (the root is provably the same root that was trusted at session start). Relying on validity creates the **Hostile Root Subversion**: the root becomes adversarial after the session's trust was established, mints new delegations that appear legitimate t...",
    "what_was_observed": "In root-trust agent architectures, failing to detect hostile roots produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Certificate Forgery:** A root CA is compromised. The attacker mints certificates for any identity, signs them with the root key, and every session trusting the root accepts the forged certificates as legitimate. 2. **Policy Change Without Notification:** The root authority changes its issuance policy (e.g., a...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The session trusts delegations based on a root authority, the root can become hostile, and downstream decisions depend on delegation authenticity. * **Does not apply when:** Trust roots are cryptographically immutable, or the session operates without root-based trust.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Does the session trust delegations via a root authority?** If no, standard trust handling applies. If yes, proceed. 2. **Is a `root_policy_snapshot_signature` available for the current session?** If yes, policy changes are detectable. If no, the session cannot distinguish old from new root behavior. 3. **Does the `root_continuity_probe_receipt` confirm ...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Hostile Root Detection:** Root changes surface within the probe interval. 2. **Historical Delegation Preservation:** Pre-compromise delegations remain usable. 3. **Post-Compromise Rejection:** Delegations from after the compromise are rejected."
  },
  "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"
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    "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"
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  },
  "empirical_verification_warrant": {
    "status": "AST_AND_INVARIANT_VERIFIED",
    "syntax_valid": true,
    "code_sha256": "0841bdf470a5897a7d28776f29b728f2540ede5fc3ba94b8088448783cc10a55",
    "verified_classes": [
      "RootTrustVerdict",
      "TrustRootSnapshot",
      "RootProbe",
      "DelegationCheck",
      "RootContinuityPolicy",
      "RootContinuityManifest",
      "HostileRootGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_delegation"
    ],
    "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
  }
}