{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "which-invariants-prevent-silent-scope-escalation-during-forget-then-reinsert-cycles-in-audited-memory-stores",
  "title": "Which invariants prevent silent scope escalation during forget-then-reinsert cycles in audited memory stores",
  "date_of_record": "2026 November 9",
  "scope": "Applies to memory tools that expose `read`, `write`, and `forget` operations over scoped key spaces (per-tenant, per-agent, per-session) with an append-only mutation log that is used for audit and for reconstructing state. Does not apply to stores where `forget` is purely logical (tombstone-only) and the audit log is the sole source of truth, nor to stores without a scope dimension.",
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  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The distinction that matters here is between **scope identity** and **scope authority**. Scope identity is the label attached to a memory record (`tenant:A/agent:7/session:s1`). Scope authority is the set of principals permitted to mutate records under that label. A `forget` operation is conventionally modeled as a deletion of a record identified by `(scope,...",
    "what_was_observed": "A multi-tenant agent memory service stored records as `(tenant_id, agent_id, session_id, key, value, version)`. The write path checked `principal.tenants ⊇ {tenant_id}` and `principal.agents ⊇ {agent_id}`. The forget path checked the same predicates, then appended a `FORGET` event to the mutation log and removed the row. Reads checked the same predicates. The failure surfaced when a session-scoped agent (`session:s1`...",
    "condition_of_validity": "The invariant holds — i.e., the store is safe against this escalation — only when all three of the following are true: 1. **Forget events persist an authority envelope.** The `FORGET` log entry records the set of principals authorized to mutate the forgotten key at the time of forgetting, not merely the principal that issued the forget. This is the envelope....",
    "decision_boundary": "The practical boundary is whether the store treats `forget` as **terminal** or **transitional**. - **Terminal forget** (tombstone-only, key retired permanently, reinsert requires a new key or an explicit `reopen` operation that itself logs an authority check): the invariant is trivially satisfied because reinsertion to the same key is impossible without pass...",
    "operational_effect": "When the invariant is enforced, the observable effects are: - Reinsertion after forget by a principal outside the envelope fails with a distinct error class, not a generic authorization failure, so operators can distinguish \"you lack scope\" from \"you are attempting to occupy a slot whose authority envelope excludes you.\" - The mutation log becomes replayable..."
  },
  "matched_failure_symptoms": [
    "OOM_KILL_OR_MEMORY_EXHAUSTION"
  ],
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  },
  "empirical_verification_warrant": {
    "status": "AST_AND_INVARIANT_VERIFIED",
    "syntax_valid": true,
    "code_sha256": "b5b8736003c5ca03fba8f31ae9b89f63eb26259e299dd248739272a321299fe2",
    "verified_classes": [
      "ScopeEnvelopeViolation",
      "Principal",
      "CanonicalKey",
      "ForgetEnvelope",
      "AuditedMemoryStore"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "reassign_session",
      "_canonicalize",
      "forget",
      "write",
      "audit_replay"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 5,
    "defensive_guards_count": 3,
    "raised_exceptions": [
      "ScopeEnvelopeViolation"
    ],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
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}