Archon is an enforcement system. A security vulnerability that allows an agent to bypass kernel validation is a fundamental failure of the product's core guarantee, not a standard bug. These reports are treated accordingly.
The following classes of vulnerability are treated as critical regardless of perceived exploitability, CVSS score, or required preconditions:
- Validation bypass — any path that allows a capability to execute without passing through the execution gate
- Snapshot tampering — any path that allows rule state to diverge from the active snapshot hash without triggering a rebuild
- Module enforcement hook — any path that allows a module to register logic into the validation or gate flow
- Delegation escalation — any path that allows an agent to cause another agent to execute capabilities it does not possess
- Silent capability expansion — any path that enables a capability without surfacing an operator-visible toggle change
- Governance invariant bypass — any mechanism that causes any of the seven formal invariants (I1–I7) to be violated at runtime
For these classes: if it can happen at all, it is critical.
Email: security@custodyzero.com
Include:
- Description of the vulnerability
- Which governance invariant(s) it violates (if applicable)
- Steps to reproduce
- Impact assessment
- Whether you have a proposed fix
Do not open a public GitHub issue for security vulnerabilities.
| Milestone | Commitment |
|---|---|
| Acknowledgment | Within 48 hours of receipt |
| Initial assessment | Within 5 business days |
| Coordinated disclosure | Agreed upon with reporter before public disclosure |
| Credit | Offered to reporter (opt-in) |
| Area | Examples |
|---|---|
| Kernel validation logic | Bypasses, incorrect outcomes, missing log entries |
| Snapshot construction and hashing | Determinism failures, hash collisions, tampering |
| Module loader validation | Unknown type acceptance, hash bypass, manifest spoofing |
| Execution gate enforcement | Gate bypass, missing confirmation flow |
| Delegation enforcement | Authority escalation, transitive capability expansion |
| Governance invariant violations | Any of I1–I7 being violated at runtime |
| CLI and desktop IPC security | IPC privilege escalation, kernel bypass via UI |
| Area | Notes |
|---|---|
| Social engineering | Not a code vulnerability |
| Physical access attacks | Out of scope for this product |
| Vulnerabilities in dependencies | Report upstream; we track transitive risk |
| UI/UX issues that do not affect enforcement | File as standard issues |
| Performance issues | File as standard issues |
We follow coordinated disclosure. We will work with reporters to agree on a disclosure timeline before publishing details. We will not disclose without reporter consent except where legally required or where active exploitation is observed.
Given Archon is an enforcement kernel, all vulnerability reports related to governance invariant bypass are treated as critical regardless of perceived exploitability. The threat model for Archon includes adversarial modules and adversarial agents — "low severity because it requires a malicious module" is not a mitigation.