audit-D16: operator key must never be an agent identity
ci / lint-test-leaks (pull_request) Canceled after 0s

Background: CAYCE_OPS_OPERATOR_PUBKEY was set to Cayce nostr pubkey —
Cayce was approving itself. Signature was technically valid but semantically
null: human approval signed by the agent is not human approval.

- signing.py: validate_no_self_approval() rejects the operator pubkey when
  it matches (a) the pubkey derived from any private key in the config,
  or (b) any pubkey in CAYCE_OPS_FORBIDDEN_OPERATOR_PUBKEYS deny-list.
- executor/maild/publisher _signing() now calls the validation, so every
  daemon and every CLI approve-* path refuses to operate (D16).
- tests: 6 new (agent-key refusal, human key passes, empty passes,
  explicit denylist, end-to-end daemon refusal, derivation roundtrip).
- docs/DECISIONS.md: D16.

The operator signature is now produced OUTSIDE the VPS. CAYCE_OPS_OPERATOR_PUBKEY
must stay empty until the external signer exists — daemons refuse, which is
correct. The Cayce nsec itself is NOT touched (still the agent identity for
publishing and anchoring).
This commit is contained in:
2026-10-28 19:51:04 +00:00
parent 53ea15ee51
commit 0d24309433
7 changed files with 202 additions and 3 deletions
+7 -1
View File
@@ -41,14 +41,20 @@ GATE_ERROR = 2 # missing/invalid configuration or signature
def _signing(cfg: Config) -> tuple[str, str]:
"""(deployment_id, operator_pubkey) or ConfigError. No degraded mode."""
"""(deployment_id, operator_pubkey) or ConfigError. No degraded mode.
Also rejects the agent's own identity as operator (D16): the operator
key must belong to a human and must never reside on this server.
"""
from cayceops.config import ConfigError
from cayceops.signing import validate_no_self_approval
if not cfg.operator_pubkey or not cfg.deployment_id:
raise ConfigError(
"approvals disabled: CAYCE_OPS_OPERATOR_PUBKEY and "
"CAYCE_OPS_DEPLOYMENT_ID are both required"
)
validate_no_self_approval(cfg)
return cfg.deployment_id, cfg.operator_pubkey