The vault spec-to-implementation sync is complete. Remove the drift
tracking tools that were only needed during sync:
- Remove the Known Source Drift table from vault/README.md
- Remove 'known drift' / 'current source uses X' prose from Security
Constraints sections in vault/README.md, encryption.md, and service.md.
The permanent constraint statements (OsRng for IVs, zeroized drop,
no unwrap, etc.) are preserved.
- Remove the drift paragraph in encryption.md Key Versioning.
- Remove stale 'to be updated per ADR-025' / 'postcard tests to be
removed' notes in protocol.md References.
- Bump status: draft -> stable in the frontmatter of all vault docs
(README, mnemonic-derivation, encryption, service, protocol).
- Update architecture/README.md: vault doc status entries to stable,
Current State paragraph reflects vault implementation complete (no
'pending ADR-025/026 refactor' language).
Review #003 found 11 critical, 14 warning, and 6 suggestion findings
after reviews #001 (governance/security) and #002 (cross-document
consistency/two-way-door audit) were resolved. The theme: types and
APIs that were *referenced* but never *defined*, and stale ADR sketches
that didn't match the now-updated spec docs.
Critical fixes (11):
- C1: DerivedKey #[derive(Deserialize)] contradicted the custom
Deserialize that rejects "[REDACTED]" — dropped the derive, added
explicit manual Serialize/Deserialize impls (protocol.md).
- C2: encrypt prose said "derived at PATHS::ENCRYPTION" but the
signature takes key_version — updated to encryption_path_for_version
(service.md).
- C3: derive_encryption_key returned DerivedKey, derive_encryption_key
_for_version returned EncryptionKey (same cache) — unified on
DerivedKey, defined CachedKey (service.md).
- C4: tokio vs std::sync::RwLock contradiction — specified
std::sync::RwLock, dropped tokio from vault deps (ADR-018, ADR-025,
service.md).
- C5: Missing drift rows in vault README — added #9 (key_version
ignored) and #10 (rotate not implemented).
- C6: ADR-022 build_root_context and invoke() sketches omitted
abort_policy (9 fields vs 10) — added the field to both sketches.
- C7: Capabilities type referenced 20+ times, never defined — added
struct definition to core-types.md with Clone+Send+Sync, Zeroize,
sealed builder API, immutability guard.
- C8: SessionOverlaySource on CallAdapter but never defined, crate
violation (alknet-call can't depend on alknet-agent) — defined the
trait in alknet-call (call-protocol.md), matching the IdentityProvider
pattern.
- C9: CompositeOperationEnv dispatch fall-through was "a two-way door"
— added contains() to OperationEnv trait, made the composite probe
before dispatching, eliminating the sentinel ambiguity.
- C10: No API for Layer 2 (connection overlay) registration, CallConnection
undefined — defined CallConnection struct + register_imported() API
(call-protocol.md).
- C11: with_local signature diverged between two examples (4 args vs 5)
— added capabilities as the 5th arg, made both examples consistent.
Warning fixes (14):
- W1: invoke_with_policy restructured as required method, invoke gets a
default impl delegating to it — eliminates duplication across impls.
- W2: CachedKey defined (service.md).
- W3: EncryptionKey constructor/glue specified, added to re-export list.
- W4: Secp256k1ExtendedPrivKey defined, derive_ethereum_key glue shown.
- W5: encryption_path_for_version rejects version < 2 (v1 is TS PBKDF2).
- W6: Wire payload schemas for all event types + ResponseEnvelope →
EventEnvelope conversion table (call-protocol.md).
- W7: Timeout section — deadline on OperationContext, composed calls
inherit parent's deadline, CallAdapter::with_timeout().
- W8: Request ID generation spec — UUID v4 for composed calls, wire ID
vs internal ID relationship for abort cascade.
- W9: unlock_new already-unlocked behavior specified (returns
AlreadyUnlocked).
- W10: KeyType Serialize/Deserialize justification corrected (stale
irpc reference removed).
- W11: OperationProvenance and CompositionAuthority defined inline in
operation-registry.md (were only in ADR-022).
- W12: encrypt/decrypt free functions marked pub(crate), relationship
to VaultServiceHandle methods stated.
- W13: rotate signature removed from encryption.md (it's a
VaultServiceHandle method, not a free function).
- W14: CallAdapter::new() + with_session_source() + with_timeout()
constructors shown.
Suggestion fixes (6): Seed: Clone note, VaultServiceInner invariant,
ExtendedPrivKey accessor signatures, CURRENT_KEY_VERSION location, ADR-018
stale actor text, derivation helpers re-export note.
Add ADR-026 (vault key model — HD derivation) recording the foundational
HD-derivation decision, 74' coin type reservation, SLIP-0010/Ed25519
default, secp256k1 feature-gating, and AES-256-GCM cipher choice. These
were previously inline rationale with no ADR (W9).
Extend ADR-018 with an explicit EncryptedData wire format lock — fields,
encoding, and semantics are frozen; no removal without a format-version
migration (W10).
Resolve the remaining guard clauses and spec decisions:
- W2: Capabilities must be immutable after construction (no interior
mutability). Makes the Arc vs deep-copy clone semantics genuinely
two-way.
- W5: Published to_* specs are compatibility contracts — best-effort
mappings are two-way before first publication, one-way after. Version
generated specs.
- W6: Salt field clarification — v2 salt is permanently unused; a future
KDF is a different derivation family, not a version-indexed path; the
field saves a wire-format change only.
- W7: unlock_new returns Zeroizing<String> — the mnemonic is the root of
trust and must not linger in freed memory.
- W17: OQ-09 WASM — server-side dispatch door is honestly closed
(Connection is concrete, tokio-bound), not implicitly preserved.
- W18: OQ-10 git — composability fork (raw smart protocol vs call-protocol
projection) is a separate decision from ERC721 scope.
- W20: from_openapi must prefix imported error codes (HTTP_404) to avoid
collision with protocol-level codes (NOT_FOUND). Normative rule, not
naming convention.
- W21: ScopedOperationEnv field is private — construction via new()/
empty(), query via allows(). Makes the future subgraph refactor
non-breaking.
- C13: Connection::set_identity — the endpoint does not read identity()
after handle() returns (Connection is moved into the spawned task).
Observability is handler-side logging. Simplest honest answer.
- W1: OperationAdapter trait is async, returns Vec<HandlerRegistration>.
from_call requires async discovery; ADR-022 changed the return type.
- W11: CompositionAuthority::as_identity() defined — constructs a
synthetic Identity (label as id, scopes, resources) not resolvable via
IdentityProvider. Second Identity construction path, acknowledged.
- W14: SecretKey is iroh::SecretKey (Ed25519) — consistent with the
endpoint's iroh dependency.
- W19: Grandchild abort propagation is inherit-by-default (option a) —
invoke() with no explicit policy inherits parent's policy. ContinueRunning
auto-propagates to grandchildren unless explicitly overridden.
The password-manager pattern (deterministic per-site passwords from HD
derivation) is not relevant to an RPC system's vault. Handlers call APIs
(using API keys, OAuth tokens, mTLS), not websites with passwords. The
vault is for cryptographic key derivation and credential encryption.
Removes:
- derive_password, derive_password_string from service.md
- site_password_path from mnemonic-derivation.md
- m/74'/1'/0'/{hash}' path from PATHS module and path semantics table
- derive_password row from the cache table
Resolves review #002 C9 (site_password_path hash mapping underspecified)
by removing the feature rather than specifying the non-standard
string→u32 mapping and Ed25519-as-password-entropy construction.
If deterministic password generation is ever needed (browser-automation
edge case), it can be re-added — the cost is near-zero. Removing it now
eliminates permanent API surface inherited from a prior project's
password-manager pattern.
Drops irpc from alknet-vault entirely. The vault's dispatch is now direct
method calls on VaultServiceHandle — no VaultProtocol enum, no
VaultMessage, no VaultServiceActor, no mpsc channel, no Service trait, no
RemoteService trait, no postcard serialization. The vault is local-only by
construction.
The core security argument: irpc made the vault remote-capable by default
(RemoteService generated unless no_rpc is passed). The IrohProtocol handler
forwards all messages without auth. The docs framed 'register an ALPN' as a
server-setup change. This is the default-insecure anti-pattern — security
should be opt-in, not opt-out. ADR-025 inverts the default: local-only is
the only mode, and remote access requires building a separate vault-server
crate (a visible architectural act, not a flag flip).
The actor path was already dead code — service.md said 'prefer
VaultServiceHandle directly — no channel, no serialization.' The actor
existed only to make irpc's Service trait work, which existed only to make
RemoteService work, which was the footgun. VaultServiceHandle's
Arc<RwLock> provides concurrent reads and exclusive writes — better
throughput than the actor's sequential processing.
DerivedKey serialization simplifies: always redact on serialize (for
logging safety), reject '[REDACTED]' on deserialize with an error. No
'postcard preserves bytes' path. This resolves review #002 W8 (silent
corruption on JSON-deserialized DerivedKey).
Resolves:
- OQ-21: remote vault access — resolved (not deferred). Not a vault crate
feature; if needed, a separate vault-server crate with its own ADR.
- C7: vault-server-crate question decided — not created now, not precluded.
- C8: operation access policy table dissolved — all operations local-only
by default; if a vault-server crate exposes some remotely, that crate
defines the policy.
- W8: DerivedKey JSON deserialization — resolved (reject redacted payloads).
Amends ADR-005 (irpc remains for alknet-call, not for alknet-vault),
ADR-018 (vault is even more standalone — zero RPC framework deps),
ADR-019 (vault is the only layer, not just the only direct-caller layer),
ADR-008 (vault integration point unchanged, but now local-only by
construction).
ADR-023 adds error_schemas to OperationSpec so operations can declare
their domain-level failure modes (FILE_NOT_FOUND, RATE_LIMITED, etc.)
distinct from protocol-level codes (NOT_FOUND, FORBIDDEN, etc.). The
call.error payload gains an optional 'details' field carrying the typed
error payload conforming to the declared schema. from_openapi/to_openapi
map OpenAPI response status codes to/from ErrorDefinitions, making the
adapter contract from ADR-017 faithful on the error axis.
Also fixes W2 (KeyVersionMismatch stale comment in encryption.md —
ADR-021 implements rotation without this variant) and W4
(derive_encryption_key_for_version missing from service.md method list).
Spec updates: operation-registry.md (OperationSpec, ErrorDefinition,
Handler error mapping, services/schema), call-protocol.md (call.error
payload, CallError, ResponseEnvelope), README.md, overview.md,
open-questions.md (OQ-24), call/README.md, encryption.md, service.md.
The VaultProtocol is a remote-capable irpc service by construction —
#[rpc_requests] generates both Service (local) and RemoteService (remote)
trait impls. DerivedKey's dual serialization (JSON redacts, postcard
preserves) was designed for this. Enabling remote vault access is a
server-setup change, not a protocol change.
OQ-21 enriched with full context:
- What's already in place (protocol, serialization, actor, auth transport)
- What's not in place (IrohProtocol handler forwards all messages without
auth checks; needs NodeId allowlist + message filtering in assembly layer)
- Operation access policy: Unlock/Lock local-only; Derive/Encrypt/Decrypt
remote-capable
- Use case: machine node → workers (workers don't hold mnemonics)
- Per-machine-node vaults, not shared (compartmentalization)
- Breaking vs non-breaking analysis (enabling = non-breaking; protocol
evolution = wire break, manageable via ALPN versioning)
The auth-wrapping handler lives in the assembly layer (or a dedicated
vault-server crate depending on both alknet-core and alknet-vault), not in
the vault crate itself — the vault is standalone (ADR-018) and can't
import alknet-core's auth model.
OQ-21 remains deferred — no commitment to implement, but the door is open
and the design space is mapped.
Key rotation uses version-indexed derivation paths: each key version maps
to a distinct SLIP-0010 path (m/74'/2'/0'/{version-2}'). v2 is at index 0
(PATHS::ENCRYPTION), v3 at index 1, etc.
Mechanism:
- encryption_path_for_version(version) constructs the path
- decrypt derives the key at the version-indicated path (not always
PATHS::ENCRYPTION)
- rotate(blob, to_version) decrypts with old key, re-encrypts with new
- No new mnemonic needed — same seed, different path
- Partial rotation is safe — old keys remain derivable
- The vault does not self-rotate; the assembly layer iterates blobs
Source drift flagged:
- decrypt currently ignores key_version for path selection (always uses
PATHS::ENCRYPTION) — must use version-indexed paths
- rotate method does not exist in source — must be added
- CURRENT_KEY_VERSION must bump from 1 to 2 (per ADR-020, reinforced here)
OQ-22 resolved. Only OQ-21 (remote vault admin, deferred) remains.
The vault uses SLIP-0010 HD derivation from the BIP39 seed for the
AES-256-GCM encryption key, not PBKDF2. This replaces the TypeScript
predecessor's (@alkdev/storage/src/graphs/crypto.ts) PBKDF2-based
approach.
Key decisions:
- HD derivation at m/74'/2'/0'/0' produces the encryption key
- PBKDF2 is not implemented in the vault; no password-based derivation
- salt field is unused in v2 (wire-format compat only)
- key_version=1 reserved for TS PBKDF2 data; key_version=2 for vault HD
- TS-encrypted data requires one-time migration to v2
- CURRENT_KEY_VERSION changes from 1 to 2 (source drift flagged)
OQ-20 resolved: the encryption key derivation method is locked. OQ-22
(key rotation workflow) remains open but does not block implementation.
Spec the vault crate from its existing implementation. The vault is
stable (implementation exists); this spec documents what IS so the
implementation-sync agent can reconcile source drift.
New spec documents (crates/vault/):
- README.md — crate index, security constraints, public API
- mnemonic-derivation.md — BIP39, SLIP-0010, BIP-0032, derivation paths
- encryption.md — AES-256-GCM, EncryptedData, key versioning, salt
- service.md — VaultServiceHandle lifecycle, actor dispatch, cache
- protocol.md — VaultProtocol irpc messages, DerivedKey redaction
New ADRs:
- ADR-018: Vault as standalone crate (zero alknet deps; own types/errors)
- ADR-019: Vault assembly-layer-only access (CLI is sole caller)
New open questions:
- OQ-20: Salt/KDF Phase B (open, low priority — salt field reserved)
- OQ-21: Remote vault administration (deferred — needs ADR if ever needed)
- OQ-22: Key rotation mechanism (open, low priority — workflow not specced)
Spec-vs-source drift explicitly flagged (for the sync agent):
- rand::random() used for IVs instead of OsRng (security-critical)
- unwrap() on every RwLock acquisition (must use unwrap_or_else)
- ADR-038 / OQ-SVC-03 references in source comments are stale (old numbering)
- VaultServiceActor::spawn returns a non-functional second actor (source bug)
- KeyVersionMismatch error variant is defined but unused in v1
