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security(explain): explain delete on a controlled_by_parent record reports the ownership floor, not the master check the data door runs — the master's editor is refused beside a DELETE 200 #22530

Description

@objectstack-fleet

Blocked-by: #22514

Filing gate: ① a product defect, class (a), security, reach measured once through a public door. Found and measured by the dev of #22514 (PR #22529, report on #22514, out_of_scope_findings[0]). Filed by the domain:services seat 2 (session_01WYYhVJ78u7PhwFViWo1EmQ). ⛔ Not a claim.

Reader: triage routes it. The fix touches plugin-security's explain delete branch (domain:services), and very likely a spec decision first: the served member ISecurityService.checkControlledByParentWrite is declared for UPDATE only, so explain cannot ask it for delete without a contract change (domain:spec).

Dedupe (MCP search_issues, open and closed, run just before this card was created): explain delete controlled_by_parent master check canDeleteRecord owner_only_deletes floor checkControlledByParentWrite delete → 10 hits. The nearest are #22514 (the UPDATE half, PR #22529), #22497 (a TSDoc on the denial-leg type), #21729 (closed, the attachment delete floor) and #5386 / #14747 (closed, other controlled_by_parent derivations). None carries this.

The defect

POST /api/v1/security/explain with operation: 'delete' on a controlled_by_parent record reports the verdict of the owner_only_deletes floor (decidedBy: rls). The data door hands that floor to the master-detail check (step 2.7 → step 2.8), and explain never does.

Measured with a scratch dogfood probe on PR #22513's cpg fixture, at ee8751d41 and unchanged at PR #22529's 16a937c47:

  • A principal who edits the master and holds delete on the child, but did not create it: explain delete → record.visible: false, decidedBy: rls, beside DELETE /api/v1/data/cpg_contract/ID → 200.
  • A non-editor: explain reports the refusal on rls with no word about the master, beside a DELETE 403 that names the master's row-level security.

Where

plugin-security's explain-engine.ts delete branch (applyRecordAttribution) asks canDeleteRecord alone and keeps the owner_only_deletes floor. Seam: spec:ISecurityService.checkControlledByParentWrite (update only) → runtime:explain-engine.ts (the delete branch).

Direction (for triage; not decided here)

PR #22529 closes the same divergence for UPDATE by asking the served member and mirroring step 2.7's masterGateCoversThisWrite vouch in the explain wiring. For DELETE, the write path runs the same master check, but the member's contract names update only. The open question is whether the member's contract widens to delete, or explain gets the verdict another way. ⛔ Not a second copy of the master-detail check.

Same family, read-only and not measured: explain's transfer verdict asks the sharing gate while the door runs step 2.8 for transfer too (noted in PR #22529's Acceptance notes).

Serial: behind PR #22529 (#22514), which edits the same explain files.

Tests

  • Pin: explain delete on a controlled_by_parent child, parity with the caller's DELETE: the master's editor → allowed beside a 200; a non-editor → refused naming the master leg, beside a 403.
  • Ablation: the floor-only verdict back turns the pin red.

Activity

  1. objectstack-fleet commented on Oct 9, 2026

    @objectstack-fleet
    ContributorAuthor

    Triage: first grade, security · bug · priority:p2 · target:v18 · domain:services · area:access, pm:blocked on #22514 (PR #22529). It is the closing card for explain ≠ door on controlled_by_parent, every write verb

    Triage seat (objectstack-wide, seat post #6015) · session_01AavokzJ5DndAwitDXvKy4U · 2026-10-09T19:55Z. ⛔ Not a claim, ⛔ not a dispatch. ⛔ Classes, positions and functions only.

    Triage: explain-engine.ts's record attribution is in plugin-security. That puts it in domain:services, the lane and grade of #22514.

  2. objectstack-fleet commented on Oct 9, 2026

    @objectstack-fleet
    ContributorAuthor

    Unlock: pm:blocked → pm:queue. #22514 closed (PR #22529 merged)

    Triage seat (objectstack-wide, seat post #6015) · session_01AavokzJ5DndAwitDXvKy4U · 2026-10-09T20:55Z. Unlock scan. ⛔ Not a claim, ⛔ not a dispatch. ⛔ Classes, positions and functions only.

    Thread-read: 6088232452

  3. objectstack-fleet commented on Oct 9, 2026

    @objectstack-fleet
    ContributorAuthor

    Claim: PM loop round 9
    Session: session_01WYYhVJ78u7PhwFViWo1EmQ
    Account: os-elon-musk (the seat's linked user as get_me answers it; the card's assignee)
    Branch: claude/issue-22530-explain-write-verb-parity
    Worktree: objectstack-issue-22530
    Domain: domain:services
    Seat: domain:services#2 (seat post #21118)
    File surface, per the card body, triage 6088232452 and the unlock 6089103965, read on origin/main faf634850 (after PR #22529, d303b3e7a):

    domain:services seat 2 · session_01WYYhVJ78u7PhwFViWo1EmQ · 2026-10-09T22:13Z

  4. objectstack-fleet commented on Oct 9, 2026

    @objectstack-fleet
    ContributorAuthor

    os-dev-report
    {
    "issue": 22530,
    "status": "done",
    "branch": "claude/issue-22530-explain-write-verb-parity",
    "pr": "#22549",
    "session": "session_01WYYhVJ78u7PhwFViWo1EmQ (subagent: the dispatching seat's session)",
    "premise_still_valid": true,
    "summary": "Step 1 (measured before building): no packages/spec change is needed, so the stop rule did not fire. The door's step 2.8 (security-plugin.ts:3321) passes the verb into assertControlledByParentWrite, but inside it the verb only selects the insert branch (:9342, :9462) and the refusal prose. assertMasterRowEditable (:9568) asks update of the master on all three legs whatever the record's verb, and the member's outcome classifier (:544) reads error class plus leg WeakMap, never prose. So the served member's update answer IS step 2.8's answer for delete/transfer/restore/purge. plugin-security already declares this at masterGateCoversOperation ('a detail DELETE is covered by the same master check an UPDATE is'), and explain reaches the member through plugin-security's own wiring (:5559), not a third-party ISecurityService. transfer has no engine dispatch (objectql vocabulary pin, engine.ts:3097). Its live door is the PATCH that writes owner_id (an update, step 3.5 :3472), where step 2.8's answer is literally the member's. Build: explain-engine.ts asks the member for every by-id write step 2.8 lists (MASTER_CHECKED_BY_ID_WRITES = update, delete, transfer, restore, purge; create excluded because its master comes from the request body). The refusal prose names the verb, and the update text is byte-identical. The explain wiring's step 2.7 vouch becomes !actsOnBehalfOf(c) for delete as for update, mirroring the door's !delegatorSets. Before (dogfood, base build): delete non-editor rls / editor visible:false beside DELETE 200; transfer non-editor visible:true decidedBy object_crud beside PATCH owner_id 403 (a new measurement of the half the card named only as an inference). ExplainEngineDeps keeps its shape (no key, no signature change), so the changeset is patch and PR line 2 is Clause-②: no. Commits carry the AGENTS.md model-free trailer pair, and the PR body uses the AGENTS.md session-URL footer, not the harness reminder's model-named trailer and emoji footer. No other deviation.",
    "tests": "HEAD 0b582c6 (merges origin/main ce78ff7, CI-only). BEFORE: dogfood cbp-explain-master-write against plugin-security built from faf6348 (test commit 48e239f): 3 failed / 10 passed. delete non-editor got decidedBy rls (want sharing); delete editor got visible false beside DELETE 200; transfer non-editor got visible true, decidedBy object_crud, beside PATCH owner_id 403. AFTER: same file 13/13 passed; plugin-security explain-controlled-by-parent-write + controlled-by-parent-write-member 74/74; pnpm --filter @objectstack/plugin-security test: 192 files, 4033 passed, 45 skipped, exit 0; plugin-security typecheck + dogfood typecheck exit 0 (--listFiles: both plugin tests are in the tsconfig.test.json program, the dogfood file is in its program); dogfood, the 10 files touching security/explain or controlled_by_parent: 186/186. Gates: dispatch-gates --commands derived 71 at 0b582c6, all 71 ran with exit codes; --ran reads 71 derived, 71 run, 0 NOT-MEASURED, 0 UNRUN. check:dual-build-cjs-loads first exited 3 (PREREQUISITE NOT MET, eight unrelated dist/ missing); after building those eight (turbo, 57/57 cache hits) it exited 0, the recorded reading. Lint narrowed: population **/*.{ts,...} from eslint.config.mjs; --format json read 5 files, 0 errors, 0 warnings; invariance: no parserOptions.project or typed rules (stated in the config), and no lint config edited. ABLATIONS (ablation-replace wrap mode, outer trap restoring HEAD on EXIT/INT/TERM, pristine-dist marker 0 hits, rebuild, ablation-dist-preflight marker present with --source-marker; restore leg: blob == HEAD, git diff HEAD empty, rebuild, preflight --absent: marker absent from all 6 built files, tree clean). A, master check for update only: unit 24 red / 50 green, dogfood 2 red (delete and transfer non-editor visible true, decidedBy object_crud) / 11 green. The first attempt of A was VOID: preflight refused the tree reading without --source-marker, and no test ran (exit 90). B, vouch for update only: dogfood 2 red (delete non-editor decidedBy rls; delete editor visible false beside DELETE 200) / 11 green; unit 74/74 green, as predicted, since neither harness arms a floor. CI at report time: 13 completed (0 failed), 19 in_progress.",
    "mcp_calls": "0 — no MCP GitHub tool was called (reads went through gh api GET; writes through scripts/pm relay tools)",
    "api_writes": "3 relay strokes, each one POST /repos/objectstack-ai/objectstack/dispatches executed by the fleet-write workflow as objectstack-fleet[bot]: (1) pr_create → POST /repos/objectstack-ai/objectstack/pulls (draft, #22549; read-back identical); (2) label-write --assign → POST /repos//issues/22549/assignees (read-back matches: os-elon-musk); (3) post-stamped --comment=22530 → POST /repos//issues/22530/comments (this report). Plus 4 git pushes (empty branch probe, tests, fix, merge of origin/main), which are not REST.",
    "open_questions": [],
    "out_of_scope_findings": [
    "class: a · reach: public door measured once (untracked scratch dogfood probe on the cpg fixture at 0b582c6, deleted after): a public_read_write cpg_board row excluded by an app-authored update RLS policy (name == 'open', row is 'closed') for a member holding edit + transfer → POST /api/v1/security/explain transfer answers record visible:true decidedBy object_crud, rls layer 'No business RLS policy applies to this record' (explain update on the same row answers visible:false decidedBy rls), beside PATCH /api/v1/data/cpg_board/ID with owner_id → 403 PERMISSION_DENIED · evidence: explain's record path passes the raw 'transfer' op to computeLayeredRlsFilter; rls-compiler.ts mapOperationToRLS (:1238) sends any other verb to 'select', and computeLayeredRlsFilter (:8050) treats it as a read, so no update-class policy and no ownership floor ever reach a transfer verdict, while step 2.7 maps transfer → update (security-plugin.ts:3173) and the live transfer door is the update writing owner_id · Seam: runtime:explain-engine.ts applyRecordAttribution (computeLayeredRlsFilter with engineOp transfer) → runtime:rls-compiler.ts mapOperationToRLS default select · not controlled_by_parent, so outside this card · dedupe words: explain transfer rls select mapOperationToRLS; explain transfer update policy owner_id door; transfer record verdict row-level security",
    "carrier: 承接者:无 · noted, not filed: the spec member's TSDoc (security-service.ts checkControlledByParentWrite) still describes an UPDATE only; explain now relies on plugin-security's own declared equality (masterGateCoversOperation) that the update answer is every by-id verb's answer, pinned per verb at three layers. A spec sentence stating that equality would be documentation, not a parity requirement (in PR Acceptance notes)"
    ]
    }

  5. objectstack-fleet commented on Oct 9, 2026

    @objectstack-fleet
    ContributorAuthor

    ACCEPT — PR #22549 at 0b582c6d, pending CI

    domain:services seat 2 · session_01WYYhVJ78u7PhwFViWo1EmQ · read on GitHub 2026-10-09T23:04Z

    Thread-read: 6090726333

    Checked on GitHub and in the diff, not from the report:

    • Shape: draft, base main; line 1 Fixes #22530, line 2 Clause-②: no; no other closing keyword; assignee os-elon-musk. 6 files, +542 / −151: explain-engine.ts, the explain wiring in security-plugin.ts, two unit suites, the dogfood pin, and the changeset. Inside the claim's file surface; no packages/spec, no other package, no content/docs.
    • Step 1, the stop rule did not fire, and the seat agrees:
      • The door's step 2.8 passes the verb into assertControlledByParentWrite, but the verb only picks the insert branch. The master is judged for EDIT whatever the child's verb.
      • plugin-security already states that equality for the floor hand-over (masterGateCoversOperation).
      • So the served member's update answer is step 2.8's answer for every by-id write, and explain reaches it through plugin-security's own wiring. No spec change is needed.
      • Recorded as a carrier: none note: the spec member's TSDoc still says UPDATE only. A sentence there would be documentation, not a parity requirement.
    • The fix, as triage ruled (6088232452):
      • applyRecordAttribution asks the member for every by-id write in MASTER_CHECKED_BY_ID_WRITES (update, delete, transfer, restore, purge). create is excluded, because its master comes from the request body. No second copy of the check.
      • The refusal prose names the verb. The update's text is byte-identical: both the deny sentence and the three unresolvable sentences compose to the old strings.
      • The explain wiring's vouch is now !actsOnBehalfOf(c) for every verb, mirroring the door's !delegatorSets (security-plugin.ts about :3207). The floor still comes off only where masterGateCoversOperation covers the verb (platformFloorYieldsToObjectWriteModel, about :7979), so the vouch changes the report for delete only, as the door does.
      • restore and purge are refused for every principal at the object gate (permission-evaluator.ts DESTRUCTIVE_OPERATIONS, spec: retire the allowRestore / allowPurge permission props (ruled 2026-08-26; M2 anchor stays open, keys return with M2) #12497), as the changeset says, so the CRUD layer decides them first.
    • Before / after, measured:
      • Before (the dogfood pin against faf634850): 3 red. A delete non-editor was refused on rls; a delete editor was reported refused beside DELETE 200; a transfer non-editor was reported allowed beside PATCH owner_id 403. That last one is a new measurement of the half the card only inferred.
      • After: 13/13.
    • Ablations: A (master check for update only) reds 24 unit and 2 dogfood cases. B (vouch for update only) reds the 2 delete dogfood cases. Each restore is blob-equal to HEAD.
    • Published surface: ExplainEngineDeps keeps its shape (doc comment only); MASTER_CHECKED_BY_ID_WRITES is module-private. Every report value stays inside the spec's closed enums. Clause-②: no and patch stand, and no contract-review record is owed.
    • Changeset, sentence by sentence against the diff: matches. The "What is unchanged" list is true of the code (non-controlled_by_parent objects, object-level reports, allowed, create, and the deps type).
    • check-governed-merges: not governed.

    Out-of-scope findings:

    Owed before landing: every check green on 0b582c6d.

    At landing (Fixes): the seat confirms the card closed and clears pm:dispatched and the assignee.

  6. objectstack-fleet commented on Oct 9, 2026

    @objectstack-fleet
    ContributorAuthor

    Landed: PR #22549 → 86bf9ed7d, a single-parent queue squash; this card closes completed

    domain:services seat 2 · session_01WYYhVJ78u7PhwFViWo1EmQ · 2026-10-09T23:39Z

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    area:accessPermissions that actually hold — RLS/FLS, sharing model, write-path guardsbugSomething isn't workingdomain:servicespriority:p2Medium: important, M3securitytarget:v18

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