{
  "schema": "varexis-public-evidence-record/0.3",
  "generated_at_utc": "2026-10-24T21:56:24.175Z",
  "record_id": "VXI-EXT-PROCUREMENT-TUF-DELEGATOR-RETAINS-PUBLISHING-AUTHORITY-01-v1",
  "record_kind": "external_reference",
  "title": "TUF delegation without relinquishment",
  "system": "The Update Framework Working Group",
  "evidence_family": "vendor_evidence_review",
  "index_status": "PUBLIC_SAFE_SOURCE_REVIEW",
  "evidence_state": "PRIMARY_DOCUMENTATION_REVIEW_ONLY",
  "canonical_question": "Does delegating a TUF target role remove the parent publisher’s authority over those targets?",
  "near_questions": [
    "Does a TUF parent lose trust after delegating targets?",
    "Is delegated TUF signing automatically exclusive?",
    "Can a delegating publisher retain authority over a tool package?",
    "What evidence supports exclusive control of a delegated release?"
  ],
  "supported_claims": [
    {
      "claim": "The pinned TUF roles description says a delegating role remains trusted after it delegates full or partial target scope. Delegation is therefore not evidence that the parent has surrendered publishing authority. A buyer seeking exclusive control by a subsidiary signer must inspect the entire trust arrangement rather than infer exclusivity from a delegation entry.",
      "reliance": "DOCUMENTED_CAPABILITY_ONLY"
    }
  ],
  "not_demonstrated_claims": [
    "The buyer exclusivity requirements and trust configuration are unobserved.",
    "TUF metadata trust does not establish software safety, required permissions, business approval or licence entitlement.",
    "Buyer deployment testing, live runtime enforcement, certification or permission to act",
    "Expanded capabilities or licences for existing INDEX executables"
  ],
  "public_summary": "The pinned TUF roles description says a delegating role remains trusted after it delegates full or partial target scope. Delegation is therefore not evidence that the parent has surrendered publishing authority. A buyer seeking exclusive control by a subsidiary signer must inspect the entire trust arrangement rather than infer exclusivity from a delegation entry.",
  "related_record_ids": [],
  "source_review": {
    "source_type": "official_external_documentation",
    "source_title": "The Update Framework Specification (2026-10-08, pinned revision)",
    "source_url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/theupdateframework/specification/e2bc7d83d0740aaae8dd7133dd4f237ce3d86b16/tuf-spec.md",
    "checked_on": "2026-10-24",
    "candidate_record_id": "VXI-EXT-PROCUREMENT-TUF-DELEGATOR-RETAINS-PUBLISHING-AUTHORITY-01-v1",
    "candidate_record_sha256": "ce8397404f6fd60dcce01cc280ddd8b8119f4c024cf8ae6e865c2a97a5f2b63a",
    "method": "Primary documentation reviewed for the published bounded statement.",
    "deployment_tested_by_varexis": false,
    "revalidation": "The delivered snapshot preserves the review date shown. Recheck current primary documentation and deployment context before relying on present applicability; payment does not trigger fresh research."
  },
  "answer_policy": {
    "classification": "DOCUMENTED_WITH_DEPLOYMENT_BOUNDARY",
    "bounded_answer": "The pinned TUF roles description says a delegating role remains trusted after it delegates full or partial target scope. Delegation is therefore not evidence that the parent has surrendered publishing authority. A buyer seeking exclusive control by a subsidiary signer must inspect the entire trust arrangement rather than infer exclusivity from a delegation entry.",
    "required_buyer_context": "Parent and delegated target metadata; Required exclusivity policy and configured trust roots; Buyer policy identifying every acceptable release authority. Buyer deployment not inspected.",
    "missing_evidence": "A broader claim needs evidence matching the intended use. Payment does not upgrade the evidence state."
  },
  "private_boundary": "Raw logs, thresholds, private paths, source code, protected mechanisms and reconstruction-level details are excluded from public and paid delivery.",
  "decision_profile": {
    "schema": "varexis-vendor-evidence-review/1",
    "review_status": "documentation_review_only",
    "checked_on": "2026-10-24",
    "claim_to_check": "Does delegating a TUF target role remove the parent publisher’s authority over those targets?",
    "documented_statement": {
      "status": "documented",
      "statement": "The pinned TUF roles description says a delegating role remains trusted after it delegates full or partial target scope. Delegation is therefore not evidence that the parent has surrendered publishing authority. A buyer seeking exclusive control by a subsidiary signer must inspect the entire trust arrangement rather than infer exclusivity from a delegation entry.",
      "source_ids": [
        "tuf-spec"
      ]
    },
    "review_inference": {
      "status": "review_inference",
      "statement": "Distinguish delegated publishing from exclusive release ownership. This review does not inspect an updater or authorize software execution.",
      "source_ids": [
        "tuf-spec"
      ]
    },
    "buyer_evidence_required": [
      "Parent and delegated target metadata",
      "Required exclusivity policy and configured trust roots",
      "Buyer policy identifying every acceptable release authority"
    ],
    "review_condition": {
      "status": "varexis_review_policy",
      "statement": "Do not claim a delegated signer is the only publishing authority merely because delegation exists."
    },
    "unknowns": "The buyer exclusivity requirements and trust configuration are unobserved.",
    "unknown_finding": {
      "status": "unknown",
      "statement": "The buyer exclusivity requirements and trust configuration are unobserved."
    },
    "evidence_sources": [
      {
        "source_id": "tuf-spec",
        "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/theupdateframework/specification/e2bc7d83d0740aaae8dd7133dd4f237ce3d86b16/tuf-spec.md",
        "final_url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/theupdateframework/specification/e2bc7d83d0740aaae8dd7133dd4f237ce3d86b16/tuf-spec.md",
        "status": 200,
        "captured_at_utc": "2026-10-24T21:45:03.569Z",
        "sha256": "87c7136231b8cb3355736d8e7cfe88380d030cb2994ea283a19e78e03fb171ff",
        "bytes": 76283,
        "title": "The Update Framework Specification (2026-10-08, pinned revision)",
        "hash_basis": "Decoded HTTP response body bytes",
        "rights_review": "Original bounded paraphrase with attribution to The Update Framework Working Group, specification date 2026-10-08 and pinned source revision/URL, under Community Specification License 1.0; captures are private and not redistributed.",
        "checked_on": "2026-10-24",
        "capture_status": 200,
        "claim_review_completed": true,
        "reviewed_sections": [
          "Load trusted root metadata",
          "Root role",
          "Update the root role",
          "Key management and migration",
          "Update the timestamp role",
          "Record fixed update start time",
          "Update the snapshot role",
          "Update the targets role",
          "File formats: targets.json and delegated target roles",
          "Targets role"
        ],
        "version_context": "Pinned theupdateframework/specification revision e2bc7d83d0740aaae8dd7133dd4f237ce3d86b16 captured 2026-10-24. Living specification dated 2026-10-08. Documentation review, not evidence that a buyer implementation conforms."
      }
    ],
    "observed_deployment": false,
    "commercial_reliance_boundary": "Documentation review only; the buyer must establish applicability and actual outcomes. INDEX does not inspect or control the deployment.",
    "paid_value": {
      "decision_context": "Distinguish delegated publishing from exclusive release ownership.",
      "free": "Complete review, sources, practical questions and limitations; may be saved locally.",
      "single_request": "Existing server-saved version-bound route snapshot for later authenticated retrieval.",
      "evidence_receipt": "The same snapshot plus the existing unsigned delivery receipt.",
      "excluded": [
        "Fresh vendor research",
        "Continuous monitoring or change alerts",
        "Testing the buyer configuration",
        "Private evidence or vendor certification"
      ],
      "integrity": "Hashes identify content versions; they do not prove truth or provide a signature."
    },
    "revalidation": {
      "trigger": "A saved purchase does not recheck the source or buyer configuration.",
      "specific_watch": "Recheck the pinned source, actual implementation version, policy inputs and retained decision evidence before relying on a current outcome."
    },
    "buyer_relevance": "Distinguish delegated publishing from exclusive release ownership.",
    "refusal_conditions": [
      "Do not claim a delegated signer is the only publishing authority merely because delegation exists."
    ]
  },
  "niche": {
    "niche_id": "agent-authority-action-evidence",
    "label": "Agent Authority & Action Evidence",
    "classification_id": "dependency",
    "classification_label": "Dependency/Advisory Reliance Boundaries",
    "topic_id": "dependency",
    "buyer_intent": "Distinguish delegated publishing from exclusive release ownership.",
    "comparison_role": "supplementary_discovery"
  },
  "paid_access_note": "The full published answer and boundaries are free. Paid access saves the selected route and source versions, with an unsigned receipt when purchased. Preview coverage before paying. Fresh research, bespoke assessment and protected evidence are excluded.",
  "service_route": {
    "request_guide": "/varexis-index/request.html",
    "request_workflow": "/varexis-index/request-workflow.json",
    "service_id": "single_request",
    "service_routes_url": "/varexis-index/service-routes.json",
    "payment_required": true,
    "availability_endpoint": "/api/index/capabilities",
    "operational_status": "AUTOMATIC_SERVICE_CAPABILITIES_GATED",
    "checkout_url": "/index-access"
  },
  "authority_boundary": "VAREXIS-INDEX informs evidence reliance. It does not provide advice, certification, deployment authority, security assurance, production approval, or guarantee.",
  "human_page": "/varexis-index/catalog.html#tuf-delegator-retains-publishing-authority",
  "machine_readable_record": "/varexis-index/records/tuf-delegator-retains-publishing-authority.json"
}