azurenoops / azurenoops/spin_agent

[S-04] Override status masks real authorization verdict — compliance reporting risk

Open
#834 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
area:rmf area:security bug priority:p2
Dominant language
C#
Stars
3
Forks
1
Avg merge
18h 9m
Merged PRs (30d)
43

Description

## Summary

**Severity:** P2 — Compliance Reporting Risk
**Phase:** Phase 4 Remediation (API Contract Hardening)
**Audit Reference:** SPIN Agent Product Integrity Report, Phase 1

## Finding

The override status mechanism (S-04) replaces the displayed authorization status with the override value, masking the underlying compliance verdict. A system that is not authorized can appear authorized. The original verdict is not preserved or visible alongside the override indicator.

## Impact

- Compliance reports may inaccurately show systems as authorized
- Auditors and AOs cannot see the underlying verdict when an override is in effect
- Potential FedRAMP/DoD compliance finding if used in a live environment
- Violates audit trail requirements (no record of what was overridden)

## Required Behavior

Overrides should be displayed as an **annotation on top of** the underlying verdict, not as a replacement. Both values must be visible and the override must include: who applied it, when, and the justification.

## Acceptance Criteria

- [ ] Underlying authorization verdict is preserved in the database regardless of override
- [ ] UI displays both: underlying verdict AND override annotation
- [ ] Override record captures: actor, timestamp, justification, expiry
- [ ] E2E test: apply override → assert underlying verdict still queryable
- [ ] Compliance export uses underlying verdict (or flags override explicitly)

## Related

- #830 — AO Decision record (prerequisite for clean authorization state)
- #675 — Authorization export without AO Risk Acceptance Statement
- Audit artifact: SPIN Agent Product Integrity Report (Phase 1)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by tracing the S-04 override status mechanism across the authorization database, UI, and compliance export, using #830 as prerequisite context. Verify the existing end-to-end path for applying an override, then use the listed acceptance criteria to define completion: preserved and queryable verdicts, visible override metadata, expiry, and explicit export handling.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
csharp
Domain
authorization, security
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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