docs: sharpen the attribution guarantee to a byte<->activation-key binding

Revised per PR #480 (#5607 owner clarification + #5608 codex resolution;
#5612 directs the update):

- The audit row no longer implies upstream observation or agent-only
  authorship. Reworded the guarantee: the row cryptographically binds
  commit bytes (control-plane-RECOMPUTED SHA) to access to the activation
  signing key, and binds that key to control-plane-owned activation
  metadata. An agent can sign arbitrary contents but cannot verify as a
  different activation or choose the recorded metadata.
- Control plane accepts gateway-delivered opaque bytes, independently
  recomputes the Git object ID, verifies the embedded signature against
  the activation key, and stamps its own metadata. Trusts no gateway
  SHA/key/verdict/metadata. No upstream fetch.
- Purged overclaims: removed "a compromised gateway cannot fabricate an
  audit binding" (the sidecar holds the signing capability, so it can —
  and that's acceptable under the intended guarantee), plus "accepted
  push" / "introduced upstream" framing.
- Resolved the control-plane-transport open question in-PRD (was left
  open; codex asked to resolve): transport is gateway bytes +
  recompute + verify; mirror-read is no stronger.

Issue: #423

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/prds/prd-new-signed-commits-attribution.md

@@ -8,15 +8,18 @@
 ## Summary
 
 Give each bottled agent a **per-activation signing key** so that every commit it
-introduces is signed in the git-gate trust boundary (outside the bottle) and
+produces is signed in the git-gate trust boundary (outside the bottle) and
 recorded in bot-bottle's own **host-owned audit store**, which is the portable
-source of truth binding each signed commit to a bottle, host, manifest, agent,
+source of truth. Each row cryptographically binds a commit's bytes (and their
-activation interval, and retained public key — along with the commit's *claimed*
+control-plane-recomputed SHA) to **access to that activation's signing key**, and
-author. The gate mints a short-lived Ed25519 key at spin-up, holds the private
+binds the key to control-plane-owned activation metadata — bottle, host,
-half in the sidecar `ssh-agent`, and forwards only `SSH_AUTH_SOCK` into the
+manifest, agent, activation interval, retained public key — plus the commit's
-bottle. The gate rejects any newly-introduced commit that is not signed by the
+*claimed* author. The gate mints a short-lived Ed25519 key at spin-up, holds the
-activation key; the **control plane** independently re-verifies each signature
+private half in the sidecar `ssh-agent`, and forwards only `SSH_AUTH_SOCK` into
-before recording attribution.
+the bottle. The gate rejects any commit it forwards that is not signed by the
+activation key; separately, the **control plane** independently recomputes each
+commit's object ID and verifies its signature before recording attribution — it
+never trusts a SHA, key, or verdict asserted by the gate.
 
 This PRD deliberately does **not** enforce or vouch author/committer identity.
 Author/committer name/email are recorded as claims carried inside the signed
@@ -43,26 +46,38 @@ Successor to:
 
 The crisp property this feature provides:
 
-> Every new commit introduced through this bottle's gate is **signed by the
+> The **host-owned audit store** binds a set of commit bytes — whose Git object
-> activation key**, and the **host-owned audit store** — after the control plane
+> ID the control plane **recomputes** itself — to **access to this activation's
-> independently verifies that signature — records it, binding the SHA to the
+> signing key**, and binds that key to **control-plane-owned activation
-> bottle, host, manifest, agent, activation interval, and retained public key.
+> metadata**: bottle, host, manifest, agent, activation interval, retained public
-> The commit's author/committer identity is **recorded as a claim**, not enforced
+> key. An agent may author and sign arbitrary commit contents, but it cannot make
-> or vouched. The forge remains only the repository transport/capability layer.
+> that signature verify as a *different* activation, and it cannot choose the
+> activation metadata the control plane records. The commit's author/committer
+> identity is **recorded as a claim**, not enforced or vouched. The forge remains
+> only the repository transport/capability layer.
 
-What the signature does and does not prove (issue #423, comment #5554):
+What this does and does not prove (issue #423, comments #5554 / #5607 / #5608):
 
-- The signature proves **bottle/activation provenance**: the commit was created
+- It proves **access to activation *Y*'s signing key**: whoever assembled these
-  with access to activation *Y*'s signing key, i.e. inside this bottle during
+  commit bytes could sign with that key. Recomputing the object ID and verifying
-  this activation. Independent verification binds SHA *X* to activation *Y*.
+  the embedded signature binds the SHA to activation *Y*, and the control plane's
-- The signature does **not** make the author name/email cryptographically
+  own records bind *Y*'s key to *Y*'s metadata.
-  vouched. The bottle chooses every byte sent through the forwarded agent, so a
+- It does **not** prove the commit was ever pushed, observed upstream, kept
-  raw signature could sign `author Mallory <mallory@example>` just as validly.
+  (vs. later reverted or dropped), or produced by the *agent* rather than by any
-  Author/committer identity is a claim carried inside the signed object and
+  other holder of the activation signing capability (the sidecar itself). The
-  recorded as-is.
+  store deliberately makes no claim about publication or sole-agent authorship
-- The audit record is a cryptographic binding only because the **control plane**
+  — the owner's requirement is attribution of *what manifest/agent/etc. was in
-  verifies the signature before recording — not because the data-plane gate
+  use when a commit was signed*, not proof of where the commit went (#5607).
-  asserts it (see **Trust boundary**).
+- It does **not** make author/committer identity cryptographically vouched. The
+  bottle chooses every byte sent through the forwarded agent, so a signature over
+  `author Mallory <mallory@example>` is just as valid. Those fields are a claim
+  carried inside the signed object and recorded as-is.
+- The binding is trustworthy because the **control plane** supplies the SHA (it
+  recomputes it), the public key, and the activation metadata from its own state
+  — never from a value the gateway asserts (see **Trust boundary**). The
+  residual, by design: anything that holds the activation signing capability can
+  produce commits that attribute to that activation. That is inherent to a
+  binding on *activation-key access*, not a defect.
 
 ## Problem
 
@@ -94,10 +109,12 @@ tamper-evidence over it:
   unsigned or wrong-key new commit is rejected, loudly, with the offending SHA.
   This is a **signature** check only — no author/committer matching.
 - **Control-plane-owned attribution.** The orchestrator/control plane (sole
-  owner of `bot-bottle.db`, PRD 0070) independently verifies each new commit's
+  owner of `bot-bottle.db`, PRD 0070) recomputes each commit's object ID from the
-  signature and only then writes the attribution row. A gateway assertion alone
+  bytes, verifies the embedded signature against the activation public key it
-  never creates an audit record.
+  holds, and attaches activation metadata from its own state — accepting no SHA,
-- **Host is the source of truth.** The audit record binds each attributed SHA to
+  key, verdict, or metadata asserted by the gateway. No upstream fetch is
+  required.
+- **Host is the source of truth.** The audit record binds each recomputed SHA to
   the bottle, host, manifest, agent, activation interval, and retained public
   key, and records the commit's claimed author/committer.
 - **Verifiable after teardown.** The audit record retains the **full public
@@ -166,18 +183,30 @@ and forwards pushes. The orchestrator is the **control plane** and, per PRD
 and the audit record must be anchored in the control plane:
 
 - The gate performs a **synchronous pre-forward signature check** (below) and
-  can reject a push before it reaches the upstream. This is a data-plane gate,
+  can reject a push before it reaches the upstream. This is a data-plane gate on
-  not the audit binding.
+  what leaves the bottle, not the audit binding.
-- The **control plane independently verifies** each new commit's signature —
+- The **control plane** takes the commit bytes to attribute (gateway-delivered
-  receiving the commit object + signature (or independently reading/fetching the
+  opaque bytes are fine), **recomputes the Git object ID**, **verifies the
-  objects it is asked to attribute) — and only then writes `attributed_commit`.
+  embedded signature** against the activation public key it minted and holds, and
-  A gateway assertion alone never produces a row. If the gateway is compromised,
+  writes `attributed_commit` attaching metadata from its own state. It accepts
-  the worst it can do is forward or reject pushes; it cannot fabricate an audit
+  **no** gateway-supplied `verified` flag, claimed SHA, public key, or activation
-  binding, because the control plane re-verifies against the activation public
+  identity.
-  key it minted and holds.
 
-The gate cannot stand in for host-side audit verification (issue #423, review by
+The precise trust statement (issue #423, review by didericis-codex on d8362ec,
-didericis-codex on d8362ec).
+resolved in #5608): the row binds *these commit bytes / this recomputed SHA* to
+*access to this activation's signing key*, and the control plane binds that key
+to the recorded activation metadata. It does **not** assert forge observation or
+that only the agent (not the signing sidecar) authored the commit — so this PRD
+does **not** claim a compromised gateway cannot obtain an attribution row.
+Because the sidecar holds the activation signing capability, a compromised
+gateway *can* assemble and sign a commit and have it attributed to that
+activation; what it cannot do is make the signature verify as a *different*
+activation or choose the metadata the control plane records. That residual is
+acceptable under the intended guarantee (#5607) and is why the guarantee is
+worded as activation-key access, not agent-only authorship or upstream
+publication. The gate therefore cannot stand in for host-side verification: the
+control plane recomputes the object ID and verifies the signature itself rather
+than trusting the gate's word.
 
 ### Identity model
 
@@ -266,20 +295,25 @@ record.
 
 ### Control-plane verification & recording
 
-On an accepted push (or asynchronously, driven by the accepted-push event), the
+For each commit to attribute (the gate hands the control plane the commit bytes;
-orchestrator/control plane:
+opaque gateway-delivered bytes are acceptable because nothing the gateway *says*
+about them is trusted), the orchestrator/control plane:
 
-1. Obtains the commit object and its signature for each newly-introduced SHA —
+1. **Recomputes the Git object ID** from the bytes itself. The stored `sha` is
-   either delivered by the gate as opaque bytes to be checked, or read/fetched
+   this recomputed value, never a SHA the gateway claims.
-   independently from the mirrored repository. Either way the control plane does
+2. **Verifies the embedded signature** against the activation public key it
-   not trust a "verified" flag from the gate.
+   minted and holds for that activation (via a generated allowed-signers file) —
-2. **Independently verifies** the signature against the activation public key it
+   ignoring any `verified` flag, key, or activation identity supplied by the
-   minted and holds for that activation (via a generated allowed-signers file).
+   gateway.
-3. Writes `attributed_commit` only for SHAs that pass, recording the commit's
+3. Writes `attributed_commit` only for bytes that pass, stamping the activation
-   claimed author/committer alongside the activation binding.
+   metadata (bottle/manifest/agent/host/interval) from its **own** state — not
+   from anything the gateway provides — and recording the commit's claimed
+   author/committer.
 
-A SHA the control plane cannot independently verify is **not** recorded as
+No upstream fetch is required: the guarantee is a byte↔activation-key binding, so
-attributed (it may be logged as an anomaly instead).
+the object does not need to come from the forge (issue #423, #5608). Bytes that
+do not verify against the activation key are **not** recorded as attributed (they
+may be logged as an anomaly instead).
 
 ### Audit trail
 
@@ -307,7 +341,7 @@ CREATE TABLE bottled_agent_activation (
 );
 
 CREATE TABLE attributed_commit (
-    sha                TEXT NOT NULL,
+    sha                TEXT NOT NULL,      -- control-plane-RECOMPUTED object ID, not gateway-claimed
     bottled_agent_slug TEXT NOT NULL,
     activation_id      TEXT NOT NULL,
     repo               TEXT NOT NULL,
@@ -378,11 +412,12 @@ validating signing broker in front of the key would be required for the latter.
    **passes the gate** (identity is not enforced here).
 5. **Control-plane verification + audit.** `bottled_agent_activation` /
    `attributed_commit` tables (PRD 0067 store, control-plane-owned per PRD 0070);
-   the control plane independently verifies each new commit's signature before
+   the control plane recomputes each commit's object ID and verifies the
-   writing a row; retain full pubkey + fingerprint + principal + validity
+   signature before writing a row; retain full pubkey + fingerprint + principal +
-   interval; record claimed author/committer; allowed-signers generation + a
+   validity interval; record claimed author/committer; allowed-signers generation
-   post-teardown `verify-commit` helper. Test that a gateway assertion without an
+   + a post-teardown `verify-commit` helper. Tests: a gateway-claimed SHA/key/
-   independently-verifiable signature produces **no** attribution row.
+   verdict is ignored — the row's `sha` is the recomputed ID and bytes not signed
+   by the activation key produce **no** row.
 6. **Docs.** Glossary entry ("per-bottle signed commits"); README manifest
    section; ADR note that signing-enabled bottles gain signed *provenance* and a
    host-owned audit record while authorship stays *claimed* (ADR 0002 unchanged).
@@ -398,9 +433,10 @@ validating signing broker in front of the key would be required for the latter.
   the upstream-reachable exclusion (pull + merge human history and push a signed
   merge); a correctly-signed foreign-author commit **passes** (no identity
   enforcement); a clean all-signed push succeeds.
-- **Control plane (must):** independent verification records an attribution row
+- **Control plane (must):** the control plane recomputes the object ID and
-  for a genuinely-signed SHA; a SHA presented with an invalid/foreign signature
+  records a row for bytes genuinely signed by the activation key; a gateway-
-  (or a bare gateway assertion) produces **no** row.
+  supplied SHA/key/verdict is ignored (the stored `sha` is the recomputed value);
+  bytes signed by a foreign/invalid key produce **no** row.
 - **Lifecycle:** activation mints the key and writes an `active` row; teardown
   retires it (`valid_until`) and revokes deploy keys fail-loud; a restart
   re-attaches the same key (no new row); a fresh activation mints a new key and
@@ -408,13 +444,20 @@ validating signing broker in front of the key would be required for the latter.
 - **Post-teardown verification:** regenerate the allowed-signers file from a
   `retired` row and confirm `verify-commit` still succeeds for an attributed SHA.
 
+## Resolved: control-plane transport
+
+Raised in review and **resolved** (issue #423, #5608): the commit object does not
+need to come from the forge, and reading the gateway-owned mirror is no stronger
+than accepting gateway-delivered bytes — both are fabricatable, and neither
+matters because the control plane trusts nothing the gateway *asserts*. The
+transport is therefore: the gate hands the control plane the raw commit bytes,
+the control plane **recomputes the object ID** and **verifies the signature**
+against the activation key, and stamps its own activation metadata. No upstream
+fetch. This is exactly what makes the byte↔activation-key binding sound
+regardless of transport.
+
 ## Open questions
 
-- **Control-plane transport for verification.** How does the orchestrator obtain
-  the commit object + signature to verify — pushed to it by the gate as opaque
-  bytes, or read/fetched independently from the mirror? Independent read is the
-  stronger boundary; confirm it composes with the mirror layout (PRD 0008) and
-  the orchestrator's repo access (PRD 0070).
 - **Where the gate check slots into PRD 0008 ordering.** Modeled as a
   pre-forward step after gitleaks; confirm it composes with the existing
   access-hook / mirror ordering rather than needing a separate hook.