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VAULTMESH-PROOFBUNDLE-SPEC

Version 1.1.0 – ProofBundle Data Model & Verification Semantics

1. Introduction

This document specifies the structure and verification semantics of the VaultMesh ProofBundle.

A ProofBundle is a self-contained evidence artifact intended for regulators, auditors, and relying parties. It packages:

  • A document-specific event chain (e.g. skill validations → document download),
  • Cryptographic identities (DIDs) for human and system actors,
  • Sealed ledger state (Guardian anchor and scroll roots),
  • Placeholder references for external ProofChain anchors (e.g. BTC/ETH/OTS).

A ProofBundle is designed to be verifiable offline, using only the bundle JSON and an open-source verifier.

2. Terminology

The following terms are used in the RFC sense:

  • MUST / MUST NOT – absolute requirement.
  • SHOULD / SHOULD NOT – strong recommendation; valid reasons may exist to deviate, but they must be understood.
  • MAY – optional behavior.

Additional terms:

Term Definition
Receipt A canonical JSON object representing a single ledger event (e.g. document_download, skill_validation), including at minimum a root_hash.
Scroll An append-only JSONL file containing receipts of a given class (e.g. Automation, Guardian, Identity).
Guardian Anchor A special receipt that commits to the current state of all scrolls via BLAKE3 roots, written to the Guardian scroll.
DID Decentralized Identifier in the VaultMesh namespace, e.g. did:vm:human:karol, did:vm:portal:shield, did:vm:guardian:local.
ProofChain Optional external anchoring backends (e.g. Bitcoin, Ethereum, OpenTimestamps) referenced by the bundle.

3. Data Model

3.1 Top-Level Structure

A ProofBundle MUST be a single JSON object with the following top-level fields:

{
  "bundle_id": "pb-20251206T174406-dl-20251206T165831-2ebdac",
  "schema_version": "1.1.0",
  "generated_at": "2025-12-06T17:44:06.123Z",

  "document": { ... },
  "actor": { ... },
  "portal": { ... },

  "chain": { ... },
  "guardian_anchor": { ... },
  "proofchain": { ... },

  "meta": { ... }
}

3.1.1 bundle_id

  • Type: string
  • Semantics: Globally unique identifier for the bundle instance.
  • Format: Implementation-defined; SHOULD include the download ID and timestamp.

3.1.2 schema_version

  • Type: string
  • Semantics: Version of this specification the bundle adheres to.
  • This document describes version 1.1.0.

Verifiers:

  • MUST reject unknown major versions.
  • SHOULD attempt best-effort parsing of minor version bumps (e.g. 1.2.x), ignoring unknown fields.

3.1.3 generated_at

  • Type: string (ISO 8601 with UTC Z).
  • Semantics: Time at which the ProofBundle was generated by the portal.

3.2 Document Section

"document": {
  "doc_id": "001 Conformity Declaration",
  "filename": "VM-AI-CON-001_Conformity_Declaration.docx",
  "category": "AI Governance"
}
Field Type Required Description
doc_id string REQUIRED Human-readable identifier used in the portal and receipts.
filename string REQUIRED The file name of the underlying document.
category string OPTIONAL High-level classification (e.g. "AI Governance", "Data Protection").
path string OPTIONAL Full path in repository.

3.3 Actor & Portal Sections

"actor": {
  "did": "did:vm:human:karol",
  "display_name": "Karol S",
  "role": "auditor"
},
"portal": {
  "did": "did:vm:portal:shield",
  "instance": "shield.story-ule.ts.net",
  "description": "VaultMesh Auditor Portal – Shield node"
}
Field Type Required Description
actor.did string REQUIRED DID of the human or agent initiating the document download.
actor.display_name string OPTIONAL Human-readable name; MAY be "Unknown Auditor" when not resolved.
actor.role string OPTIONAL Role or function (e.g. "auditor", "DPO", "regulator").
portal.did string REQUIRED DID of the portal instance.
portal.instance string OPTIONAL Hostname or logical instance ID.

3.3.1 Actor Identity Semantics

The actor.did field is the normative identity anchor for the human or agent responsible for the documented action. It MUST be a valid VaultMesh DID (e.g. did:vm:human:karol), resolvable in the VaultMesh Identity scroll.

The actor.display_name field is non-normative convenience metadata. It is resolved from the Identity scroll and/or local configuration (e.g. environment variables) at bundle generation time. Implementations:

  • MUST treat actor.did as the authoritative identity reference.
  • MUST NOT rely on actor.display_name for any cryptographic or access control decisions.
  • MAY omit or localize actor.display_name without affecting ProofBundle validity.

3.4 Chain Section

"chain": {
  "ok": true,
  "length": 7,
  "start": { /* receipt summary */ },
  "end": { /* receipt summary */ },
  "receipts": [ /* full receipts */ ]
}

3.4.1 ok

  • Type: boolean
  • Semantics: Declarative statement by the generator that the chain is believed to be cryptographically valid at generation time.
  • Verifiers MUST NOT rely on this field alone and MUST recompute chain validity.

3.4.2 length

  • Type: integer
  • Semantics: Number of receipts represented in receipts.
  • Verifiers SHOULD check that length equals receipts.length.

3.4.3 start and end

  • Type: object
  • Semantics: Human-oriented summaries of the first and last receipts in the chain.
"start": {
  "type": "skill_validation",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-06T14:47:14.000Z",
  "root_hash": "blake3:de01c8b3..."
},
"end": {
  "type": "document_download",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-06T16:58:31.826Z",
  "root_hash": "blake3:bb379364..."
}

Verifiers MAY recompute these summaries from receipts and SHOULD treat any inconsistency as an error.

3.4.4 receipts

  • Type: array of objects
  • Semantics: Full chain of receipts from genesis (index 0) to the document download receipt (last index).

Each receipt object:

{
  "type": "document_download",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-06T16:58:31.826Z",
  "root_hash": "blake3:bb379364566df7179a982d632267b492...",
  "previous_hash": "blake3:de01c8b34e9d0453484d73048be11dd5...",
  "actor_did": "did:vm:human:karol",
  "portal_did": "did:vm:portal:shield"
}

Minimum required fields per receipt:

Field Type Required Description
type string REQUIRED Event type (e.g. skill_validation, document_download).
timestamp string REQUIRED ISO 8601 with UTC Z.
root_hash string REQUIRED BLAKE3 digest of the canonical JSON form of the receipt.
previous_hash string|null REQUIRED BLAKE3 hash of the previous receipt; MUST be present for all receipts except the first.

Additional fields (e.g. actor_did, portal_did, session_id, ip_hash, user_agent_hash) are RECOMMENDED.

3.5 Guardian Anchor Section

"guardian_anchor": {
  "anchor_id": "anchor-20251206155628",
  "anchor_by": "did:vm:guardian:local",
  "anchor_epoch": 1765039262,
  "anchor_timestamp": "2025-12-06T15:56:28Z",
  "root_hash": "blake3:1af3b9a4...",

  "scroll_roots": {
    "automation": { "root_hash": "blake3:aa12bb34...", "entries": 11, "has_root": true },
    "guardian": { "root_hash": "blake3:cc56dd78...", "entries": 5, "has_root": true },
    "identity": { "root_hash": "blake3:ee90ff12...", "entries": 4, "has_root": true }
  }
}
Field Type Required Description
anchor_id string REQUIRED Identifier of the Guardian anchor receipt.
anchor_by string REQUIRED DID of the Guardian engine.
anchor_epoch integer OPTIONAL Epoch seconds at anchor time.
anchor_timestamp string REQUIRED ISO 8601 timestamp of the anchor.
root_hash string|null OPTIONAL Global root hash (reserved for future use).
scroll_roots object REQUIRED Map from scroll name to its root hash as committed in the anchor.

3.6 ProofChain Section

"proofchain": {
  "btc": { "status": "not_anchored", "txid": null },
  "eth": { "status": "not_anchored", "txid": null },
  "ots": { "status": "not_anchored", "timestamp_url": null }
}

For each backend (btc, eth, ots):

Field Type Required Description
status string REQUIRED One of: "not_anchored", "pending", "anchored"
txid / timestamp_url string|null OPTIONAL Backend-specific reference when anchored.

Verifiers:

  • MAY ignore this section when performing purely local verification.
  • SHOULD treat unknown statuses conservatively.

3.7 Meta Section

"meta": {
  "requested_by_session": "6pngxxbMxLYQf180qPmIeq-xkJ8nDBN3",
  "requested_by_user": "karol@vaultmesh.earth",
  "node": "shield"
}
Field Type Required Description
requested_by_session string OPTIONAL Portal session that requested the bundle.
requested_by_user string OPTIONAL Account identifier in the portal.
node string OPTIONAL Node name.

4. Cryptographic Properties

4.1 Hash Function

VaultMesh uses BLAKE3 as the hash function for all root_hash and previous_hash values.

  • Digest encoding: hex string, prefixed with "blake3:", e.g. blake3:1af3b9a4...
  • Implementations MUST preserve the prefix and encoding when serializing.

4.2 Receipt Hashing

For each receipt R in chain.receipts:

  1. Serialize R to canonical JSON:

    • UTF-8 encoding
    • Sorted keys
    • No insignificant whitespace: separators=(",", ":")

  2. Compute H = BLAKE3(R_canonical)

  3. Set root_hash = "blake3:" + hex(H)

encoded = json.dumps(
    receipt_without_root_hash,
    sort_keys=True,
    separators=(",", ":"),
    ensure_ascii=False
).encode("utf-8")

root_hash = f"blake3:{blake3.blake3(encoded).hexdigest()}"

The verifier MUST recompute root_hash from the canonical JSON and compare it to the stored root_hash. Any mismatch indicates tampering.

4.3 Hash-Chain Semantics

Given receipts R[0] ... R[n-1]:

  • For i = 0: R[0].previous_hash MAY be null or absent.
  • For i > 0: R[i].previous_hash MUST equal R[i-1].root_hash.

A verifier MUST treat any violation as chain breakage.

5. Threat Model & Non-Goals

5.1 Threat Model

ProofBundle is designed to protect against:

Threat Mitigation
Post-hoc modification of receipts Hash verification detects tampering
Removal or insertion of receipts Chain linkage breaks
Misrepresentation of chain integrity Verifier recomputes and compares to chain.ok
Partial disclosure attempts Chain must be complete from genesis to download
Actor impersonation DID attribution, not mutable username

5.2 Non-Goals

ProofBundle explicitly does not guarantee:

  • Document content correctness – The bundle proves access, not that the document is semantically correct or policy-compliant.
  • Real-world identity verification – DIDs are cryptographic; KYC depends on external identity processes.
  • Protection against malicious genesis – If an adversary controls the VaultMesh node before receipts are created, the bundle cannot detect this.
  • IP/user-agent confidentiality – BLAKE3 hashes may be reversible via brute-force if input space is small.

Regulators SHOULD combine ProofBundle verification with organizational and process audits.

6. Example Bundle

6.1 Minimal Example

{
  "bundle_id": "pb-20251206T174406-dl-20251206T165831-2ebdac",
  "schema_version": "1.1.0",
  "generated_at": "2025-12-06T17:44:06.123Z",
  "document": {
    "doc_id": "001 Conformity Declaration",
    "filename": "VM-AI-CON-001_Conformity_Declaration.docx",
    "category": "AI Governance"
  },
  "actor": {
    "did": "did:vm:human:karol",
    "display_name": "Karol S",
    "role": "auditor"
  },
  "portal": {
    "did": "did:vm:portal:shield",
    "instance": "shield"
  },
  "chain": {
    "ok": true,
    "length": 3,
    "start": {
      "type": "skill_validation",
      "timestamp": "2025-12-06T14:47:14.000Z",
      "root_hash": "blake3:de01c8b34e9d0453..."
    },
    "end": {
      "type": "document_download",
      "timestamp": "2025-12-06T16:58:31.826Z",
      "root_hash": "blake3:bb379364566df717..."
    },
    "receipts": [
      {
        "type": "skill_validation",
        "timestamp": "2025-12-06T14:47:14.000Z",
        "root_hash": "blake3:de01c8b34e9d0453...",
        "previous_hash": null
      },
      {
        "type": "skill_validation",
        "timestamp": "2025-12-06T15:10:02.000Z",
        "root_hash": "blake3:4e7cf7352e25a150...",
        "previous_hash": "blake3:de01c8b34e9d0453..."
      },
      {
        "type": "document_download",
        "timestamp": "2025-12-06T16:58:31.826Z",
        "root_hash": "blake3:bb379364566df717...",
        "previous_hash": "blake3:4e7cf7352e25a150...",
        "actor_did": "did:vm:human:karol",
        "portal_did": "did:vm:portal:shield"
      }
    ]
  },
  "guardian_anchor": {
    "anchor_id": "anchor-20251206155628",
    "anchor_by": "did:vm:guardian:local",
    "anchor_timestamp": "2025-12-06T15:56:28Z",
    "root_hash": null,
    "scroll_roots": {
      "automation": { "root_hash": "blake3:b165f779...", "entries": 11, "has_root": true }
    }
  },
  "proofchain": {
    "btc": { "status": "not_anchored", "txid": null },
    "eth": { "status": "not_anchored", "txid": null },
    "ots": { "status": "not_anchored", "timestamp_url": null }
  }
}

6.2 Expected Verifier Output

ProofBundle: pb-20251206T174406-dl-20251206T165831-2ebdac
Document : 001 Conformity Declaration
File     : VM-AI-CON-001_Conformity_Declaration.docx
Actor    : did:vm:human:karol (Karol S)
Portal   : did:vm:portal:shield (shield)

Receipts : 3
Hash check     : OK
Chain linkage  : OK
Bundle chain.ok: True (matches computed: True)

Result: OK – chain of 3 receipts is contiguous and valid.

7. Compliance Crosswalk – AI Act Annex IX

This section provides a non-exhaustive mapping between AI Act Annex IX documentation expectations and ProofBundle fields.

Annex IX Requirement ProofBundle Support
Record-keeping of events and logs chain.receipts[] (types, timestamps, DIDs)
Traceability of changes and operations Hash-chain via root_hash and previous_hash
Identification of persons and systems involved actor.did, actor.display_name, portal.did
Identification of system components guardian_anchor.anchor_by, portal.instance
Technical documentation of integrity safeguards Cryptographic model in this SPEC; BLAKE3 usage
Evidence of access to technical documentation document_download receipts bound to specific doc IDs
Tamper-evidence of documentation and logs BLAKE3 per receipt + chained previous_hash
Ability to provide evidence to market surveillance authorities ProofBundle JSON + offline verifier

Regulators MAY reference a valid ProofBundle, together with this specification, as part of the technical documentation demonstrating logging, traceability, and integrity controls.

8. HTML Viewer

The portal exposes an HTML view at:

/docs/proofbundle/:downloadId

This view:

  • Renders the ProofBundle contents in a human-friendly layout
  • Provides a Print button (browser print → PDF) for filing
  • Displays verification note:

"This ProofBundle can be independently verified with the open-source vm_verify_proofbundle.py tool. No access to VaultMesh servers is required."

9. Verifier Exit Codes

Code Meaning
0 Verification passed
1 Verification failed (chain or hashes)
2 Usage error or file not found

10. Conformance Tests

This section defines non-normative but strongly RECOMMENDED test vectors for implementers of ProofBundle verifiers.

10.1 Test Vector Location

Official VaultMesh test vectors are distributed under:

testvectors/proofbundle/

with the following files:

  • proofbundle-valid.json
  • proofbundle-tampered-body.json
  • proofbundle-tampered-root.json
  • proofbundle-broken-chain.json

10.2 Expected Behaviour

Implementations of vm_verify_proofbundle (or equivalent) SHOULD pass the following conformance checks:

Input file Expected Exit Expected Behaviour
proofbundle-valid.json 0 Chain verification succeeds; no errors reported.
proofbundle-tampered-body.json 1 Receipt hash mismatch is detected.
proofbundle-tampered-root.json 1 Receipt hash mismatch is detected.
proofbundle-broken-chain.json 1 Broken previous_hash linkage is detected.

Implementations MAY emit different human-readable error messages, but MUST distinguish success from failure via exit codes or equivalent programmatic signals.

10.3 Schema Version Handling

Verifiers MUST check the schema_version field of a ProofBundle against a known set of supported versions. If an unsupported schema version is encountered, verifiers:

  • MUST NOT attempt partial verification, and
  • MUST return a non-zero exit code (e.g. 2) indicating UNSUPPORTED_SCHEMA_VERSION, and
  • SHOULD direct implementers to the Standards Index (VAULTMESH-STANDARDS-INDEX.md) for the current version matrix.

11. Versioning & Extensibility

  • This document defines schema_version = "1.1.0".
  • Producers MUST include a schema_version string.
  • Verifiers MUST:
    • Reject unknown major versions (e.g. 2.x.x) by default.
    • Tolerate additional fields for minor versions (e.g. 1.2.x) as long as required fields are present and valid.

Future extensions (e.g. richer ProofChain data, additional actor attributes) MAY be added under new fields, provided they do not alter the semantics defined in this version.

12. Appendix: Citation

This assessment relies on VaultMesh ProofBundle, specified in "VAULTMESH-PROOFBUNDLE-SPEC v1.1.0".

Verification was performed using the reference tool vm_verify_proofbundle.py v1.1.0 and validated against the VaultMesh ProofBundle Conformance Test Pack v1.0.

Implementations claiming interoperability MUST demonstrate conformance against all official test vectors before asserting support for this specification.

The tag proofbundle-v1.1.0 in the VaultMesh repository marks the reference implementation state for this version.

13. References

VaultMesh ProofBundle Specification v1.1.0 Sovereign Infrastructure for the Digital Age

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