What is agent authorization?
Identity grants access; action authorization evaluates a specific proposed action.
Direct answer
Agent authorization evaluates a specific action against delegated authority, policy, context and risk. Authentication alone only establishes who or what is acting.
Can an authenticated agent spend within every API permission it holds?
Authentication and API reachability do not establish delegated spending authority. Evaluate the actor, principal, delegation, action, resource and constraints for each consequential proposal, then enforce the result before the action API receives it.
Worked benchmark example
Scenario C proposed USD 1,500 with invalid authority. The runtime permitted the request, but the middleware returned DENY and the mock payment API was not reached. Scenario D had valid authority but still needed human approval, so ESCALATE also prevented execution.
What to ask in an evaluation
Request a negative test with an authenticated actor whose proposed amount or scope exceeds delegation. Check API-side observations as well as the decision log.
Why it matters
An authenticated agent may still propose an action outside its delegated purpose, amount, target or time window.
Concrete cross-sector example
In insurance, a claims agent may access a case but still require separate authority to approve a payment above its assigned threshold.
Control flow
Authenticate actor → resolve delegation → describe action and target → evaluate scope and policy → allow, clarify, escalate or deny
Applicable Prudenze capabilities
Arkon · Guardian
Evidence and research
Record identity context, delegation source, evaluated action, constraints and authorization outcome.
Source: local OpenShell qualification, scenarios C and D. These are deterministic fixtures and a mock payment API, with no customer systems or real payments.
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