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ietf-draft-analyzer/workspace/drafts/gap-analysis/draft-nennemann-agent-problem-statement-00.html
Christian Nennemann 2506b6325a
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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en" class="Internet-Draft">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta content="Common,Latin" name="scripts">
<meta content="initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport">
<title>Problem Statement for Autonomous Agent Protocol Gaps</title>
<meta content="Christian Nennemann" name="author">
<meta content="
The IETF autonomous agent landscape spans over 260 drafts
touching agent communication, identity, safety, and
operations, yet critical gaps remain where standardization
is absent or insufficient. This document provides a
condensed problem statement identifying eleven protocol
gaps, classifies them by severity, and maps them to a
suite of companion drafts that form a coherent solution
framework. It is intended as an actionable reference for
working group chairs, area directors, and protocol
designers evaluating where autonomous-agent standardization
efforts should focus.
" name="description">
<meta content="xml2rfc 3.31.0" name="generator">
<meta content="draft-nennemann-agent-problem-statement-00" name="ietf.draft">
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NOTE: Changes at the bottom of this file overrides some earlier settings.
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<body class="xml2rfc">
<table class="ears">
<thead><tr>
<td class="left">Internet-Draft</td>
<td class="center">Agent Problem Statement</td>
<td class="right">March 2026</td>
</tr></thead>
<tfoot><tr>
<td class="left">Nennemann</td>
<td class="center">Expires 7 September 2026</td>
<td class="right">[Page]</td>
</tr></tfoot>
</table>
<div id="external-metadata" class="document-information"></div>
<div id="internal-metadata" class="document-information">
<dl id="identifiers">
<dt class="label-workgroup">Workgroup:</dt>
<dd class="workgroup">NMOP</dd>
<dt class="label-internet-draft">Internet-Draft:</dt>
<dd class="internet-draft">draft-nennemann-agent-problem-statement-00</dd>
<dt class="label-published">Published:</dt>
<dd class="published">
<time datetime="2026-03-06" class="published">6 March 2026</time>
</dd>
<dt class="label-intended-status">Intended Status:</dt>
<dd class="intended-status">Informational</dd>
<dt class="label-expires">Expires:</dt>
<dd class="expires"><time datetime="2026-09-07">7 September 2026</time></dd>
<dt class="label-authors">Author:</dt>
<dd class="authors">
<div class="author">
<div class="author-name">C. Nennemann</div>
<div class="org">Independent Researcher</div>
</div>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<h1 id="title">Problem Statement for Autonomous Agent Protocol Gaps</h1>
<section id="section-abstract">
<h2 id="abstract"><a href="#abstract" class="selfRef">Abstract</a></h2>
<p id="section-abstract-1">The IETF autonomous agent landscape spans over 260 drafts
touching agent communication, identity, safety, and
operations, yet critical gaps remain where standardization
is absent or insufficient. This document provides a
condensed problem statement identifying eleven protocol
gaps, classifies them by severity, and maps them to a
suite of companion drafts that form a coherent solution
framework. It is intended as an actionable reference for
working group chairs, area directors, and protocol
designers evaluating where autonomous-agent standardization
efforts should focus.<a href="#section-abstract-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
<div id="status-of-memo">
<section id="section-boilerplate.1">
<h2 id="name-status-of-this-memo">
<a href="#name-status-of-this-memo" class="section-name selfRef">Status of This Memo</a>
</h2>
<p id="section-boilerplate.1-1">
This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.<a href="#section-boilerplate.1-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<p id="section-boilerplate.1-2">
Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task
Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute working
documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet-Drafts is
at <span><a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/">https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/</a></span>.<a href="#section-boilerplate.1-2" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<p id="section-boilerplate.1-3">
Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."<a href="#section-boilerplate.1-3" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<p id="section-boilerplate.1-4">
This Internet-Draft will expire on 7 September 2026.<a href="#section-boilerplate.1-4" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="copyright">
<section id="section-boilerplate.2">
<h2 id="name-copyright-notice">
<a href="#name-copyright-notice" class="section-name selfRef">Copyright Notice</a>
</h2>
<p id="section-boilerplate.2-1">
Copyright (c) 2026 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.<a href="#section-boilerplate.2-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<p id="section-boilerplate.2-2">
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
(<span><a href="https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info">https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info</a></span>) in effect on the date of
publication of this document. Please review these documents
carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with
respect to this document. Code Components extracted from this
document must include Revised BSD License text as described in
Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without
warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.<a href="#section-boilerplate.2-2" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="toc">
<section id="section-toc.1">
<a href="#" onclick="scroll(0,0)" class="toplink"></a><h2 id="name-table-of-contents">
<a href="#name-table-of-contents" class="section-name selfRef">Table of Contents</a>
</h2>
<nav class="toc"><ul class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty">
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.1">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.1.1" class="keepWithNext"><a href="#section-1" class="auto internal xref">1</a>.  <a href="#name-introduction" class="internal xref">Introduction</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.2">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.2.1" class="keepWithNext"><a href="#section-2" class="auto internal xref">2</a>.  <a href="#name-terminology" class="internal xref">Terminology</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.3">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.3.1" class="keepWithNext"><a href="#section-3" class="auto internal xref">3</a>.  <a href="#name-problem-landscape" class="internal xref">Problem Landscape</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.1"><a href="#section-4" class="auto internal xref">4</a>.  <a href="#name-critical-gaps" class="internal xref">Critical Gaps</a></p>
<ul class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty">
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.1">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.1.1"><a href="#section-4.1" class="auto internal xref">4.1</a>.  <a href="#name-critical-severity" class="internal xref">CRITICAL Severity</a></p>
<ul class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty">
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.1.2.1">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.1.2.1.1"><a href="#section-4.1.1" class="auto internal xref">4.1.1</a>.  <a href="#name-gap-1-agent-behavioral-veri" class="internal xref">Gap 1: Agent Behavioral Verification</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.1.2.2">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.1.2.2.1"><a href="#section-4.1.2" class="auto internal xref">4.1.2</a>.  <a href="#name-gap-2-agent-failure-cascade" class="internal xref">Gap 2: Agent Failure Cascade Prevention</a></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2.1"><a href="#section-4.2" class="auto internal xref">4.2</a>.  <a href="#name-high-severity" class="internal xref">HIGH Severity</a></p>
<ul class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty">
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2.2.1">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2.2.1.1"><a href="#section-4.2.1" class="auto internal xref">4.2.1</a>.  <a href="#name-gap-3-multi-agent-consensus" class="internal xref">Gap 3: Multi-Agent Consensus Protocols</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2.2.2">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2.2.2.1"><a href="#section-4.2.2" class="auto internal xref">4.2.2</a>.  <a href="#name-gap-4-real-time-agent-rollb" class="internal xref">Gap 4: Real-Time Agent Rollback</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2.2.3">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2.2.3.1"><a href="#section-4.2.3" class="auto internal xref">4.2.3</a>.  <a href="#name-gap-5-federated-agent-learn" class="internal xref">Gap 5: Federated Agent Learning Privacy</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2.2.4">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2.2.4.1"><a href="#section-4.2.4" class="auto internal xref">4.2.4</a>.  <a href="#name-gap-6-cross-domain-agent-au" class="internal xref">Gap 6: Cross-Domain Agent Audit Trails</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2.2.5">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.2.2.5.1"><a href="#section-4.2.5" class="auto internal xref">4.2.5</a>.  <a href="#name-gap-7-human-override-standa" class="internal xref">Gap 7: Human Override Standardization</a></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.3">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.3.1"><a href="#section-4.3" class="auto internal xref">4.3</a>.  <a href="#name-medium-severity" class="internal xref">MEDIUM Severity</a></p>
<ul class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty">
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.3.2.1">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.3.2.1.1"><a href="#section-4.3.1" class="auto internal xref">4.3.1</a>.  <a href="#name-gap-8-cross-protocol-agent-" class="internal xref">Gap 8: Cross-Protocol Agent Migration</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.3.2.2">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.3.2.2.1"><a href="#section-4.3.2" class="auto internal xref">4.3.2</a>.  <a href="#name-gap-9-agent-resource-accoun" class="internal xref">Gap 9: Agent Resource Accounting and Billing</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.3.2.3">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.3.2.3.1"><a href="#section-4.3.3" class="auto internal xref">4.3.3</a>.  <a href="#name-gap-10-agent-capability-neg" class="internal xref">Gap 10: Agent Capability Negotiation</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.3.2.4">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.4.2.3.2.4.1"><a href="#section-4.3.4" class="auto internal xref">4.3.4</a>.  <a href="#name-gap-11-agent-performance-be" class="internal xref">Gap 11: Agent Performance Benchmarking</a></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.5">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.5.1"><a href="#section-5" class="auto internal xref">5</a>.  <a href="#name-solution-roadmap" class="internal xref">Solution Roadmap</a></p>
<ul class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty">
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.5.2.1">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.5.2.1.1"><a href="#section-5.1" class="auto internal xref">5.1</a>.  <a href="#name-companion-draft-mapping" class="internal xref">Companion Draft Mapping</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.5.2.2">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.5.2.2.1"><a href="#section-5.2" class="auto internal xref">5.2</a>.  <a href="#name-companion-draft-summaries" class="internal xref">Companion Draft Summaries</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.5.2.3">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.5.2.3.1"><a href="#section-5.3" class="auto internal xref">5.3</a>.  <a href="#name-dependencies" class="internal xref">Dependencies</a></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.6">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.6.1"><a href="#section-6" class="auto internal xref">6</a>.  <a href="#name-recommended-prioritization" class="internal xref">Recommended Prioritization</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.7">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.7.1"><a href="#section-7" class="auto internal xref">7</a>.  <a href="#name-security-considerations" class="internal xref">Security Considerations</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.8">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.8.1"><a href="#section-8" class="auto internal xref">8</a>.  <a href="#name-iana-considerations" class="internal xref">IANA Considerations</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.9">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.9.1"><a href="#section-9" class="auto internal xref">9</a>.  <a href="#name-references" class="internal xref">References</a></p>
<ul class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty">
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.9.2.1">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.9.2.1.1"><a href="#section-9.1" class="auto internal xref">9.1</a>.  <a href="#name-normative-references" class="internal xref">Normative References</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.9.2.2">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.9.2.2.1"><a href="#section-9.2" class="auto internal xref">9.2</a>.  <a href="#name-informative-references" class="internal xref">Informative References</a></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.10">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.10.1"><a href="#appendix-A" class="auto internal xref">Appendix A</a>.  <a href="#name-acknowledgments" class="internal xref">Acknowledgments</a></p>
</li>
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.11">
<p id="section-toc.1-1.11.1"><a href="#appendix-B" class="auto internal xref"></a><a href="#name-authors-address" class="internal xref">Author's Address</a></p>
</li>
</ul>
</nav>
</section>
</div>
<div id="introduction">
<section id="section-1">
<h2 id="name-introduction">
<a href="#section-1" class="section-number selfRef">1. </a><a href="#name-introduction" class="section-name selfRef">Introduction</a>
</h2>
<p id="section-1-1">Autonomous software agents are moving from research
prototypes to production deployments in network management,
cloud orchestration, supply-chain logistics, and AI-driven
workflows. A survey of IETF work reveals over 260 drafts
relevant to agent capabilities, yet no single reference
architecture ties them together. Several critical
capabilities -- runtime behavioral verification, failure
cascade prevention, cross-vendor human override -- lack
any standardization at all.<a href="#section-1-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<p id="section-1-2">This document distills the findings of a comprehensive
gap analysis <span>[<a href="#ARXIV-GAP" class="cite xref">ARXIV-GAP</a>]</span> into an actionable problem
statement. It identifies eleven gaps, groups them by
severity, and presents a solution roadmap of nine
companion drafts. The full analysis, including a survey
of existing IETF work across WIMSE, RATS, OAuth/GNAP,
SCITT, and NMOP, is available in
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety</a>]</span> and the
companion arXiv paper <span>[<a href="#ARXIV-GAP" class="cite xref">ARXIV-GAP</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-1-2" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<p id="section-1-3">The intended audience is working group chairs, area
directors, and protocol designers who need a concise
summary of what is missing and what to build next.<a href="#section-1-3" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="terminology">
<section id="section-2">
<h2 id="name-terminology">
<a href="#section-2" class="section-number selfRef">2. </a><a href="#name-terminology" class="section-name selfRef">Terminology</a>
</h2>
<p id="section-2-1">The key words "<span class="bcp14">MUST</span>", "<span class="bcp14">MUST NOT</span>", "<span class="bcp14">REQUIRED</span>", "<span class="bcp14">SHALL</span>", "<span class="bcp14">SHALL NOT</span>", "<span class="bcp14">SHOULD</span>", "<span class="bcp14">SHOULD NOT</span>", "<span class="bcp14">RECOMMENDED</span>", "<span class="bcp14">NOT RECOMMENDED</span>",
"<span class="bcp14">MAY</span>", and "<span class="bcp14">OPTIONAL</span>" in this document are to be interpreted as
described in BCP 14 <span>[<a href="#RFC2119" class="cite xref">RFC2119</a>]</span> <span>[<a href="#RFC8174" class="cite xref">RFC8174</a>]</span> when, and only when, they
appear in all capitals, as shown here.<a href="#section-2-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<p id="section-2-2">The following terms are used throughout this document:<a href="#section-2-2" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<span class="break"></span><dl class="dlParallel" id="section-2-3">
<dt id="section-2-3.1">Agent:</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-2-3.2">
<p id="section-2-3.2.1">A software component that acts on behalf of a principal
(human or organizational) to perform tasks autonomously.<a href="#section-2-3.2.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-2-3.3">ECT (Execution Context Token):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-2-3.4">
<p id="section-2-3.4.1">A cryptographically signed token carrying execution
context for an agent action.
See <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-2-3.4.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-2-3.5">ACP (Agent Context Policy):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-2-3.6">
<p id="section-2-3.6.1">A policy specifying permitted behaviors, resource limits,
and escalation rules for an agent.
See <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-2-3.6.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-2-3.7">HITL (Human-in-the-Loop):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-2-3.8">
<p id="section-2-3.8.1">A control pattern requiring human approval before an
agent action takes effect.<a href="#section-2-3.8.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-2-3.9">Cascade Failure:</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-2-3.10">
<p id="section-2-3.10.1">A failure mode where an error in one agent propagates
through a multi-agent workflow, causing successive
agents to fail.<a href="#section-2-3.10.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-2-3.11">Override Signal:</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-2-3.12">
<p id="section-2-3.12.1">A message from a human operator instructing an agent
to halt, modify, or roll back its current action.<a href="#section-2-3.12.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
</dl>
</section>
</div>
<div id="problem-landscape">
<section id="section-3">
<h2 id="name-problem-landscape">
<a href="#section-3" class="section-number selfRef">3. </a><a href="#name-problem-landscape" class="section-name selfRef">Problem Landscape</a>
</h2>
<p id="section-3-1">The autonomous agent ecosystem can be organized into four
layers, each with distinct standardization gaps. The
following diagram presents this reference architecture:<a href="#section-3-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<span id="name-agent-ecosystem-reference-a"></span><div id="fig-arch">
<figure id="figure-1">
<div class="alignLeft art-ascii-art art-text artwork" id="section-3-2.1">
<pre>
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| HUMAN OPERATORS |
| [Override &amp; HITL Layer -- GAP 7] |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| AGENT INTERACTION LAYER |
| +---------+ +---------+ +---------+ +---------+ |
| | Agent A |&lt;&gt;| Agent B |&lt;&gt;| Agent C |&lt;&gt;| Agent D | |
| +----+----+ +----+----+ +----+----+ +----+----+ |
| | GAP 3: | GAP 10: | GAP 1: | |
| | Consensus | Cap.Neg. | Behav. | |
| | | | Verif. | |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+--------------+
| EXECUTION LAYER (ECT) |
| DAG Execution | Checkpoints | Rollback | Circuit Breakers |
| [GAP 2: Cascade Prevention] [GAP 4: Rollback] |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| POLICY &amp; GOVERNANCE LAYER |
| ACP-DAG-HITL | Trust Scoring | Assurance Profiles |
| [GAP 5: Federated Privacy] [GAP 6: Cross-Domain Audit] |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| INFRASTRUCTURE LAYER |
| Identity | Discovery | Registration | Protocol Bridges |
| [GAP 8: Cross-Protocol] [GAP 9: Resource Accounting] |
| [GAP 11: Performance Benchmarking] |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
</pre>
</div>
<figcaption><a href="#figure-1" class="selfRef">Figure 1</a>:
<a href="#name-agent-ecosystem-reference-a" class="selfRef">Agent Ecosystem Reference Architecture</a>
</figcaption></figure>
</div>
<span class="break"></span><dl class="dlParallel" id="section-3-3">
<dt id="section-3-3.1">Human Operators Layer:</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-3-3.2">
<p id="section-3-3.2.1">Provides override and human-in-the-loop controls.
Gap 7 addresses the absence of a cross-vendor override
protocol.<a href="#section-3-3.2.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-3-3.3">Agent Interaction Layer:</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-3-3.4">
<p id="section-3-3.4.1">Where agents communicate, negotiate capabilities
(Gap 10), reach consensus (Gap 3), and undergo
behavioral verification (Gap 1).<a href="#section-3-3.4.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-3-3.5">Execution Layer:</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-3-3.6">
<p id="section-3-3.6.1">Manages DAG-based workflows with cascade prevention
(Gap 2) and rollback (Gap 4), built on Execution
Context Tokens <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-3-3.6.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-3-3.7">Policy and Governance Layer:</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-3-3.8">
<p id="section-3-3.8.1">Enforces privacy in federated learning (Gap 5) and
cross-domain audit trails (Gap 6).<a href="#section-3-3.8.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-3-3.9">Infrastructure Layer:</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-3-3.10">
<p id="section-3-3.10.1">Handles identity, discovery, cross-protocol migration
(Gap 8), resource accounting (Gap 9), and performance
benchmarking (Gap 11).<a href="#section-3-3.10.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
</dl>
</section>
</div>
<div id="critical-gaps">
<section id="section-4">
<h2 id="name-critical-gaps">
<a href="#section-4" class="section-number selfRef">4. </a><a href="#name-critical-gaps" class="section-name selfRef">Critical Gaps</a>
</h2>
<div id="critical-severity">
<section id="section-4.1">
<h3 id="name-critical-severity">
<a href="#section-4.1" class="section-number selfRef">4.1. </a><a href="#name-critical-severity" class="section-name selfRef">CRITICAL Severity</a>
</h3>
<div id="gap-1-agent-behavioral-verification">
<section id="section-4.1.1">
<h4 id="name-gap-1-agent-behavioral-veri">
<a href="#section-4.1.1" class="section-number selfRef">4.1.1. </a><a href="#name-gap-1-agent-behavioral-veri" class="section-name selfRef">Gap 1: Agent Behavioral Verification</a>
</h4>
<p id="section-4.1.1-1">No standardized mechanism exists for runtime verification
of agent policy compliance. RATS <span>[<a href="#RFC9334" class="cite xref">RFC9334</a>]</span> covers
platform attestation but not behavioral conformance.
Without this, operators cannot detect drifted, compromised,
or out-of-bounds agents -- especially dangerous in
multi-agent workflows where one misbehaving agent corrupts
downstream results.
Addressed by <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-4.1.1-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="gap-2-agent-failure-cascade-prevention">
<section id="section-4.1.2">
<h4 id="name-gap-2-agent-failure-cascade">
<a href="#section-4.1.2" class="section-number selfRef">4.1.2. </a><a href="#name-gap-2-agent-failure-cascade" class="section-name selfRef">Gap 2: Agent Failure Cascade Prevention</a>
</h4>
<p id="section-4.1.2-1">Multi-agent dependency chains lack standardized circuit
breakers, failure isolation, or cascade containment.
Current ad-hoc timeout and retry logic is neither
interoperable nor sufficient for DAG-structured workflows.
A single agent failure can cascade through an entire
deployment with no automated containment.
Addressed by <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-4.1.2-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
</section>
</div>
<div id="high-severity">
<section id="section-4.2">
<h3 id="name-high-severity">
<a href="#section-4.2" class="section-number selfRef">4.2. </a><a href="#name-high-severity" class="section-name selfRef">HIGH Severity</a>
</h3>
<div id="gap-3-multi-agent-consensus-protocols">
<section id="section-4.2.1">
<h4 id="name-gap-3-multi-agent-consensus">
<a href="#section-4.2.1" class="section-number selfRef">4.2.1. </a><a href="#name-gap-3-multi-agent-consensus" class="section-name selfRef">Gap 3: Multi-Agent Consensus Protocols</a>
</h4>
<p id="section-4.2.1-1">No standardized consensus protocol exists for
heterogeneous agents with different capabilities, trust
levels, and policy constraints. Distributed systems
consensus (Raft, Paxos) does not address agent-specific
semantics like weighted voting and capability-based
participation. Multi-vendor coordination remains
impossible without proprietary mechanisms.
Addressed by <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-consensus" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-consensus</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-4.2.1-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="gap-4-real-time-agent-rollback">
<section id="section-4.2.2">
<h4 id="name-gap-4-real-time-agent-rollb">
<a href="#section-4.2.2" class="section-number selfRef">4.2.2. </a><a href="#name-gap-4-real-time-agent-rollb" class="section-name selfRef">Gap 4: Real-Time Agent Rollback</a>
</h4>
<p id="section-4.2.2-1">No generalized rollback mechanism exists for autonomous
agent actions. Protocol-specific approaches (e.g.,
NETCONF confirmed-commit) do not extend to arbitrary
agent actions or coordinated multi-agent rollbacks.
Operators cannot safely deploy agents for critical
operations without manual intervention for every action.
Addressed by <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-4.2.2-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="gap-5-federated-agent-learning-privacy">
<section id="section-4.2.3">
<h4 id="name-gap-5-federated-agent-learn">
<a href="#section-4.2.3" class="section-number selfRef">4.2.3. </a><a href="#name-gap-5-federated-agent-learn" class="section-name selfRef">Gap 5: Federated Agent Learning Privacy</a>
</h4>
<p id="section-4.2.3-1">Agents sharing operational data across domains need
privacy guarantees beyond transport encryption:
differential privacy parameters, data minimization for
shared telemetry, and consent management. Without these,
organizations face unacceptable privacy risks in
federated agent ecosystems.
Addressed by <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-federation-privacy" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-federation-privacy</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-4.2.3-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="gap-6-cross-domain-agent-audit-trails">
<section id="section-4.2.4">
<h4 id="name-gap-6-cross-domain-agent-au">
<a href="#section-4.2.4" class="section-number selfRef">4.2.4. </a><a href="#name-gap-6-cross-domain-agent-au" class="section-name selfRef">Gap 6: Cross-Domain Agent Audit Trails</a>
</h4>
<p id="section-4.2.4-1">No standardized format exists for cross-domain audit
trails that preserve causal ordering and provide
tamper-evident logging. Execution Audit Tokens
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-exec-audit" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-exec-audit</a>]</span> provide per-action records,
but aggregation and correlation across domains remain
undefined. Compliance requirements for automated
decision-making make this urgent.
Addressed by <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-4.2.4-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="gap-7-human-override-standardization">
<section id="section-4.2.5">
<h4 id="name-gap-7-human-override-standa">
<a href="#section-4.2.5" class="section-number selfRef">4.2.5. </a><a href="#name-gap-7-human-override-standa" class="section-name selfRef">Gap 7: Human Override Standardization</a>
</h4>
<p id="section-4.2.5-1">No cross-vendor protocol exists for sending override
signals (emergency stop, graceful pause, forced rollback)
to running agents. ACP-DAG-HITL
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety</a>]</span> defines when
human approval is required but not how to deliver
override signals. This is a fundamental safety gap.
Addressed by <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-override-protocol" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-override-protocol</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-4.2.5-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
</section>
</div>
<div id="medium-severity">
<section id="section-4.3">
<h3 id="name-medium-severity">
<a href="#section-4.3" class="section-number selfRef">4.3. </a><a href="#name-medium-severity" class="section-name selfRef">MEDIUM Severity</a>
</h3>
<div id="gap-8-cross-protocol-agent-migration">
<section id="section-4.3.1">
<h4 id="name-gap-8-cross-protocol-agent-">
<a href="#section-4.3.1" class="section-number selfRef">4.3.1. </a><a href="#name-gap-8-cross-protocol-agent-" class="section-name selfRef">Gap 8: Cross-Protocol Agent Migration</a>
</h4>
<p id="section-4.3.1-1">Agents migrating between protocol environments (e.g.,
A2A to MCP) have no standard for preserving execution
context, identity, and state across protocol boundaries.
ECT <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect</a>]</span> provides a
protocol-neutral token but not migration procedures.
Addressed by <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-federation-privacy" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-federation-privacy</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-4.3.1-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="gap-9-agent-resource-accounting-and-billing">
<section id="section-4.3.2">
<h4 id="name-gap-9-agent-resource-accoun">
<a href="#section-4.3.2" class="section-number selfRef">4.3.2. </a><a href="#name-gap-9-agent-resource-accoun" class="section-name selfRef">Gap 9: Agent Resource Accounting and Billing</a>
</h4>
<p id="section-4.3.2-1">No mechanism exists for tracking and reconciling agent
resource consumption across administrative domains.
This is a prerequisite for sustainable multi-domain
agent ecosystems with cost attribution.
Addressed by <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-4.3.2-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="gap-10-agent-capability-negotiation">
<section id="section-4.3.3">
<h4 id="name-gap-10-agent-capability-neg">
<a href="#section-4.3.3" class="section-number selfRef">4.3.3. </a><a href="#name-gap-10-agent-capability-neg" class="section-name selfRef">Gap 10: Agent Capability Negotiation</a>
</h4>
<p id="section-4.3.3-1">Agents lack a standardized protocol to dynamically
advertise functions, agree on interaction protocols,
and establish compatible parameters. HTTP content
negotiation <span>[<a href="#RFC9110" class="cite xref">RFC9110</a>]</span> provides basic discovery but
not agent-specific capability semantics.
Addressed by <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-consensus" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-consensus</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-4.3.3-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="gap-11-agent-performance-benchmarking">
<section id="section-4.3.4">
<h4 id="name-gap-11-agent-performance-be">
<a href="#section-4.3.4" class="section-number selfRef">4.3.4. </a><a href="#name-gap-11-agent-performance-be" class="section-name selfRef">Gap 11: Agent Performance Benchmarking</a>
</h4>
<p id="section-4.3.4-1">No standardized metrics or methodology exists for
evaluating agent performance across dimensions of
accuracy, latency, resource efficiency, safety
compliance, and behavioral consistency.
Addressed by <span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification</a>]</span>.<a href="#section-4.3.4-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
</section>
</div>
</section>
</div>
<div id="solution-roadmap">
<section id="section-5">
<h2 id="name-solution-roadmap">
<a href="#section-5" class="section-number selfRef">5. </a><a href="#name-solution-roadmap" class="section-name selfRef">Solution Roadmap</a>
</h2>
<div id="companion-draft-mapping">
<section id="section-5.1">
<h3 id="name-companion-draft-mapping">
<a href="#section-5.1" class="section-number selfRef">5.1. </a><a href="#name-companion-draft-mapping" class="section-name selfRef">Companion Draft Mapping</a>
</h3>
<p id="section-5.1-1">The following table maps each companion draft to the
gaps it addresses:<a href="#section-5.1-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<span id="name-companion-draft-to-gap-mapp"></span><div id="tab-roadmap">
<table class="center" id="table-1">
<caption>
<a href="#table-1" class="selfRef">Table 1</a>:
<a href="#name-companion-draft-to-gap-mapp" class="selfRef">Companion Draft to Gap Mapping</a>
</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">Companion Draft</th>
<th class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">Gaps Addressed</th>
<th class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">Priority</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect</a>]</span>
</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">Foundation</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">CRITICAL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety</a>]</span>
</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">Foundation</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">CRITICAL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-exec-audit" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-exec-audit</a>]</span>
</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">Foundation</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">HIGH</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification</a>]</span>
</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">1, 11</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">CRITICAL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention</a>]</span>
</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">2, 4</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">CRITICAL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-consensus" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-consensus</a>]</span>
</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">3, 10</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">HIGH</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit</a>]</span>
</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">6, 9</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">HIGH</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-override-protocol" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-override-protocol</a>]</span>
</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">7</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">HIGH</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">
<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-federation-privacy" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-federation-privacy</a>]</span>
</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">5, 8</td>
<td class="text-center" rowspan="1" colspan="1">HIGH</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</section>
</div>
<div id="companion-draft-summaries">
<section id="section-5.2">
<h3 id="name-companion-draft-summaries">
<a href="#section-5.2" class="section-number selfRef">5.2. </a><a href="#name-companion-draft-summaries" class="section-name selfRef">Companion Draft Summaries</a>
</h3>
<span class="break"></span><dl class="dlParallel" id="section-5.2-1">
<dt id="section-5.2-1.1">ECT (<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect</a>]</span>):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-5.2-1.2">
<p id="section-5.2-1.2.1">Defines Execution Context Tokens that carry task
identity, delegated authority, and constraints across
agent boundaries. Foundational for all other drafts.<a href="#section-5.2-1.2.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-5.2-1.3">ACP-DAG-HITL (<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety</a>]</span>):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-5.2-1.4">
<p id="section-5.2-1.4.1">Specifies Agent Context Policy tokens for DAG-based
delegation with human-in-the-loop safety gates.
Foundational for policy enforcement across all gaps.<a href="#section-5.2-1.4.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-5.2-1.5">Execution Audit (<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-exec-audit" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-exec-audit</a>]</span>):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-5.2-1.6">
<p id="section-5.2-1.6.1">Defines per-action audit tokens for tamper-evident
recording of agent actions. Foundation for
cross-domain audit trails.<a href="#section-5.2-1.6.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-5.2-1.7">Behavioral Verification (<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification</a>]</span>):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-5.2-1.8">
<p id="section-5.2-1.8.1">Defines behavioral profiles, verification evidence
formats, and appraisal procedures for runtime agent
compliance. Addresses Gaps 1 and 11.<a href="#section-5.2-1.8.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-5.2-1.9">Cascade Prevention (<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention</a>]</span>):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-5.2-1.10">
<p id="section-5.2-1.10.1">Specifies circuit breakers, failure isolation,
checkpointing, and rollback mechanisms for multi-agent
workflows. Addresses Gaps 2 and 4.<a href="#section-5.2-1.10.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-5.2-1.11">Consensus (<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-consensus" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-consensus</a>]</span>):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-5.2-1.12">
<p id="section-5.2-1.12.1">Defines protocols for multi-agent agreement with
weighted voting, capability negotiation, and
policy-constrained proposals. Addresses Gaps 3 and 10.<a href="#section-5.2-1.12.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-5.2-1.13">Cross-Domain Audit (<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit</a>]</span>):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-5.2-1.14">
<p id="section-5.2-1.14.1">Specifies audit trail aggregation, correlation, and
query across administrative domains, plus resource
accounting. Addresses Gaps 6 and 9.<a href="#section-5.2-1.14.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-5.2-1.15">Override Protocol (<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-override-protocol" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-override-protocol</a>]</span>):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-5.2-1.16">
<p id="section-5.2-1.16.1">Defines a cross-vendor protocol for emergency stop,
graceful pause, parameter modification, and forced
rollback signals. Addresses Gap 7.<a href="#section-5.2-1.16.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-5.2-1.17">Federation Privacy (<span>[<a href="#I-D.nennemann-agent-federation-privacy" class="cite xref">I-D.nennemann-agent-federation-privacy</a>]</span>):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-5.2-1.18">
<p id="section-5.2-1.18.1">Specifies privacy-preserving mechanisms for federated
agent learning and cross-protocol migration procedures.
Addresses Gaps 5 and 8.<a href="#section-5.2-1.18.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
</dl>
</section>
</div>
<div id="dependencies">
<section id="section-5.3">
<h3 id="name-dependencies">
<a href="#section-5.3" class="section-number selfRef">5.3. </a><a href="#name-dependencies" class="section-name selfRef">Dependencies</a>
</h3>
<p id="section-5.3-1">The companion drafts have the following dependency
structure:<a href="#section-5.3-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<span id="name-companion-draft-dependencie"></span><div id="fig-deps">
<figure id="figure-2">
<div class="alignLeft art-ascii-art art-text artwork" id="section-5.3-2.1">
<pre>
behavioral-verification ---+
| |
v |
cascade-prevention |
| |
v v
override-protocol cross-domain-audit
| |
v v
consensus federation-privacy
</pre>
</div>
<figcaption><a href="#figure-2" class="selfRef">Figure 2</a>:
<a href="#name-companion-draft-dependencie" class="selfRef">Companion Draft Dependencies</a>
</figcaption></figure>
</div>
<p id="section-5.3-3">Behavioral verification is foundational: its attestation
format is consumed by cascade prevention and cross-domain
audit. Cascade prevention defines failure containment
that override protocol builds upon. Consensus extends
behavioral verification with multi-agent agreement.
Cross-domain audit provides the infrastructure that
federation privacy adds privacy controls to.<a href="#section-5.3-3" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
</section>
</div>
<div id="recommended-prioritization">
<section id="section-6">
<h2 id="name-recommended-prioritization">
<a href="#section-6" class="section-number selfRef">6. </a><a href="#name-recommended-prioritization" class="section-name selfRef">Recommended Prioritization</a>
</h2>
<p id="section-6-1">Work should proceed in three phases:<a href="#section-6-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<span class="break"></span><dl class="dlParallel" id="section-6-2">
<dt id="section-6-2.1">Phase 1 -- Safety Foundation (Immediate):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-6-2.2">
<p id="section-6-2.2.1">Behavioral Verification (Gaps 1, 11) and Cascade
Prevention (Gaps 2, 4). These are CRITICAL severity
gaps with direct safety implications. Without runtime
verification and failure containment, no autonomous
agent deployment can be considered safe.<a href="#section-6-2.2.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-6-2.3">Phase 2 -- Control and Accountability (Near-term):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-6-2.4">
<p id="section-6-2.4.1">Human Override (Gap 7) and Cross-Domain Audit (Gaps 6, 9).
Override capability is a prerequisite for any production
deployment. Audit trails are required for regulatory
compliance in enterprise environments.<a href="#section-6-2.4.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="section-6-2.5">Phase 3 -- Interoperability and Scale (Medium-term):</dt>
<dd style="margin-left: 1.5em" id="section-6-2.6">
<p id="section-6-2.6.1">Consensus (Gaps 3, 10) and Federation Privacy (Gaps 5, 8).
These enable multi-vendor and multi-domain agent
ecosystems but depend on the safety and accountability
foundations from Phases 1 and 2.<a href="#section-6-2.6.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
</dl>
</section>
</div>
<div id="security-considerations">
<section id="section-7">
<h2 id="name-security-considerations">
<a href="#section-7" class="section-number selfRef">7. </a><a href="#name-security-considerations" class="section-name selfRef">Security Considerations</a>
</h2>
<p id="section-7-1">The gaps identified in this document have cross-cutting
security implications:<a href="#section-7-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
<ul class="normal">
<li class="normal" id="section-7-2.1">
<p id="section-7-2.1.1">Behavioral Verification (Gap 1): Without runtime
verification, compromised agents exploit trusted
identities to perform unauthorized actions undetected.<a href="#section-7-2.1.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</li>
<li class="normal" id="section-7-2.2">
<p id="section-7-2.2.1">Cascade Prevention (Gap 2): Absence of containment
creates a denial-of-service vector where compromising
a single agent disrupts entire multi-agent workflows.<a href="#section-7-2.2.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</li>
<li class="normal" id="section-7-2.3">
<p id="section-7-2.3.1">Human Override (Gap 7): Without a standard override
protocol, safety-critical agent actions may not be
stoppable in emergency situations.<a href="#section-7-2.3.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</li>
<li class="normal" id="section-7-2.4">
<p id="section-7-2.4.1">Cross-Domain Audit (Gap 6): Audit trail gaps across
domain boundaries enable agents to evade detection
and accountability.<a href="#section-7-2.4.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</li>
<li class="normal" id="section-7-2.5">
<p id="section-7-2.5.1">Federated Privacy (Gap 5): Sharing agent data across
domains without privacy controls exposes network
topology, operational patterns, and business logic.<a href="#section-7-2.5.1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p id="section-7-3">Implementers of autonomous agent systems <span class="bcp14">SHOULD</span> treat
the CRITICAL and HIGH severity gaps as security
requirements and prioritize their resolution. The
companion drafts each contain detailed security
considerations specific to their scope.<a href="#section-7-3" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="iana-considerations">
<section id="section-8">
<h2 id="name-iana-considerations">
<a href="#section-8" class="section-number selfRef">8. </a><a href="#name-iana-considerations" class="section-name selfRef">IANA Considerations</a>
</h2>
<p id="section-8-1">This document has no IANA actions.<a href="#section-8-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="sec-combined-references">
<section id="section-9">
<h2 id="name-references">
<a href="#section-9" class="section-number selfRef">9. </a><a href="#name-references" class="section-name selfRef">References</a>
</h2>
<div id="sec-normative-references">
<section id="section-9.1">
<h3 id="name-normative-references">
<a href="#section-9.1" class="section-number selfRef">9.1. </a><a href="#name-normative-references" class="section-name selfRef">Normative References</a>
</h3>
<dl class="references">
<dt id="RFC2119">[RFC2119]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refAuthor">Bradner, S.</span>, <span class="refTitle">"Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels"</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">BCP 14</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">RFC 2119</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">DOI 10.17487/RFC2119</span>, <time datetime="1997-03" class="refDate">March 1997</time>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119">https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="RFC8174">[RFC8174]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refAuthor">Leiba, B.</span>, <span class="refTitle">"Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words"</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">BCP 14</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">RFC 8174</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">DOI 10.17487/RFC8174</span>, <time datetime="2017-05" class="refDate">May 2017</time>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8174">https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8174</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
</dl>
</section>
</div>
<div id="sec-informative-references">
<section id="section-9.2">
<h3 id="name-informative-references">
<a href="#section-9.2" class="section-number selfRef">9.2. </a><a href="#name-informative-references" class="section-name selfRef">Informative References</a>
</h3>
<dl class="references">
<dt id="ARXIV-GAP">[ARXIV-GAP]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refAuthor">Nennemann, C.</span>, <span class="refTitle">"Gap Analysis for Autonomous Agent Protocols in the IETF Landscape"</span>, <time datetime="2025" class="refDate">2025</time>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.02492">https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.02492</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="I-D.nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification">[I-D.nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refTitle">"Agent Behavioral Verification and Performance Benchmarking"</span>, <span>n.d.</span>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification/">https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-behavioral-verification/</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="I-D.nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention">[I-D.nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refTitle">"Agent Failure Cascade Prevention and Rollback"</span>, <span>n.d.</span>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention/">https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-cascade-prevention/</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="I-D.nennemann-agent-consensus">[I-D.nennemann-agent-consensus]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refTitle">"Multi-Agent Consensus and Capability Negotiation Protocols"</span>, <span>n.d.</span>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-consensus/">https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-consensus/</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="I-D.nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit">[I-D.nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refTitle">"Cross-Domain Agent Audit Trails and Resource Accounting"</span>, <span>n.d.</span>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit/">https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-cross-domain-audit/</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety">[I-D.nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refTitle">"Agent Context Policy Token: DAG Delegation with Human Override"</span>, <span>n.d.</span>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety/">https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-dag-hitl-safety/</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="I-D.nennemann-agent-federation-privacy">[I-D.nennemann-agent-federation-privacy]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refTitle">"Federated Agent Learning Privacy and Cross-Protocol Migration"</span>, <span>n.d.</span>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-federation-privacy/">https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-federation-privacy/</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="I-D.nennemann-agent-override-protocol">[I-D.nennemann-agent-override-protocol]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refTitle">"Standardized Human Override Protocol for Autonomous Agents"</span>, <span>n.d.</span>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-override-protocol/">https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-agent-override-protocol/</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="I-D.nennemann-exec-audit">[I-D.nennemann-exec-audit]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refTitle">"Cross-Domain Execution Audit Tokens"</span>, <span>n.d.</span>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-exec-audit/">https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-exec-audit/</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect">[I-D.nennemann-wimse-ect]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refTitle">"Execution Context Tokens for Distributed Agentic Workflows"</span>, <span>n.d.</span>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-wimse-ect/">https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-nennemann-wimse-ect/</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="RFC9110">[RFC9110]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refAuthor">Fielding, R., Ed.</span>, <span class="refAuthor">Nottingham, M., Ed.</span>, and <span class="refAuthor">J. Reschke, Ed.</span>, <span class="refTitle">"HTTP Semantics"</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">STD 97</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">RFC 9110</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">DOI 10.17487/RFC9110</span>, <time datetime="2022-06" class="refDate">June 2022</time>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110">https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="RFC9334">[RFC9334]</dt>
<dd>
<span class="refAuthor">Birkholz, H.</span>, <span class="refAuthor">Thaler, D.</span>, <span class="refAuthor">Richardson, M.</span>, <span class="refAuthor">Smith, N.</span>, and <span class="refAuthor">W. Pan</span>, <span class="refTitle">"Remote ATtestation procedureS (RATS) Architecture"</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">RFC 9334</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">DOI 10.17487/RFC9334</span>, <time datetime="2023-01" class="refDate">January 2023</time>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9334">https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9334</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
</dl>
</section>
</div>
</section>
</div>
<div id="acknowledgments">
<section id="appendix-A">
<h2 id="name-acknowledgments">
<a href="#appendix-A" class="section-number selfRef">Appendix A. </a><a href="#name-acknowledgments" class="section-name selfRef">Acknowledgments</a>
</h2>
<p id="appendix-A-1">The author thanks the participants of the WIMSE, RATS,
and NMOP working groups for discussions that informed
this analysis. The full gap analysis is available as
<span>[<a href="#ARXIV-GAP" class="cite xref">ARXIV-GAP</a>]</span>.<a href="#appendix-A-1" class="pilcrow"></a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="authors-addresses">
<section id="appendix-B">
<h2 id="name-authors-address">
<a href="#name-authors-address" class="section-name selfRef">Author's Address</a>
</h2>
<address class="vcard">
<div dir="auto" class="left"><span class="fn nameRole">Christian Nennemann</span></div>
<div dir="auto" class="left"><span class="org">Independent Researcher</span></div>
<div class="email">
<span>Email:</span>
<a href="mailto:ietf@nennemann.de" class="email">ietf@nennemann.de</a>
</div>
</address>
</section>
</div>
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