Access is not authority.
Every escalation is governed.
Role changes, permission grants, and MFA config changes are the highest-value targets after initial compromise. Strix places a governed checkpoint before every one of them — regardless of who is asking.
What Strix stops
Insider promotes themselves
Without Strix
User with 'member' role calls PATCH /api/members with role: 'owner'
With Strix
Strix intercepts. Decision required. Two approvals for HIGH-risk role change.
Compromised admin session
Without Strix
Attacker with stolen session token attempts to grant 'admin' to an external account
With Strix
Action flagged as CRITICAL. Strix requires a second approver from a different session.
Automated escalation
Without Strix
AI agent script attempts to elevate its own capability scope mid-task
With Strix
Execution token required. Agent cannot issue its own tokens. Blocked.
MFA enforcement change
Without Strix
Admin disables MFA requirement for all users via settings mutation
With Strix
CRITICAL action. Self-escalation blocked. Second human approver required.
How enforcement works
Evaluated at execution. Not before, not after.
Role change attempted
Any mutation that touches role, capabilities, or MFA settings is classified as CRITICAL or HIGH by the kernel.
Policy evaluates
PolicyEngine assesses risk tier, self-escalation flag, quorum requirement, and SoD (Separation of Duties). Output is deterministic and content-addressable.
Approval artifact minted
Each approval produces a 1:1 signed canonical artifact. Chain-hashed within the decision. Verifiable by any third party against the public JWKS.
Separation of Duties
You cannot approve your own escalation.
Strix enforces SoD at the policy layer — not the UI layer. The actor requesting the role change cannot be the same actor who approves it. Approval artifacts carry the approver's identity in the signed canonical payload. Any attempt to self-approve fails policy evaluation before an approval row is ever written.
See a role change get intercepted.
In the demo, we attempt to promote a user to owner — and watch Strix create a decision record, block self-approval, and require a second human approver. All in a live production system.