Permission granted but action wrong: the agent authorization problem
Invisible_act1988 · reddit · 2026-10-05
An agent developer raised an overlooked problem on Reddit: an agent can have the right identity, valid permissions, and the right tool — and the action can still be wrong. Examples: an agent allowed to update customer records suddenly tries to export the whole database mid-workflow; an approved email send where the recipient or data drifted; a sub-agent inheriting parent access and gradually exceeding the original task.
The core question is how to decide what an agent is authorized to do right now: recheck authorization before sensitive tool calls? Track action trajectory? Handle scope escape? The poster asks for real production failures and edge cases.
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