Authorization Propagation in Multi-Agent AI Systems: Identity Governance as Infrastructure
The security discussion around agentic AI focuses heavily on prompt injection. This paper argues that multi-agent systems also create a distinct authorization problem: maintaining authorization invariants as non-human principals retrieve data, delegate tasks, and synthesize results across changing boundaries. We call this problem authorization propagation. It is not reducible to prompt injection and is not fully addressed by classical access-control models such as RBAC, ABAC, or ReBAC. The paper
Record details
Published: 6 May 2026
Source: arXiv
Category: Research
Topics: Regulation · Agents & autonomy
Retrieved: 14 July 2026
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ethics.ai (6 May 2026), “Authorization Propagation in Multi-Agent AI Systems: Identity Governance as Infrastructure,” evidence record 4885, https://ethics.ai/record/4885 (originally published by arXiv).
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