Release evidence from run 31744302624 shows the tolerated Microsoft `!ml`
verdict is close to a coin flip per byte image rather than a property of the
code. Across the eight targets the stripped and unstripped candidates of the
SAME linker output disagreed on four, and in both directions:
linux-amd64 stripped microsoft-ml unstripped clean
darwin-arm64 stripped clean unstripped microsoft-ml
linux-arm64 stripped clean unstripped microsoft-ml
If the classifier were keying on something intrinsic to our code the siblings
would agree; they do not. So each variant is close to an independent draw, and
5 of 16 candidates drew the flag.
Two draws is not always enough. On that run linux-amd64-portable came back
microsoft-ml on BOTH candidates, leaving no clean binary to ship for that
target. A third independent draw at a ~31% observed per-candidate hit rate takes
the both/all-flagged case from roughly 1-in-10 per target to roughly 1-in-30.
The third candidate is `--strip-debug` (Apple: `-S`): debug information removed,
symbol table kept. Behaviourally identical to the other two — same linker
output, only metadata differs — but a distinct byte image, which is all
VirusTotal needs to scan it as its own file. Verified on the real v0.10.4
candidates: linux-amd64 gives three distinct hashes (294,634,656 /
294,623,208 / 293,746,096 bytes) and darwin-arm64 likewise, with the ad-hoc
signature verifying after strip.
Selection is unchanged in spirit and now ordered: smallest artifact first
(stripped, debug-stripped, unstripped), take the first CLEAN one, and only if
every candidate drew the tolerated verdict ship the smallest flagged one. A
hard verdict on any candidate still blocks the release before selection.
Cost is 24 objects per release instead of 16.
Derivation enforces that all three hashes differ — identical candidates would be
one draw wearing three hats, and the selector would believe it had alternatives
it does not have. Public claims in README, SECURITY.md and docs/index.html
updated from "both stripped and unstripped" to the three candidates.
All three release contract tests pass, including the native derivation test
which exercises the real strip and codesign path on this host.
Signed-off-by: Martin Vogel <martin.vogel.tech@gmail.com>
Martin Vogel
98d7dbab01
