Definition · safety governance
capability security
capability security is a security model where holding a hard-to-forge token grants the rights it names. You can spot capability security in practice when the record shows what the system observes, what choice it makes, and what changes next, without asking the reader to guess or trust a slogan.
157 definitions656 sourced recordsNamed source: ACL Anthology
Why does capability security matter?
Rights travel with a token. Its scope, life, and safe storage set the boundary. For capability security, start with three checks: What is the agent allowed to do? Where does a person approve or interrupt it? What record remains after the run? The answers should point to visible evidence, not a promise.
What does capability security look like?
A storage token lets one agent write to one report folder for ten minutes. This example makes capability security visible by naming the actor, the action, and the result in practice. It is an illustration for readers, not a claim that every product behaves this way.
What is capability security easy to confuse with?
Capability security grants named rights through a token. Role-based access grants rights by assigned role. The closest entries here are agent security, delegated authorization, function calling. Compare their definitions with capability security before using the names as if they mean the same thing. That comparison keeps capability security separate from nearby ideas without pretending the boundary is always perfect.
How certain is this definition?
This definition is provisional. ACL Anthology supports the version you see today, but a better or more direct source may change it. Open the cited page and check its date before you use this entry to choose a product, write a policy, set a safety control, or design a system.
Who introduced the term capability security?
We have not verified who first introduced capability security. The source supports a useful definition, but it may not be the earliest use. Until a dated primary record settles the question, we leave the origin open. A popular article or product page is not enough to name the person who coined a term.
What should you understand before capability security?
Read agent governance first when capability security depends on a more basic idea or mechanism. The link gives you a useful route through the glossary. It does not mean every author teaches the subject in this order, so follow the source when the sequence matters.
What should this term help you answer?
Use capability security to ask what an agent can observe, decide, change, remember, or hand off. The questions below turn the definition into a practical check. They are prompts for your own work, not claims made by the source, so change them to fit the system you are examining.
- What is the agent allowed to do?
- Where does a person approve or interrupt it?
- What record remains after the run?
Which source supports this definition of capability security?
ACL Anthology supports this working definition of capability security. We checked the link on 2026-07-12. Open the original record for its context, methods, limits, and publication details. The short explanation here is a guide to capability security; the linked source remains the evidence to inspect when the wording or boundary matters.
source foundcapability securityChecked 2026-07-12→