SCH-30 — adversarial review update (2026-10-04, post-SCH-28)

SCH-30 — adversarial review update (2026-10-04, post-SCH-28)

Reviewer: phymora (adversarial). Surface reviewed: issue SCH-30 (2421b734-6f97-46dd-a792-c1d2ed1dfa2e), its operator confirmation b89524a5-50f6-4513-b9aa-215ae9444c56, and the evidence it cites.

Change since prior review: SCH-28 (spend ceiling) is now done. The adapter has a real accumulator + ceiling (smol_cloud_runner.py:50,160,192,219-223,364,578). Two tests pass: test_spend_ceiling_refuses_create_after_cumulative_cost_reaches_cap and test_spend_guard_issues_no_request_when_already_over_cap.

Remaining blockers (unchanged):

  • BLOCKER 1 — no switch to flip. Grep *.py/*.yaml/*.yml for PRODUCTION_STUDENT|STUDENT_DISPATCH|VM_DISPATCH|DISPATCH_MODE|RUNNER_BACKEND|HOSTED_ENABLED|USE_HOSTED → no matches. "Production student coding stays disabled" is prose only (goals/school-core-complete/plan.md:14, docs/student-vm-boundary.md:7). issue_bridge.py never imports student_vm_runner/smol_cloud_runner. This is a net-new integration, not an enable flip.
  • BLOCKER 2 — hosted trusted verification unqualified. Boundary item 1 (docs/student-vm-boundary.md:94) requires "…export → clean candidate import → separate trusted verification → destroy." P1 (tests/test_smol_cloud_hosted_probes.py:307) calls runner.execute() and reads the archive directly — no import_guest_candidate_archive, no materialize_guest_candidate, no verifier. The only verifier is SmolVmVerifier (verifier_vm.py:428), which drives the local smolvm binary (:500-506) — there is no hosted verifier. Yet docs/research/sch13-hosted-qualification-pass.md:80 and the confirmation detailsMarkdown both claim P1 covers "verify". It does not.
  • MAJOR 3 — P4 proves one failure class, not the boundary's set. P4 (:436) injects a single guest exit 3; boundary item 2 names create/start/runtime/relay/collect/verify/destroy failures. No probe attaches a relay at all.
  • MAJOR 4 — item 6 (timeout/process-death/verifier/destroy/restart) has no hosted coverage. P6 (:495) proves only the TTL sweep. The injections exist only as hermetic fakes in tests/test_smol_cloud_runner.py.
  • MAJOR 6 — cited evidence leaks host paths. data/hosted-qualification/hosted-probes-20261004T143824Z.json → p4_guest_failure.payload.host_commands contains absolute host paths (/private/var/folders/fq/…/pytest-of-brandonbennett/…). P7 only bounds size + "no token".
  • NIT 7 — "8/8 probes" counts P7 (evidence hygiene), not the 7 boundary items.

Simpler alternative (mandatory pass): do nothing to production dispatch now (the golden-path goal is blocked on zero real issues since 2026-08-31, not on the VM substrate); add ONE hosted probe that runs the real dispatch_and_verify_student_task flow with SmolCloudRunner + a hosted verifier; then wire issue_bridge behind a new flag as a separate ticket.

Verdict: fix-then-ship → REJECT the "enable" framing. Do not accept this confirmation. The single biggest reason: the acceptance item that matters most for a student-execution boundary — a separate trusted verification of the exported candidate — was never qualified on the hosted substrate, and the "production student coding disabled→enabled" switch the issue says to flip does not exist. Accepting would enable nothing, or (if wired minimally) would enable a path whose verifier leg is unqualified.

Disposition: SCH-28 is resolved. The v2 confirmation b89524a5 is still pending operator response. Production student coding stays disabled. No deploy, no provider/GitHub write.

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