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+# Real Pilot Admin Reachability Calibration 001
+
+## Purpose
+
+Document the first real-pilot `admin_reachability` calibration finding before
+changing reasoner behavior. This note records a bounded signal from a
+pre-existing dev AWS account collection and frames the next implementation
+question. It does not change IAMScope behavior.
+
+## Real Pilot Context
+
+A real pre-existing dev AWS account was collected into a local scratch path under
+`/tmp`. Raw artifacts are not committed here.
+
+Sanitized collection summary:
+
+- `id_algorithm`: `sha256_null_separated_v3_case_sensitive_provider_ids`
+- nodes: 26
+- edges: 63
+- constraints: 3
+- edge_constraints: 6
+- findings: 18
+- verdicts: 15 validated, 3 inconclusive
+- patterns: 15 `cross_account_trust`, 3 `admin_reachability`
+- reasoners run: `admin_reachability`, `assume_role_chain`,
+  `cross_account_trust`, `passrole_ecs`, `passrole_lambda`
+
+Initial review signal:
+
+- the first 4 `cross_account_trust` findings were reviewable and meaningful;
+- all 3 `admin_reachability` findings were inconclusive for the same reason;
+- no raw account IDs, IAM ARNs, raw `scenario.json`, raw `findings.json`, raw
+  `binding_metadata.json`, or collection logs are committed in this checkpoint.
+
+## Observed Finding Pattern
+
+All 3 `admin_reachability` findings reached the same sanitized target role label:
+`ProdDBAdminRole`.
+
+The recurring shape was:
+
+- source roles had `sts:AssumeRole` permission edges to the target role;
+- target trust admitted the source through account-root trust plus
+  `PrincipalArn` conditions and `ExternalId`;
+- the target role appeared admin-equivalent because it had AWS-managed
+  `AdministratorAccess`;
+- IAMScope treated the admin witness as wildcard/hyperedge evidence;
+- the check `at_least_one_reachable_chain_uses_clean_witnesses` was `UNKNOWN`;
+- the resulting `admin_reachability` findings were `inconclusive`.
+
+Calibration question:
+
+Should AWS-managed `AdministratorAccess` be treated as a clean
+admin-equivalence witness for `admin_reachability`, rather than making the path
+inconclusive solely because the managed policy is represented as
+wildcard/hyperedge evidence?
+
+## Why Current Behavior Is Conservative
+
+Current behavior avoids promoting arbitrary wildcard or hyperedge admin evidence
+to a clean witness. That is usually a good default because custom wildcard
+policies can be partial, conditioned, bounded, blocked, or otherwise ambiguous
+once the full IAM context is considered.
+
+For `admin_reachability`, this means a reachable role can remain inconclusive if
+the only admin-equivalence witness is represented as wildcard/hyperedge evidence.
+That preserves uncertainty instead of overclaiming a clean administrative path.
+
+## Why This May Be Over-Conservative
+
+AWS-managed `AdministratorAccess` is a special case: it is a well-known
+AWS-managed policy intended to grant broad administrative permissions. If the
+attached policy is exactly the AWS-managed `AdministratorAccess` policy, the
+edge-builder representation may still look like wildcard/hyperedge evidence even
+though the policy identity is more specific than an arbitrary custom wildcard.
+
+In the real-pilot signal, the repeated uncertainty did not come from three
+different ambiguous admin policies. It came from the same question: whether the
+AWS-managed `AdministratorAccess` attachment should be treated as a clean
+admin-equivalence witness when the rest of the AssumeRole path is clean.
+
+## Candidate Fix
+
+Documented candidate only; do not implement in this checkpoint.
+
+Keep arbitrary wildcard/hyperedge admin witnesses conservative. Treat
+AWS-managed `AdministratorAccess` as a clean admin-equivalence witness for
+`admin_reachability` only when all of these are true:
+
+- `policy_arn` is exactly `arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AdministratorAccess`;
+- `action_matched_via` is `wildcard_star`;
+- `resource_pattern` is `*`;
+- effect is `Allow`;
+- no conditions are present.
+
+Then `admin_reachability` may validate a clean AssumeRole path to that admin
+role if the assume-role permission and trust edges are clean.
+
+Keep custom wildcard policies conservative unless separately reviewed and
+covered by focused tests.
+
+## Risks
+
+Potential risks before implementation:
+
+- accidentally treating custom `Action: "*", Resource: "*"` policies as clean;
+- treating a customer-managed policy named `AdministratorAccess` as equivalent
+  to the AWS-managed policy;
+- missing conditions, permissions boundaries, SCPs, session policies, or other
+  blockers that should still prevent validation;
+- broadening `admin_reachability` beyond one specific AWS-managed policy
+  identity;
+- destabilizing existing prod-like oracle or golden expectations without an
+  explicit migration note.
+
+## Required Tests Before Code Change
+
+Before changing reasoner behavior, add focused local tests for:
+
+- admin role with AWS-managed `AdministratorAccess` is a clean admin witness;
+- admin role with custom `Action: "*", Resource: "*"` policy remains ambiguous
+  or current behavior unless explicitly reviewed;
+- clean AssumeRole path to AWS-managed `AdministratorAccess` target becomes
+  `validated`;
+- ambiguous AssumeRole path to AWS-managed `AdministratorAccess` target remains
+  `inconclusive`;
+- permission-boundary and SCP blockers still win;
+- existing prod-like oracle and golden tests remain stable, or changes are
+  explicitly updated and documented.
+
+## Non-Claims
+
+This checkpoint does not claim:
+
+- production readiness;
+- broad IAMScope correctness;
+- full IAM correctness;
+- exploitability proof;
+- downstream authorization proof;
+- generic Deny correctness;
+- composite benchmark score;
+- pass/fail benchmark label.
+
+## Exact Next Slice
+
+Recommended next slice: implement AWS-managed AdministratorAccess clean admin witness handling for admin_reachability with focused local tests.