PTxray is intended to be inspected before it is run. The published PTxray 1.6.0 release requires root for AIX and QSECOFR for IBM i. The VIOS lane remains disabled pending live VIOS acceptance. The security boundary is the exact, verified release asset set for the selected platform, not a brand claim or a download page.

This document covers the report runners in the ptxray-report-aix-1.6.0.tar and ptxray-report-ibmi-1.6.0.tar bundles, the compatibility ptxray-aix.sh and ptxray-ibmi.sh runners, the separate adjacent ptxray-defs.sh downloader, and the offline ptxray-review-pack.sh helper in the 1.6 release.

For ptxray-aix.sh and ptxray-ibmi.sh:

• Read-only describes the assessment probes. They read posture evidence and render a report. They do not remediate findings or change system configuration.
• Assessment execution has no network egress. The assessment must not open an outbound network connection, perform a live DNS lookup, fetch reference data, send telemetry, upload a report, or send any assessment data away from the host.
• Writes are local and named. PTxray can write the report or export path chosen by the operator, a protected definitions cache, and private temporary scratch data for documented local-input workflows. It removes scratch data on normal exit and handled signals; abrupt termination can leave private scratch debris.
• Missing evidence is not clean evidence. Unavailable evidence is never promoted to PASS. Most unread or incomplete sources are surfaced as NOT_ASSESSED in the completeness model. Stale definitions are explicitly identified and cannot silently support a current-data PASS.

These are deliberately narrower statements than “the process has no side effects.” Producing a report, publishing a verified definitions-cache generation, and using bounded scratch space are filesystem writes.

The runners use standard platform read or query commands and fixed, reviewable configuration paths to inspect:

• host identity, AIX TL/SP, and firmware levels, filesets, interim fixes, and locally supplied vulnerability evidence;
• filesystems, volume groups, logical volumes, disks, paths, paging, CPU, memory, and performance counters;
• errpt, dump, boot, backup, availability, and monitoring posture;
• network interfaces, routes, listeners, resolver configuration, SSH, services, account/password/audit policy, scheduled work, and bounded file metadata checks.

The public check inventory and command declarations are in catalog.json and the adjacent manifest.json files under checks/. The operator-focused scope is described in docs/auditing-aix.md.

The release can write only the following local artifacts:

• HTML, JSON, or compliance output sent to stdout or redirected by the operator;
• an HTML report under a directory explicitly selected with --out (the zero-argument convenience run selects the current directory), using a hidden same-directory temporary file before the final mv;
• two owner-only inventory files under a directory explicitly selected with --flrt-export. PTxray resolves and validates the directory ancestry, writes through exclusive owner-only temporary files, refuses existing destinations, checks both capture return codes, and publishes with no-clobber hard links; and
• when authorized FLRTVC inputs are supplied locally, private scratch files under ${TMPDIR:-/tmp}. PTxray creates its scratch directory mode 700, restricts the input copies, and makes a best-effort removal on normal exit or a handled signal. An abrupt termination, including one during final cleanup, can leave the private directory behind for manual removal; and
• verified, immutable definitions generations under /var/ptxray/definitions, plus the protected current-generation pointer and bounded temporary files used during verification. A connected update is a pre-assessment downloader operation, not an assessment probe.

It does not execute a write to AIX configuration, ODM device configuration, filesets, service state, security policy, accounts, boot state, or remediation changes. The preserved real-AIX drill observed diagnostic ODM-class mtimes advance without any corresponding scanner-tree open/write syscall and could not attribute that housekeeping. PTxray therefore does not claim that no metadata anywhere on a live system can move while read utilities run.

The scan does not install, update, or remove software; edit configuration or security policy; change device attributes; start, stop, or restart services; create, lock, or delete users; or reboot or shut down the system. Commands such as chdev, chsec, chuser, chmod, and installp appear in finding remediation text because the report tells an administrator what they may choose to do later. That prose is data; it is not executed by the scan.

public-checks.yml runs egress-lint.sh over the assessment runners, review helper, validator, and standalone checks. It deliberately excludes ptxray-defs.sh, because the downloader is the one network-capable component. The lint rejects network-client commands in executable positions and carries a regression for the former wrapped host lookup.

Static lint is a review tripwire, not a shell parser or proof of arbitrary-code behavior. Inspect the exact runner and downloader sources and repeat a network trace on the AIX or IBM i release you intend to assess. Keep the downloader out of an assessment-only trace, or account for its disclosed pre-assessment HTTPS requests separately.

verify-release-integrity.py requires root/site artifact identity, validates catalog and release-manifest digests, and checks the exact release asset set. Public CI does not rebuild the private engine. Shared runner control flow and its bounded local writes still require source review; a command allowlist is not presented as a universal proof.

See docs/VERIFY.md for exact commands to inspect likely network and mutating primitives, run the public gates, and compare SHA-256 digests.

PTxray 1.6.0 is the current published release. The assessment boundary is unchanged from 1.5.0. AIX requires root, and IBM i requires both SESSION_USER=QSECOFR and SYSTEM_USER=QSECOFR. The privilege gate runs before definitions selection, so an unprivileged invocation neither starts a scan nor reaches the network.

The report runners shipped in ptxray-report-aix-1.6.0.tar and ptxray-report-ibmi-1.6.0.tar are the product entry points. They run the same read-only assessment tools inside the same boundary: they change no system configuration, perform no remediation, and make no network calls of their own. The separate ptxray-defs.sh remains the only component permitted to reach the network.

The runner invokes the separate adjacent ptxray-defs.sh only after validating its ownership, mode, and embedded same-release SHA-256 digest. Connected mode attempts to download the current signed definitions by default. --offline uses only the signed cache. --definitions-bundle SIGNED_FILE imports a local signed bundle and its adjacent SIGNED_FILE.sig. The interactive menu exposes update, signed cache, local signed bundle, and continue-without-definitions choices; a prompt timeout or end-of-file cancels without running the assessment.

Before a connected update, the downloader identifies the two fixed public HTTPS GET requests, the cache destination, and the source-IP, host/path, time, TLS, and fixed-user-agent metadata visible to PowerTrue and ordinary DNS/TLS infrastructure. It disables redirects and inherited proxies and sends no request body or assessment data. It verifies signatures and schema before publishing an immutable generation under /var/ptxray/definitions. A failed update can use the last valid signed cache; old or stale definitions produce an explicit age warning. Assessment probes begin only after selection and remain no-egress, read-only on system configuration, and non-remediating. An air-gapped assessment uses --offline with a valid cache or a locally transferred signed bundle.

Release signatures authenticate the exact SHA256SUMS bytes. The manifest then binds named release payloads to their SHA-256 digests. This does not make the release signing key self-authenticating: obtain its SPKI-DER SHA-256 fingerprint through an independent PowerTrue Systems channel before trusting the downloaded public key.

The authoritative release-key fingerprint is:

sha256:c2fa7dc69be3dead5e196eca6a9c48ece42a7105eb9f56ab9f620bd0c6c617bd

Confirm that value through the independently controlled PowerTrue PTxray release-key trust page before trusting the public key downloaded with a release.

The public scanner does not fetch or contain IBM's flrtvc.ksh or full apar.csv. Its six delivery embed slots are empty. An authorized connected admin system may fetch and verify those inputs and side-load them for an offline target run; that local delivery artifact is ignored and must not be committed or publicly redistributed.

tools/check-no-ibm-redistribution.py fails CI if the Git index contains the case-insensitive basenames flrtvc.ksh or apar.csv, a tracked aixray-aix.bundled.sh, a non-empty protected embed slot assignment, the specific FLRTVC structure it checks (ksh93 in the first line, a version assignment, parseLSLPP, and parseEFIX), or its full-feed signature (at least 100 lines, the exact header, and a vintage row). It is not a general classifier for all IBM-derived content. Its exact scope, and a broader candidate-file audit that remains necessary, are documented in docs/VERIFY.md.

Public copy: An ptxray-review-pack.sh review file is pseudonymized, not anonymized. It can still contain operational and configuration details. Inspect the review file locally before deciding whether to share it. The separate local decoding key must not be sent with the review file. Creating either file performs no upload or send; sharing remains a deliberate user action.

The 1.6 release helper writes its ptxray-review-*.html, ptxray-local-key-*.map, and ptxray-local-removals-*.txt outputs beside the input report through a private scratch directory. Keep the key and removals manifest local. This optional local transformation does not broaden the scanner's assessed-system read-only boundary or its zero-egress boundary. It is not proof that a review file is free of all identifying or sensitive information.

Do not open a public issue for a suspected vulnerability. Email the tested mailbox review@powertruesystems.com with the subject PTxray security report. GitHub private vulnerability reporting is enabled at https://github.com/PowerTrueSYS/ptxray-public/security/advisories/new, so use either private channel, never a public issue. Include:

• the exact Git commit or release tag;
• platform and release, effective user or profile, and any privilege warning or refusal emitted by the assessment;
• the invocation and the smallest reproduction that demonstrates the issue; and
• the observed impact and any relevant lint or trace evidence.

After safe triage is possible, PowerTrue Systems will acknowledge the report. There is no fixed response SLA. Do not attach a production scan, credentials, host identifiers, or other sensitive system data to a vulnerability report unless a secure transfer method has been agreed first. The generated report separately offers optional engineer review at the same mailbox; that offer is not permission to send an unsanitized production report. Sanitize it first, or email without the attachment to agree a transfer method. Do not use a public GitHub issue for security reports.