What This Looks Like
An automated AI or workflow step proceeds even though approval should have been required. It may send, update, route, publish, escalate, delete, notify, call a tool, or modify state without waiting for the required human or system approval gate.
Why It Matters
Approval gates are control points. If automation skips them, the workflow may perform actions that have not been authorized, reviewed, or accepted. This can create compliance, safety, audit, and recovery problems because the action has already happened before authority is confirmed.
Structural Signal
An action crosses an approval boundary without the required authority state. The issue is not merely that automation acted quickly; it is that the approval condition was missing, bypassed, or not enforced.
Common Triggers
- Approval requirements are documented but not encoded in automation
- The agent treats generated output as approval
- A tool or workflow executes after classification without a gate
- Approval state is stored separately and not checked before action
- Default automation paths skip edge-case approvals
- A retry or repair path bypasses the normal approval step
When to Use This Issue
Use this Issue when automation proceeds past a required approval gate and performs or triggers action without the needed approval.
When Not to Use This Issue
Do not use this Issue when approval was not required. Do not use it when the problem is that approval was slow or denied. This Issue applies when a required approval boundary is skipped.