component_architecture_unknowns.md - Stella Ops Unknowns (2025Q4)

Unknown component and symbol tracking registry.

Scope. Library architecture for Unknowns: tracking unresolved components, symbols, and mappings that Scanner and other analyzers cannot definitively identify.

0) Mission & boundaries

Mission. Provide a structured registry for tracking unknown components, unresolved symbols, and incomplete mappings. Enable visibility into coverage gaps and guide future enhancement priorities.

Boundaries.

Unknowns is a library layer consumed by Scanner and Signals.
Unknowns does not guess identities. It records what cannot be determined.
All unknowns are categorized for actionability.

1) Solution & project layout

src/Unknowns/
 ├─ __Libraries/
 │   ├─ StellaOps.Unknowns.Core/           # Unknown models, categorization
 │   ├─ StellaOps.Unknowns.Persistence/    # Storage abstractions
 │   └─ StellaOps.Unknowns.Persistence.EfCore/
 │
 └─ __Tests/
     ├─ StellaOps.Unknowns.Core.Tests/
     └─ StellaOps.Unknowns.Persistence.Tests/

2) Contracts & data model

2.1 Unknown Record

{
  "unknownId": "unk-2025-01-15-abc123",
  "category": "symbol_unmapped",
  "context": {
    "scanId": "scan-xyz",
    "binaryPath": "/usr/lib/libfoo.so",
    "symbolName": "_ZN3foo3barEv"
  },
  "reason": "No PURL mapping available",
  "firstSeen": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "occurrences": 42,
  "provenanceHints": [
    {
      "hint_id": "hint:sha256:abc123...",
      "type": "BuildIdMatch",
      "confidence": 0.95,
      "hypothesis": "Binary matches openssl 1.1.1k from debian",
      "suggested_actions": [
        {
          "action": "verify_build_id",
          "priority": 1,
          "effort": "low",
          "description": "Verify Build-ID against distro package repositories"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "bestHypothesis": "Binary matches openssl 1.1.1k from debian",
  "combinedConfidence": 0.95
}

2.2 Categories

Category	Description
`component_unidentified`	Binary without package mapping
`symbol_unmapped`	Symbol without PURL resolution
`version_ambiguous`	Multiple version candidates
`purl_invalid`	Malformed package URL

2.3 Provenance Hints

Added in SPRINT_20260106_001_005_UNKNOWNS

Provenance hints explain why something is unknown and provide hypotheses for resolution.

Hint Types (15+):

BuildIdMatch - ELF/PE Build-ID match against known catalog
DebugLink - Debug link (.gnu_debuglink) reference
ImportTableFingerprint - Import table fingerprint comparison
ExportTableFingerprint - Export table fingerprint comparison
SectionLayout - Section layout similarity
StringTableSignature - String table signature match
CompilerSignature - Compiler/linker identification
PackageMetadata - Package manager metadata (RPATH, NEEDED, etc.)
DistroPattern - Distro/vendor pattern match
VersionString - Version string extraction
SymbolPattern - Symbol name pattern match
PathPattern - File path pattern match
CorpusMatch - Hash match against known corpus
SbomCrossReference - SBOM cross-reference
AdvisoryCrossReference - Advisory cross-reference

Confidence Levels:

VeryHigh (>= 0.9) - Strong evidence, high reliability
High (0.7 - 0.9) - Good evidence, likely accurate
Medium (0.5 - 0.7) - Moderate evidence, worth investigating
Low (0.3 - 0.5) - Weak evidence, low confidence
VeryLow (< 0.3) - Very weak evidence, exploratory only

Suggested Actions:

Each hint includes prioritized resolution actions:

verify_build_id - Verify Build-ID against distro package repositories
distro_package_lookup - Search distro package repositories
version_verification - Verify extracted version against known releases
analyze_imports - Cross-reference imported libraries
compare_section_layout - Compare section layout with known binaries
expand_catalog - Add missing distros/packages to Build-ID catalog

Hint Combination:

When multiple hints agree, confidence is boosted:

Single hint: confidence = 0.85
Two agreeing: confidence = min(0.99, 0.85 + 0.1) = 0.95
Three agreeing: confidence = min(0.99, 0.85 + 0.2) = 0.99

JSON Schema:

See src/Unknowns/__Libraries/StellaOps.Unknowns.Core/Schemas/provenance-hint.schema.json

Scanner: ../scanner/architecture.md
Signals: ../signals/architecture.md

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