1954-remove-prev_event-from-essential-keys-list.md

Remove prev_content from the essential keys list

Matrix supports the concept of event redaction. The ability to redact rather than delete is necessary because some events e.g. membership events are essential to the protocol and cannot be deleted. Therefore we do not delete events outright and instead redact them. This involves removing all keys from an event that are not required by the protocol. The stripped down event is thereafter returned anytime a client or remote server requests it.

Proposal

The redaction algorithm defines which keys must be retained through a redaction. Currently it lists prev_content as a key to retain, though in practice there is no need to do so at the protocol level.

The proposal is simply to remove prev_content from the essential keys list.

Note: the inclusion of prev_content in the essential keys list was unintentional and should be considered a spec bug. Synapse (and other server implementations) have not implemented the bug and already omit prev_content from redacted events.

Tradeoffs

When sending events over federation the events are hashed and signed, this involves operating not only on the original event but also the redacted form of the event. The redacted hash and redacted signed event are necessary if the event is ever redacted in future. As a result, any change of the essential keys list must be managed carefully. If disparate servers implement different versions of the redaction algorithm (for a given event) attempts to send the event over federation will fail.

We could manage this change via room versioning and create a new room version that implements this MSC. However, because the federation already omits the prev_content key by convention, implementing this MSC only in the new room version would mean that the entire existing federation would not be spec compliant.

As a result it seems pragmatic to have the spec reflect reality, acknowledge that the spec and federation have deviated and instead update the spec retrospectively to describe the de-facto redaction algorithm.

Potential issues

It is theoretically possible that a closed federation could exist whose servers do follow the spec as is. This MSC would render those servers non-compliant with the spec. On balance this seems unlikely and in the worst case those implementors could add the change to a subsequent room version, eventually reaching spec consistency as older room versions are deprecated.

Another scenario is that a client may redact events according to the spec as is and persist prev_content through the redaction, thereby diverting from that on the server(s). Client authors will have to update their code to drop prev_content - however, given that prev_content should not be used in important calculations and/or visualisations, this ought to be a relatively non-invasive change.

Security considerations

A further reason to support removal of prev_content is the case where a malicious user adds illegal or abusive content into a state event and then overwrites that state event. The content would then be preserved through the redaction.

Additionally, there are plenty of reasons to have security concerns over a precedent that the federation can deviate from the spec.

Conclusions

Removing prev_content is pragmatic response to the current situation. It aligns the federation and the spec, and does so in a way that removes unnecessary overhead.