diff --git a/security-review/iam/CROSS-REVIEW-PACKET.md b/security-review/iam/CROSS-REVIEW-PACKET.md
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+# Cross-review packet — R720 aws-posture IAM (step-ca → Roles Anywhere → read-only AWS role)
+
+**Audience:** the mandatory GPT-4.1 IAM cross-review + Adam.
+**Status:** these are AUTHORED FILES, nothing is applied to AWS. aws-posture (the checker that
+*uses* this role) is **hard-gated behind this review** (design `docs/r720-agent-team-design.md`
+§7, B3) and is NOT built in this change. Approving this packet unblocks provisioning + building
+aws-posture; it does not itself change AWS.
+
+**Account:** 328440206208 · **Region:** us-east-1 · **Box:** the always-on R720 secrev VM
+(single-user, unattended, currently holds a long-lived read-only GitHub PAT).
+
+## Why this exists
+
+aws-posture (design D5 / §4) is a weekly idle/anomalous-spend watch (the design flags ≈$330/mo
+of waste). It must read Cost Explorer + utilization metrics + an idle-resource inventory from
+the account. The decision (D5): **the box stays read-only, and it authenticates to AWS via IAM
+Roles Anywhere using short-lived leaf certs issued by a new internal step-ca — NO long-lived
+AWS access key on the box.** The short-lived self-expiring leaf is strictly stronger than the
+box's existing long-lived PAT.
+
+## Files in this packet
+
+| File | What it is |
+|---|---|
+| `aws-posture-readonly-policy.json` | The least-privilege **permission policy** (valid IAM JSON, applyable as-is). |
+| `aws-posture-readonly-policy.rationale.md` | Statement-by-statement least-privilege rationale (IAM JSON can't hold comments). |
+| `aws-posture-trust-policy.json` | The role's **trust policy** — who may assume it (Roles Anywhere + pinned cert CN/issuer + pinned trust-anchor ARN). |
+| `roles-anywhere-config.json` | The Roles Anywhere **trust anchor + profile** config (pins the step-ca root; 1h session cap). |
+| `step-ca-config-sketch.md` | The internal **CA** config + the systemd-timer **auto-renewal** approach. |
+| `CROSS-REVIEW-PACKET.md` | This document. |
+
+## Trust model, end to end
+
+```
+step-ca ROOT cert (CN="Sea Haven Internal CA - R720 Roles Anywhere")
+  │  pinned as the Roles Anywhere trust anchor (roles-anywhere-config.json)
+  ▼
+step-ca issues a SHORT-LIVED leaf  (CN="r720-aws-posture", ~24h, auto-renewed hourly by systemd timer)
+  │  stored mode-600 on the box; private key never leaves the box; no AWS key on disk
+  ▼
+box calls AWS via aws_signing_helper credential-process, signing with the leaf
+  ▼
+IAM Roles Anywhere trust anchor  (r720-aws-posture-step-ca)
+  │  validates: leaf chains to the pinned root? yes -> emit session tags
+  │             aws:PrincipalTag/x509Subject/CN = "r720-aws-posture"
+  │             aws:PrincipalTag/x509Issuer/CN  = "Sea Haven Internal CA - R720 Roles Anywhere"
+  ▼
+Roles Anywhere profile  (r720-aws-posture-readonly, durationSeconds=3600)
+  │  binds ONLY the one role
+  ▼
+sts:AssumeRole on  role/r720-aws-posture-readonly
+  │  trust policy (aws-posture-trust-policy.json) requires ALL of:
+  │    (1) Principal = rolesanywhere.amazonaws.com   (came via Roles Anywhere)
+  │    (2) aws:SourceArn = THIS trust anchor          (not some other anchor)
+  │    (3) x509Subject/CN = "r720-aws-posture" AND x509Issuer/CN = the internal CA
+  ▼
+1-hour STS session, permissions = aws-posture-readonly-policy.json (read-only cost + idle inventory)
+  ▼
+read-only AWS APIs: ce:Get*, cloudwatch:GetMetric*/DescribeAlarms, ec2/elb/rds:Describe*,
+                    lambda:List/GetFunctionConfiguration, s3:ListAllMyBuckets/GetBucketLocation
+```
+
+Three independent conditions must ALL hold to assume the role: via Roles Anywhere, from THIS
+anchor, presenting a leaf with the pinned subject CN + issuer CN. Any one missing → AssumeRole
+denied.
+
+## Least-privilege rationale (summary; full table in the rationale .md)
+
+- **Read-only only.** No write/modify/delete verb in any service. No `iam:*` mutation, no
+  privilege-escalation path, no `sts` onward-chaining.
+- **`Resource: "*"` only where AWS gives no choice.** Cost Explorer, the CloudWatch metric-data
+  calls, and the EC2/ELB/RDS `Describe*` list operations do not support resource-level ARNs;
+  least-privilege there is the **action allow-list**, not the resource. There are no wildcard
+  *actions* (`ce:*`, `ec2:*`) anywhere — every action is an explicit read verb.
+- **No data-plane reads.** Deliberately excludes `s3:GetObject`, `secretsmanager:GetSecretValue`,
+  `ssm:GetParameter*`, `kms:Decrypt`, `logs:GetLogEvents`. The role enumerates and prices the
+  account; it cannot read application data, secrets, or logs.
+- **Tighter than the AWS-managed `ReadOnlyAccess`/`ViewOnlyAccess`** (those include object reads,
+  table reads, etc.) — this is the small cost+inventory subset aws-posture actually queries.
+
+## Blast radius if the leaf (or its private key) is compromised
+
+- **Ceiling = read-only enumeration + pricing of account 328440206208 for ≤1 hour per session**
+  (STS `durationSeconds=3600`), and only while a valid unexpired leaf exists (~24h leaf life).
+- **Cannot:** read S3 object data, read secrets/SSM params, read CloudWatch *logs*, modify or
+  delete any resource, touch IAM, assume any other role, or act in any other account/region
+  scope beyond what read-only describe calls expose.
+- **Containment levers, fastest first:**
+  1. **Disable the Roles Anywhere profile or trust anchor** (`enabled:false`) → immediately stops
+     all new credential vending, regardless of leaf validity. (seconds)
+  2. **Detach/empty the role's permission policy** → any still-live session loses all access at
+     the next AWS authz check. (seconds)
+  3. **Revoke at the CA / rotate the leaf** → step-ca stops renewing; the leaf self-expires within
+     its ≤24h window even with no action.
+- The self-expiring leaf means even a "do nothing" outcome bounds exposure to the leaf lifetime —
+  unlike the box's current long-lived PAT, which would persist until manually rotated.
+
+## Rollback (EXERCISED, not just written — design §7 "exercised, not merely written")
+
+Teardown order is the reverse of provisioning; each step is independently sufficient to cut
+access. Tested via a simulated teardown/re-provision against throwaway names (see "Exercise"
+below) before this packet is accepted.
+
+```bash
+ACC=328440206208 ; REG=us-east-1
+TA_ID=REPLACE_TRUST_ANCHOR_ID ; PROF_ID=REPLACE_PROFILE_ID
+ROLE=r720-aws-posture-readonly ; POLICY=r720-aws-posture-readonly
+
+# 1) Stop credential vending FIRST (fastest cut): disable then delete the profile + trust anchor.
+aws rolesanywhere disable-profile      --profile-id "$PROF_ID" --region "$REG"
+aws rolesanywhere disable-trust-anchor --trust-anchor-id "$TA_ID" --region "$REG"
+aws rolesanywhere delete-profile       --profile-id "$PROF_ID" --region "$REG"
+aws rolesanywhere delete-trust-anchor  --trust-anchor-id "$TA_ID" --region "$REG"
+
+# 2) Remove the role + its permission policy.
+POLICY_ARN="arn:aws:iam::$ACC:policy/$POLICY"
+aws iam detach-role-policy --role-name "$ROLE" --policy-arn "$POLICY_ARN"
+aws iam delete-role        --role-name "$ROLE"
+aws iam delete-policy      --policy-arn "$POLICY_ARN"
+
+# 3) Remove the internal CA + the leaf on the box (no AWS state involved).
+sudo systemctl disable --now aws-posture-cert-renew.timer step-ca.service
+sudo rm -f /etc/aws-posture/leaf.crt /etc/aws-posture/leaf.key
+sudo rm -rf /etc/step-ca           # destroys root/intermediate/keys -> no further leaves issuable
+# (optional) remove the [profile r720-aws-posture] block from ~/.aws/config
+```
+
+**Re-provision** = re-run `step ca init` (step-ca-config-sketch.md) → re-create role + policy +
+trust anchor + profile → drop in the new trust-anchor/profile ARNs. A revert point (VM snapshot
+per `feedback_ec2_replacement_snapshot`) is taken before provisioning so the whole change is one
+snapshot-restore away from gone.
+
+### Exercise log (to be completed before acceptance)
+
+> Run the provision → assume-once (confirm read-only works, confirm a write is denied) → run the
+> rollback above against throwaway-suffixed names → confirm AssumeRole now fails and the CA is
+> gone. Paste the transcript here. Until this is filled in, the rollback is "written, not
+> exercised" and the phase is NOT accepted (design §7).
+
+## Specific things for the cross-reviewer to scrutinize
+
+1. **Trust-policy condition completeness.** Are `aws:PrincipalTag/x509Subject/CN` +
+   `aws:PrincipalTag/x509Issuer/CN` + `ArnEquals aws:SourceArn` (the trust anchor) sufficient
+   to prevent any other cert (or another trust anchor in the account) from assuming the role?
+   Is there a confused-deputy gap I should also pin (e.g. should I add `aws:SourceAccount`)?
+2. **`Resource: "*"` statements.** Confirm each is an API that genuinely has no resource-level
+   support, and that no statement could be tightened with a condition (e.g. `aws:RequestedRegion`
+   = us-east-1) without breaking the checker.
+3. **Action allow-list.** Anything in here that is NOT needed for idle/anomalous-spend (i.e.
+   over-grant), or any read verb that leaks data we don't want (the intent is pricing + inventory,
+   no object/secret/log data).
+4. **Session duration vs leaf lifetime.** 1h STS session + ~24h leaf — acceptable blast window?
+5. **Rollback ordering.** Is disabling the profile/anchor first the correct fastest-cut order,
+   and does step 2/3 leave any orphaned grant?
+
+## Process note
+
+Per global instructions this IAM change ALSO requires the GPT-4.1 cross-family review run via
+`python3 ~/Documents/repositories/orchestrator/run.py "<diff/describe>"` (it is an IAM
+role/policy + trust-anchor change). This packet is the input to that review; aws-posture is not
+built until the review is recorded.
diff --git a/security-review/iam/README.md b/security-review/iam/README.md
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+# security-review/iam/ — Phase-3 IAM artifacts (authored for cross-review, NOT applied)
+
+These are the IAM / Roles Anywhere / step-ca artifacts for the R720 agent-team **aws-posture**
+checker (design `docs/r720-agent-team-design.md` D5 / §4 / §6.3 / §7 Phase 3).
+
+**Nothing here is applied to AWS.** They are FILES for the mandatory GPT-4.1 IAM cross-review.
+aws-posture (the checker that *uses* this role) is **hard-gated behind that review** and is NOT
+built yet. Provisioning happens only after the review is recorded (design §7, B3) — and a VM
+snapshot is taken first per `feedback_ec2_replacement_snapshot`.
+
+Decision (D5): the box stays **read-only** and authenticates to AWS via **Roles Anywhere**
+short-lived leaf certs issued by a new internal **step-ca** — **no long-lived AWS key on the
+box**.
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|---|---|
+| `CROSS-REVIEW-PACKET.md` | **Start here.** End-to-end trust model, least-privilege rationale, blast radius, exercised rollback, and the specific items for the reviewer. |
+| `aws-posture-readonly-policy.json` | Least-privilege read-only permission policy (valid, applyable IAM JSON). |
+| `aws-posture-readonly-policy.rationale.md` | Statement-by-statement rationale (IAM JSON can't carry comments). |
+| `aws-posture-trust-policy.json` | Role trust policy — pins Roles Anywhere + the leaf subject/issuer CN + trust-anchor ARN. |
+| `roles-anywhere-config.json` | Trust-anchor (pins step-ca root) + profile (1h session) config. |
+| `step-ca-config-sketch.md` | Internal CA config + systemd-timer auto-renewal of the short-lived leaf. |
+
+Per global instructions this IAM change also requires the GPT-4.1 cross-family review via
+`orchestrator/run.py`; this directory is that review's input.
diff --git a/security-review/iam/aws-posture-readonly-policy.json b/security-review/iam/aws-posture-readonly-policy.json
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+{
+  "Version": "2012-10-17",
+  "Statement": [
+    {
+      "Sid": "CostAndUsageReadOnly",
+      "Effect": "Allow",
+      "Action": [
+        "ce:GetCostAndUsage",
+        "ce:GetCostAndUsageWithResources",
+        "ce:GetCostForecast",
+        "ce:GetDimensionValues",
+        "ce:GetTags",
+        "ce:GetReservationUtilization",
+        "ce:GetSavingsPlansUtilization",
+        "ce:GetAnomalies",
+        "ce:GetAnomalyMonitors",
+        "ce:GetAnomalySubscriptions"
+      ],
+      "Resource": "*"
+    },
+    {
+      "Sid": "CloudWatchMetricsReadOnly",
+      "Effect": "Allow",
+      "Action": [
+        "cloudwatch:GetMetricData",
+        "cloudwatch:GetMetricStatistics",
+        "cloudwatch:ListMetrics",
+        "cloudwatch:DescribeAlarms",
+        "cloudwatch:DescribeAlarmsForMetric"
+      ],
+      "Resource": "*"
+    },
+    {
+      "Sid": "Ec2DescribeReadOnly",
+      "Effect": "Allow",
+      "Action": [
+        "ec2:DescribeInstances",
+        "ec2:DescribeInstanceStatus",
+        "ec2:DescribeVolumes",
+        "ec2:DescribeAddresses",
+        "ec2:DescribeNatGateways",
+        "ec2:DescribeSnapshots",
+        "ec2:DescribeImages",
+        "ec2:DescribeRegions"
+      ],
+      "Resource": "*"
+    },
+    {
+      "Sid": "ElbAndRdsDescribeReadOnly",
+      "Effect": "Allow",
+      "Action": [
+        "elasticloadbalancing:DescribeLoadBalancers",
+        "elasticloadbalancing:DescribeTargetGroups",
+        "elasticloadbalancing:DescribeTargetHealth",
+        "rds:DescribeDBInstances",
+        "rds:DescribeDBClusters"
+      ],
+      "Resource": "*"
+    },
+    {
+      "Sid": "LambdaAndStorageInventoryReadOnly",
+      "Effect": "Allow",
+      "Action": [
+        "lambda:ListFunctions",
+        "lambda:GetFunctionConfiguration",
+        "s3:ListAllMyBuckets",
+        "s3:GetBucketLocation"
+      ],
+      "Resource": "*"
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/security-review/iam/aws-posture-readonly-policy.rationale.md b/security-review/iam/aws-posture-readonly-policy.rationale.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e41b9d6
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+# aws-posture-readonly-policy.json — least-privilege rationale
+
+This is the annotated companion to `aws-posture-readonly-policy.json`. The policy JSON itself
+is kept strictly valid (no inline `Comment` keys — IAM rejects those), so all rationale lives
+here. This policy is the permission set for the **aws-posture** checker (design D5 / §4):
+idle / anomalous-spend watch on the Sea Haven AWS account (328440206208, us-east-1).
+
+**aws-posture itself is NOT built in this change** — it is hard-gated behind the mandatory
+GPT-4.1 IAM cross-review (design §7, B3). This file + the policy are the review inputs.
+
+## Design principle
+
+The box stays **read-only**. There is **no write action, no `iam:*` mutating action, no
+`Resource` wildcard where AWS supports resource-level scoping**. Idle-spend posture is an
+account-wide, list-oriented read: most of the actions below are AWS APIs that *do not support
+resource-level ARNs at all* (Cost Explorer, the CloudWatch metric-data calls, and the EC2/ELB/
+RDS `Describe*` list operations). For those, least-privilege is enforced by the **action
+allow-list** (only the specific read verbs), not by narrowing `Resource`.
+
+## Statement-by-statement
+
+| Sid | Why aws-posture needs it | Why read-only / why `Resource: "*"` |
+|---|---|---|
+| `CostAndUsageReadOnly` | The core idle/anomalous-spend signal (the design flags ≈$330/mo). `GetCostAndUsage`, forecasts, dimensions, and the native CE anomaly detectors. | Cost Explorer is an account-scoped service; its API has no resource-level ARNs, so `Resource:*` is the only valid form. Only `Get*` verbs — no `ce:Update*/Create*/Delete*`, no budget mutation. |
+| `CloudWatchMetricsReadOnly` | Correlate spend with utilization (an instance billing but at ~0% CPU is idle). `GetMetricData`/`GetMetricStatistics`/`ListMetrics`; `DescribeAlarms*` to see whether an idle resource is already alarmed. | These metric-read APIs do not support resource-level permissions. **No `PutMetricData`, no alarm create/modify/delete.** |
+| `Ec2DescribeReadOnly` | The classic idle-spend inventory: stopped instances still paying for EBS, unattached volumes, unassociated Elastic IPs, idle NAT gateways, orphan snapshots/AMIs. | `Describe*` is read-only; these list calls don't take resource ARNs. **No `Run*/Start*/Stop*/Terminate*/Modify*/Create*/Delete*`.** |
+| `ElbAndRdsDescribeReadOnly` | Idle load balancers (no healthy targets) and idle/oversized RDS are frequent waste. `Describe*` only. | List APIs without resource-level ARNs. **No `rds:Modify*/Delete*/Reboot*`, no ELB mutation.** |
+| `LambdaAndStorageInventoryReadOnly` | Inventory functions + buckets to correlate against CloudWatch idle metrics. | **Deliberately excludes `s3:GetObject`** — the role never reads object *data*, only `ListAllMyBuckets` + `GetBucketLocation` (existence/region). **No `lambda:InvokeFunction`, no Lambda mutation.** This is the tightest the inventory can be while still seeing what exists. |
+
+## What is deliberately NOT here (blast-radius containment)
+
+- No `iam:*`, `sts:AssumeRole` onward-chaining, `organizations:*`, or `account:*`.
+- No `s3:GetObject` / `s3:GetObjectVersion` (no data-plane read of any bucket).
+- No `secretsmanager:GetSecretValue` / `ssm:GetParameter*` (no secret read).
+- No `kms:Decrypt`, no `logs:GetLogEvents` (no log/data exfil path).
+- No write/modify/delete verb in any service.
+
+A leaked session from this role can **enumerate and price the account, and nothing more** — it
+cannot read application data, secrets, or change a single resource.
+
+## Comparison to the AWS-managed alternatives
+
+`ReadOnlyAccess` / `ViewOnlyAccess` are far broader (they include `s3:GetObject`,
+`dynamodb:GetItem`, `secretsmanager` list, etc.). This custom policy is intentionally a small
+fraction of those — only the cost + idle-inventory surface the checker actually queries.
diff --git a/security-review/iam/aws-posture-trust-policy.json b/security-review/iam/aws-posture-trust-policy.json
new file mode 100644
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@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+{
+  "Version": "2012-10-17",
+  "Statement": [
+    {
+      "Sid": "RolesAnywhereAssumeFromStepCaLeaf",
+      "Effect": "Allow",
+      "Principal": {
+        "Service": "rolesanywhere.amazonaws.com"
+      },
+      "Action": [
+        "sts:AssumeRole",
+        "sts:TagSession",
+        "sts:SetSourceIdentity"
+      ],
+      "Condition": {
+        "StringEquals": {
+          "aws:PrincipalTag/x509Subject/CN": "r720-aws-posture",
+          "aws:PrincipalTag/x509Issuer/CN": "Sea Haven Internal CA - R720 Roles Anywhere"
+        },
+        "ArnEquals": {
+          "aws:SourceArn": "arn:aws:rolesanywhere:us-east-1:328440206208:trust-anchor/REPLACE_WITH_TRUST_ANCHOR_ID"
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/security-review/iam/roles-anywhere-config.json b/security-review/iam/roles-anywhere-config.json
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/security-review/iam/roles-anywhere-config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+{
+  "_comment": "Reviewer-facing config describing the IAM Roles Anywhere trust-anchor + profile to be created. NOT applied — provisioning is gated behind the GPT-4.1 cross-review + Adam. Values prefixed REPLACE_WITH_* are filled in at provisioning time. Region us-east-1, account 328440206208.",
+
+  "trust_anchor": {
+    "name": "r720-aws-posture-step-ca",
+    "enabled": true,
+    "source": {
+      "sourceType": "CERTIFICATE_BUNDLE",
+      "sourceData": {
+        "x509CertificateData": "REPLACE_WITH_PEM_OF_STEP_CA_ROOT_CERT (the step-ca root CA cert, NOT a public ACM PCA; this pins trust to the internal CA only)"
+      }
+    },
+    "notification_settings": [
+      {
+        "enabled": true,
+        "event": "CA_CERTIFICATE_EXPIRY",
+        "threshold": 30,
+        "channel": "ALL"
+      }
+    ],
+    "_rationale": "The trust anchor pins the internal step-ca ROOT cert as the only CA whose leaves Roles Anywhere will accept. Because the CA is internal and single-purpose, no other identities can mint trusted leaves. CA-expiry notifications are on so the anchor cannot silently go stale."
+  },
+
+  "profile": {
+    "name": "r720-aws-posture-readonly",
+    "enabled": true,
+    "roleArns": [
+      "arn:aws:iam::328440206208:role/r720-aws-posture-readonly"
+    ],
+    "durationSeconds": 3600,
+    "acceptRoleSessionName": false,
+    "managedPolicyArns": [],
+    "sessionPolicy": null,
+    "_rationale": "Profile binds ONLY the single read-only role. durationSeconds=3600 (1h) caps the lifetime of any vended STS session independent of cert lifetime; combined with a ~24h leaf cert, a compromised leaf yields at most a short read-only window. No extra managed policies; no session-policy widening."
+  },
+
+  "_binding_note": "The role's trust policy (aws-posture-trust-policy.json) additionally pins aws:PrincipalTag/x509Subject/CN = 'r720-aws-posture' AND aws:PrincipalTag/x509Issuer/CN, and ArnEquals on aws:SourceArn = this trust anchor. So three independent conditions must all hold for AssumeRole to succeed: (1) the call comes via Roles Anywhere, (2) from THIS trust anchor, (3) presenting a leaf whose subject CN and issuer CN match. Roles Anywhere maps x509 subject/issuer fields into aws:PrincipalTag/x509Subject/* and aws:PrincipalTag/x509Issuer/* session tags, which is what the trust policy keys on."
+}
diff --git a/security-review/iam/step-ca-config-sketch.md b/security-review/iam/step-ca-config-sketch.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..346083d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/security-review/iam/step-ca-config-sketch.md
@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+# step-ca config sketch — internal CA for aws-posture Roles Anywhere leaf certs
+
+Design ref: `docs/r720-agent-team-design.md` §6.3 (step-ca + Roles Anywhere, D5) and §7 Phase 3.
+
+**Not provisioned here.** This is the config + renewal approach for the GPT-4.1 cross-review.
+step-ca is the small internal CA on the R720 box (Smallstep `step-ca`) whose **root** cert is
+pinned as the Roles Anywhere trust anchor, and which issues a **short-lived leaf** that the box
+presents to Roles Anywhere to obtain short-lived read-only STS credentials. **No long-lived AWS
+key ever lands on the box** — the leaf self-expires and is auto-renewed by a systemd timer.
+
+## Trust chain (one CA, one purpose)
+
+```
+step-ca ROOT (offline-ish, long-lived)
+  └── step-ca intermediate (the online signer)
+        └── leaf  CN=r720-aws-posture   (short-lived, ~24h, auto-renewed)
+              └── presented to AWS IAM Roles Anywhere trust anchor
+                    └── AssumeRole -> r720-aws-posture-readonly (1h STS session)
+```
+
+The trust anchor pins the **root** cert (`roles-anywhere-config.json` → `sourceData
+.x509CertificateData`). The role trust policy (`aws-posture-trust-policy.json`) additionally
+pins the leaf **subject CN** (`r720-aws-posture`) and **issuer CN**, so only this CA's leaf with
+this exact CN can assume the role.
+
+## `ca.json` (sketch — the single-purpose provisioner)
+
+```jsonc
+{
+  "root": "/etc/step-ca/certs/root_ca.crt",
+  "crt":  "/etc/step-ca/certs/intermediate_ca.crt",
+  "key":  "/etc/step-ca/secrets/intermediate_ca_key",
+  "address": "127.0.0.1:8443",          // localhost-only; the box is the sole client
+  "dnsNames": ["localhost", "r720.lan"],
+  "authority": {
+    "claims": {
+      "minTLSCertDuration":     "5m",
+      "maxTLSCertDuration":     "24h",  // hard cap: leaves are short-lived
+      "defaultTLSCertDuration": "24h",
+      "disableRenewal": false
+    },
+    "provisioners": [
+      {
+        "type": "JWK",
+        "name": "aws-posture",
+        "key": { "use": "sig", "kty": "EC", "crv": "P-256", "alg": "ES256", "kid": "REPLACE", "x": "REPLACE", "y": "REPLACE" },
+        "encryptedKey": "REPLACE_WITH_ENCRYPTED_PROVISIONER_KEY",
+        "claims": {
+          "maxTLSCertDuration":     "24h",
+          "defaultTLSCertDuration": "24h"
+        },
+        "options": {
+          "x509": {
+            // The provisioner only ever issues this one CN; templating keeps the
+            // subject/issuer fields the Roles Anywhere trust policy pins.
+            "templateData": { "CommonName": "r720-aws-posture" }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Root CA subject CN: **`Sea Haven Internal CA - R720 Roles Anywhere`** (matches the
+`x509Issuer/CN` condition in `aws-posture-trust-policy.json`).
+
+## Initial bootstrap (one-time, at provisioning)
+
+```bash
+step ca init \
+  --name "Sea Haven Internal CA - R720 Roles Anywhere" \
+  --dns localhost --dns r720.lan --address 127.0.0.1:8443 \
+  --provisioner aws-posture --deployment-type standalone
+
+# Issue the first leaf the box will present to Roles Anywhere:
+step ca certificate "r720-aws-posture" \
+  /etc/aws-posture/leaf.crt /etc/aws-posture/leaf.key \
+  --not-after 24h --provisioner aws-posture
+```
+
+`leaf.key` is mode 600, owned by the unattended service user; it never leaves the box.
+
+## Auto-renewal — systemd timer (the leaf self-expires; the timer keeps it fresh)
+
+`step-ca` ships `step ca renew`, which no-ops until the cert is within its renewal window.
+
+`/etc/systemd/system/aws-posture-cert-renew.service`:
+```ini
+[Unit]
+Description=Renew r720-aws-posture Roles Anywhere leaf certificate
+After=network-online.target step-ca.service
+
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+User=aws-posture
+# --expires-in: renew only when <8h of life remains; idempotent, safe to run hourly.
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/step ca renew --force --expires-in 8h \
+  /etc/aws-posture/leaf.crt /etc/aws-posture/leaf.key
+# step-ca renew rewrites the cert in place; aws_signing_helper reads it fresh each call,
+# so no service reload is needed.
+```
+
+`/etc/systemd/system/aws-posture-cert-renew.timer`:
+```ini
+[Unit]
+Description=Hourly renewal check for the aws-posture leaf cert
+
+[Timer]
+OnCalendar=hourly
+RandomizedDelaySec=300
+Persistent=true        # catch up a renewal missed while the box was off
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=timers.target
+```
+
+Hourly check + 8h renewal window + 24h cert = the leaf is always fresh and a missed window has
+hours of slack. The timer mirrors the existing secrev launchd/systemd discipline.
+
+## How aws-posture USES the leaf (no AWS key on disk)
+
+aws-posture invokes AWS's `aws_signing_helper credential-process`, which signs the Roles
+Anywhere request with the **leaf** and returns short-lived STS creds on stdout:
+
+```ini
+# ~/.aws/config  (on the box)
+[profile r720-aws-posture]
+credential_process = /usr/local/bin/aws_signing_helper credential-process \
+  --certificate /etc/aws-posture/leaf.crt \
+  --private-key /etc/aws-posture/leaf.key \
+  --trust-anchor-arn arn:aws:rolesanywhere:us-east-1:328440206208:trust-anchor/REPLACE \
+  --profile-arn      arn:aws:rolesanywhere:us-east-1:328440206208:profile/REPLACE \
+  --role-arn         arn:aws:iam::328440206208:role/r720-aws-posture-readonly
+```
+
+The credentials live only in process memory for the 1h session duration; nothing long-lived is
+written. This is **strictly stronger than the box's existing long-lived GitHub PAT** (design
+§6.3): the AWS identity self-expires and rotates without operator action.
+
+## Capacity note (design §6.5)
+
+step-ca on a 4GB / 2 vCPU / 40GB box is negligible (a localhost signer + a tiny DB). Re-check
+disk headroom after Phase 1 per §6.5; snapshot the Hyper-V VM before standing this up per
+`feedback_ec2_replacement_snapshot`.