Emergency Access
Emergency access is a dead-man switch. If a user doesn’t log in for a configurable number of days, a designated emergency contact automatically gains access to their vaults.How It Works
Escrow Key Wrapping
The security model ensures the server never has access to vault contents, even during emergency activation.Setup (Client-Side)
Activation (Server-Side)
Configuration
| Setting | Options | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Contact email | Any email address | The person who gains access when the emergency triggers |
| Countdown days | 7, 14, 30, 60, 90 | Days of inactivity before triggering |
| Vault selection | Specific vaults or all | Which vaults the contact can access |
Modify or Disable
- Modify — The user can change the contact, countdown, or vault selection at any time. Changing the vault selection requires re-wrapping escrow envelopes.
- Disable — Removes the emergency config, deletes the escrow account and all escrow envelopes.
- Manual trigger — Admins can manually trigger emergency access for testing or urgent situations.
Email Delivery
Emergency invite emails are sent via the server’s SMTP configuration:- SMTP must be configured via
AdminService.SetSMTPConfig(admin-only). - SMTP must be confirmed via
AdminService.TestSMTPConnection. - If SMTP is not configured (airgapped environment), the admin must manually deliver the invite code to the emergency contact.
Confirmed flag resets whenever any SMTP field is changed, forcing re-verification before emails can be sent.
Audit Trail
| Event | Logged |
|---|---|
| Emergency access configured | Contact email, countdown, vault IDs |
| Emergency access modified | Changed fields |
| Emergency access disabled | User ID |
| Emergency triggered (automatic) | User ID, contact email, inactivity duration |
| Emergency triggered (manual) | Triggering admin, target user |
| Emergency invite accepted | Contact registration |

