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Key Held On The Deployment Backend

URI: https://docs.ankatech.co/errors/kek-destruction-deployment-backend
HTTP Status: 422 Unprocessable Content

When you see this

A platform administrator asked to destroy one of a tenant's retired key-encryption keys at the provider or HSM that holds it, and the request was refused. The key keeps its status, the provider was not asked to destroy anything, and the refusal is recorded in the audit trail as DENIED.

A tenant key-encryption key is destroyed at its provider or HSM, never only in the platform's records. A destruction request moves a RETIRED key to PENDING_DESTRUCTION, and the key becomes DESTROYED only once a read of the provider confirms it gone. Until then the destruction can be cancelled, which returns the key to RETIRED.

Common Causes

  • The key lives in the customer's own Cloud KMS account that the deployment backend names. The platform issues no lifecycle command there on a key a KEK row records.

Response Example

{
  "type": "https://docs.ankatech.co/errors/kek-destruction-deployment-backend",
  "title": "Key Held On The Deployment Backend",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "This key-encryption key is held in the key management service account the deployment backend names, where the platform issues no lifecycle command. Nothing was changed.",
  "instance": "/api/v3/admin/platform/tenants/8f14e45f-ceea-467a-9575-0d5b2a1f3c11/key-custody/keks/3c1f7a9e-2b44-4e0d-8f6a-91d2c7b5e0aa/destroy",
  "timestamp": 1793696400,
  "extensions": {
    "requestId": "9c41e7a2-5b08-4d3f-a6e1-2f7c90b4d815"
  }
}

Content-Type: application/problem+json — the response follows RFC 9457 Problem Details.

How to Resolve

  1. The owner of that account destroys the key with the provider's own tools, once nothing is wrapped under it.

For full schema definitions, examples, and interactive testing, see the Developer Hub Reference.