Forensic analysis of the Matrix protocol and Synapse server

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DFRWS-down-the-Rabbit-Hole-A-forensic-analy_2026_Forensic-Science-Internati.pdf

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This paper presents the first comprehensive forensic analysis of Synapse, the official Matrix Homeserver implementation, focusing on server-side artifacts persisting in both database structures and system logs despite end-to-end encryption. Through systematic examination of production deployments, we identify recoverable digital evidence across 175 database tables and structured log entries, including authenti- cation records, communication timelines, device fingerprints, and file transfer metadata. While message content remains cryptographically protected, our analysis demonstrates substantial investigative value in metadata accessible to investigators with lawful server access