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The unstated larger problem is that HTTP is a content-delivery protocol that is (ab)used to also serve as an inter-process messaging protocol.

If messaging stuff was factored out or moved to be the primary protocol (with content delivery implemented on top) a lot of the issues we have with security, latency and caching would just disappear. And no, WebSockets (the way they work right now) are not going to solve this. Neither will QUIC aka HTTP3.

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What would be the solution then?

Don't rely on HTTP codes for anything other than content-related status. The idea of REST (using HTTP codes and actions), in practice, has almost universally required customization/workarounds. I've never understood the insistence of REST as an API, fullstop. It's just one aspect of an API which you necessarily have to augment to leverage within a more robust protocol.

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