Reaction between phenol and nitrous acid

My question is about the products formed when phenol reacts with nitrous acid. I googled it and reached [this PubChem paper](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12598009) ([DOI: 10.1016/S0045-6535(02)00857-3](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-6535(02)00857-3)), which states:



> 
> It was found that phenol reacts with nitrous acid to produce cyanide ions. Cyanide ion generation is attributed to the conversion of phenol to nitrosophenol through the well-known nitrosation reaction, and decomposition of benzoquinonoxim to form cyanide and aliphatic compound.
> 
> 
> 


Is this correct? If not, then what is the actual reaction?




**What the reference says**


The reference gives only following figure to support their theory. A weakness of this mechanism is requiring a high energy intermediate like sp2-carbocation.


![Cyanide from phenol](https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653502008573-gr5.gif)


**An alternative proposal**


This alternative avoids high-energy intermediates and thus appears more likely:


[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GkV3j.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GkV3j.jpg)


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