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feat(B-0853.1): cosign keyless OIDC signing for ISO blob in build-ai-cluster-iso workflow (sigstore + Fulcio + Rekor; zero key management)#5417

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feat/b-0853-1-cosign-keyless-oidc-iso-signing
May 27, 2026
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feat(B-0853.1): cosign keyless OIDC signing for ISO blob in build-ai-cluster-iso workflow (sigstore + Fulcio + Rekor; zero key management)#5417
AceHack merged 1 commit into
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feat/b-0853-1-cosign-keyless-oidc-iso-signing

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@AceHack AceHack commented May 27, 2026

Summary

B-0853 sub-row .1 — smallest end-to-end slice of the sigstore artifact-signing substrate authorized by Aaron 2026-05-27 ("please start on the free stuff and backlog it").

Signs the freshly-built ISO via GitHub OIDC + Fulcio CA + Rekor transparency log in the existing build-ai-cluster-iso CI flow. Zero private key material; zero third-party dep beyond the pinned sigstore action.

3 workflow changes

  1. Add id-token: write to workflow-level permissions (required for keyless OIDC; no private key handled)
  2. Insert Install cosign + Sign ISO steps between Locate-ISO-metadata + Upload-ISO-artifact
  3. Add second Upload cosign signature + certificate step (.sig + .pem as separate artifact bundle so verifiers can grab just signature pair without re-fetching ~1.5GB ISO)

Verification (any consumer)

cosign verify-blob \
  --certificate <iso>.pem \
  --signature <iso>.sig \
  --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta' \
  --certificate-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com' \
  <iso>

Pin discipline (per .claude/rules/dep-pin-search-first-authority.md)

Verified live via gh API 2026-05-27:

gh api repos/sigstore/cosign-installer/releases/latest
→ tag: v4.1.2; published: 2026-05-07T01:27:27Z
gh api repos/sigstore/cosign-installer/git/ref/tags/v4.1.2
→ sha: 6f9f17788090df1f26f669e9d70d6ae9567deba6

Pin: sigstore/cosign-installer@6f9f17788090df1f26f669e9d70d6ae9567deba6 # v4.1.2

Security discipline (matches existing workflow pattern)

  • All inputs to cosign sign-blob come from steps.iso.outputs.* (THIS workflow's prior steps) via env-var hop (ISO_PATH env)
  • No github.event.* interpolation in any run: block (matches existing discipline at line 182-186)
  • id-token scope is workflow-bound; cannot be exfiltrated to mint signatures for other workflows
  • Cosign 2.x defaults to ambient OIDC detection — GitHub-runner-issued token used automatically

Composes with

  • B-0853 (parent row) — sigstore artifact signing free-stuff substrate
  • B-0843 — artifact attestation; this lands the primitive
  • B-0850 — cluster substrate that consumes signed ISO
  • B-0830 (deferred) — release-attach; sig + pem can attach to GitHub release tag when created

What this is NOT

  • NOT container image signing (B-0853.2; sibling slice)
  • NOT cosign verify gate in zeta-install.sh (B-0853.5)
  • NOT SLSA provenance attestations (B-0853.7)
  • NOT cluster-side image policy webhook (B-0853.6)

Test plan

  • Workflow run on this PR triggers new steps cleanly
  • .sig + .pem artifacts published alongside ISO
  • Rekor entry verifiable via rekor-cli get --uuid <uuid>
  • cosign verify-blob against published artifact succeeds with org-identity regex match
  • No new GraphQL or REST budget burn

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

…cluster-iso workflow

B-0853 sub-row .1 — smallest end-to-end slice of the sigstore artifact-
signing substrate. Composes with the existing build-ai-cluster-iso CI
flow to sign the freshly-built ISO via GitHub OIDC + Fulcio CA + Rekor
transparency log, with zero key management.

Three workflow changes:

1. Add `id-token: write` to workflow-level permissions (required for
   sigstore keyless OIDC; no private key material handled).
2. Insert Install-cosign + Sign-ISO-with-cosign steps after the
   Locate-ISO-metadata step + before Upload-ISO-artifact.
3. Add second Upload step for the .sig + .pem alongside the ISO
   (separate artifact bundle so verifiers can download just the
   small signature pair without re-fetching the ~1.5GB ISO).

Pin verified via gh API 2026-05-27 per .claude/rules/dep-pin-search-
first-authority.md:
  sigstore/cosign-installer@6f9f177
  # v4.1.2 (published 2026-05-07)

Verification command published in workflow comments:
  cosign verify-blob \
    --certificate <iso>.pem --signature <iso>.sig \
    --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta' \
    --certificate-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com' \
    <iso>

Security: all inputs to cosign sign-blob come from steps.iso.outputs
of THIS workflow via env-var hop (ISO_PATH env in run block).
Matches the workflow's existing discipline at the QEMU boot-test step;
no github.event.* interpolation in any run: block. The id-token scope
is workflow-bound; granted permission cannot be exfiltrated to mint
signatures for other workflows.

Composes with:
- B-0853 (parent row) — sigstore/cosign artifact signing free-stuff scope
- B-0843 — artifact attestation; this lands the primitive
- B-0850 — cluster substrate that consumes signed ISO
- B-0830 (deferred) — release-attach work; sig + pem can attach to
  GitHub release when release tag created
- Aaron 2026-05-27 authorization: "please start on the free stuff
  and backlog it"

What this is NOT:
- NOT container image signing (B-0853.2; sibling slice)
- NOT cosign verify gate in zeta-install.sh (B-0853.5)
- NOT SLSA provenance attestations (B-0853.7)
- NOT cluster-side image policy webhook (B-0853.6)

Empirical validation: workflow run on this PR triggers the new steps;
sig + pem published to artifacts; rekor entry verifiable via rekor-cli.
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 27, 2026 07:27
@AceHack AceHack enabled auto-merge (squash) May 27, 2026 07:27
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@AceHack AceHack merged commit 70596a8 into main May 27, 2026
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@AceHack AceHack deleted the feat/b-0853-1-cosign-keyless-oidc-iso-signing branch May 27, 2026 07:29
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Pull request overview

Adds Sigstore/Cosign keyless (GitHub OIDC → Fulcio cert → Rekor transparency log) signing to the existing build-ai-cluster-iso GitHub Actions workflow, producing a .sig + .pem pair alongside the built ISO so downstream consumers can verify integrity without managing private keys.

Changes:

  • Grants workflow OIDC capability by adding id-token: write permission.
  • Installs cosign (pinned action) and signs the built ISO blob during the workflow run.
  • Uploads the generated signature + certificate as a separate workflow artifact bundle.

Comment thread .github/workflows/build-ai-cluster-iso.yml
Comment thread .github/workflows/build-ai-cluster-iso.yml
Comment thread .github/workflows/build-ai-cluster-iso.yml
AceHack added a commit that referenced this pull request May 27, 2026
… (#5419)

PR #5417 (cosign keyless OIDC ISO signing) merged at 70596a8 before
Copilot review threads could be addressed. Fix-fwd per substrate-honest
discipline; the underlying findings are all valid security improvements
that don't change behavior, just tighten + clarify.

Finding 1 (P1): move `id-token: write` from workflow-level permissions
  to jobs.build.permissions block. Matches existing repo pattern
  (.github/workflows/scorecard.yml). Reduces blast radius if future
  jobs are added to this workflow.

Finding 2 (P1): tighten safety wording. Original comment claimed the
  OIDC token "cannot be exfiltrated to mint signatures for other
  workflows" — overstated. The real properties are:
    - Short-lived cert (Fulcio mints 10-min cert tied to this run)
    - Identity bound to workflow path + ref
    - Steps pinned to commit SHAs
  Comment now states the actual mitigation surfaces + acknowledges
  that any step in this job with id-token could in principle transmit
  the token off-runner.

Finding 3 (P1): tighten verification regexp in workflow comments.
  Original recommendation:
    --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta'
  was prefix-regex matching ANY workflow in the org/repo. Defeats
  the workflow-identity binding. Replaced with explicit pin:
    --certificate-identity 'https://github.com/Lucent-Financial-Group/Zeta/.github/workflows/build-ai-cluster-iso.yml@refs/heads/main'
  plus variants documented for branch + tag verification.

No runtime behavior change in this PR — all 3 are
documentation/permission-scope tightenings. The cosign sign-blob step
itself is unchanged; identity emitted into the signed cert is the same
either way; consumers picking up the verification command from
in-workflow comments now get the tighter recommendation.

Resolves Copilot threads PRRT_kwDOSF9kNM6FBtyf + PRRT_kwDOSF9kNM6FBtzO
+ PRRT_kwDOSF9kNM6FBtzn on PR #5417.

Co-authored-by: Lior <lior@zeta.dev>
AceHack added a commit that referenced this pull request May 27, 2026
…0 substrate for Ace migration trajectory (14 sub-steps; 12 declarative-input categories; substrate-anchor for B-0852/0853/0855/0856 cross-refs) (#5420)

* docs(B-0854.1): zeta-install.sh step-state-machine inventory — Phase 0 substrate for Ace migration trajectory

B-0854 sub-row .1 (Phase 0; smallest pure-analysis slice). Documents
the EXISTING imperative bash state-machine in zeta-install.sh so the
B-0854 Phase 2 declarative-Ace-manifest schema can express the same
surface.

Inventory covers:
- Top-level entry (REPO_URL, HOST, ZETA_AUTO_CONFIRM env semantics)
- Step-by-step state machine for all 14 sub-steps (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
  6.5, 6.55, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.95, 7) with inputs/outputs/side-
  effects/failure-modes/declarative-equivalent per step
- Cross-cutting: operator-prompt accumulation count (7 prompts today;
  B-0852 phase-split target = 1 passphrase prompt)
- Idempotency surface table — informs B-0855 architectural fix scope
- 12 distinct declarative-input categories the Ace manifest must
  capture (Phase 2 sub-row scope)
- Files-generated-during-install table mapping to B-0852.5 cred-
  manifest entries (6 mapped, 3 candidate-expansion items named)

Snapshot date: 2026-05-27 (origin/main 70596a8; PR #5417 cosign
merge). Future refreshes should re-snapshot when zeta-install.sh
changes substantially.

Composes with already-landed substrate-engineering arc:
- B-0852 + sub-rows (cred persistence) — PR #5403/#5411/#5414
- B-0853.1 (cosign signing) — PR #5417 + fix-fwd #5419
- B-0855 (self-register architectural fix) — PR #5412
- B-0856 Path A (deferred /tmp coordination) — PR #5413
- B-0854 parent (Ace migration trajectory) — PR #5405

No code change; pure documentation. Doesn't affect ISO substrate;
batches into substrate-engineering history independent of next ISO
build cycle.

* fix(B-0854.1): escape | inside code spans for MD056 table-column-count compliance

* fix(B-0854.1): 10 Copilot accuracy corrections — verified against actual zeta-install.sh content

PR #5420 Copilot review caught 10 substantive accuracy issues in the
B-0854.1 inventory doc. All 10 verified against origin/main 70596a8's
actual zeta-install.sh content + corrected.

Corrections:
- Name attribution → role-ref ("the human maintainer")
- Step 1 inputs: actual `lsblk -d -p -n -o NAME,TYPE,RM,RO,TRAN` + awk
  filter (not made-up NAME,SIZE,MODEL,TRAN,ROTA)
- Step 3 side effects: `sgdisk --zap-all` only (not `wipefs -af` too)
- Step 4: actual `sgdisk` (NOT `parted`); GPT layout via -n + -t flags;
  whole-disk longhorn partitions on DATA_DISKS too
- Step 6: `nixos-generate-config --root /mnt --force` (NOT
  --no-filesystems; --force overwrites existing config)
- Step 6.5: no MAGIC_NUMBER (didn't exist in script); INJECT_OK gate
  flag; iter-4 v1 manual-config-edit fallback path
- Step 6.9: SELF_REG_OK flag; documented graceful-skip path lines 731+
- nixos-install: actual line ~1004 (NOT 1096-1340); section renamed
  to "nixos-install (the actual build; ~line 1004)" since the prior
  range was wrong
- Step 7: actual lines 1261-1336 (NOT 1341-1352); banner driven by
  GH_AUTH_OK/GH_KEY_COUNT/INJECT_OK/SELF_REG_OK (NOT MAGIC_NUMBER);
  conditional sections listed in declarative equivalent

Resolves 10 Copilot threads on PR #5420.

Root cause of the inaccuracies: original draft was written from
`grep -E "^# ── Step"` summaries + recollection of script behavior,
not careful per-step body reads. Discipline lesson: when authoring
substrate-anchor docs claiming to inventory existing code, the read
must be careful per-line, not skim-grep summary. Composes with
.claude/rules/verify-existing-substrate-before-authoring.md at the
inventory-substrate scope (verify-content-of-thing-being-inventoried
before authoring claims about its content).

---------

Co-authored-by: Lior <lior@zeta.dev>
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