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To build and deploy signed images on RKE2, connect four separate projects: Tekton Pipelines builds and pushes an image, Tekton Chains signs run metadata and can create provenance, Cosign verifies the image and its claims, and Kyverno checks that trust policy when Kubernetes admits a workload. RKE2 does not bundle this as a turnkey feature. You must configure and validate the components together for your cluster, registry, versions, and signer identity.

How does the trust chain work?

The deployment should refer to the same immutable image that was built, signed, and verified. In broad terms, the handoffs are:

  1. A source revision triggers a Tekton PipelineRun, which creates TaskRuns.
  2. The pipeline builds an OCI image and pushes it to a registry. Record the resulting image digest, not just a mutable tag.
  3. Tekton Chains watches completed runs, snapshots their details, converts them to standard payloads, signs them, and stores them. It can also sign OCI images and create attestations, including SLSA v1 provenance.
  4. Cosign checks the image signature and, when required, the provenance or other attestation against the trust you configure.
  5. Kyverno applies the corresponding verification policy at admission so a workload cannot use an image that fails that policy.

Chains is a controller for Tekton supply-chain records, not the build system or the admission gate. Cosign performs verification; Kyverno makes verification part of workload admission. The projects are joined by their configuration and shared artifact references, not by an RKE2-specific integration. See the Tekton Chains documentation for the controller’s capabilities.

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A valid signature establishes that an artifact matches a trusted cryptographic key or certificate identity. It does not, by itself, prove that the source, build steps, dependencies, or pipeline configuration were safe. Provenance and signer policy determine which build claims the organization accepts.

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What should be ready on RKE2 first?

Confirm the cluster and access

Install RKE2 using the method appropriate to the host operating system, and record the RKE2 and Kubernetes releases you intend to run. Confirm that administrators can reach the cluster with the expected credentials, that pipeline workloads can reach the source and image registry, and that the cluster can retrieve signatures and attestations from the chosen storage location. The RKE2 quick start describes a basic installation path; the RKE2 requirements page covers host considerations, including its recommendation to use SSD storage when possible for embedded etcd data.

Handle configuration and SELinux deliberately

RKE2’s primary configuration file is /etc/rancher/rke2/config.yaml. Changes made after the service has started require a service restart to take effect; consult the RKE2 configuration options for the relevant settings and procedure.

On an enforcing SELinux host, installation method matters. RKE2’s RPM installation path installs and enables SELinux support on supported systems; the tarball path does not. For a tarball installation on an enforcing host, install the RKE2 SELinux policy before installing RKE2. Follow the current RKE2 SELinux guidance and select the applicable installation method.

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How do I sign container images built by Tekton?

Install in dependency order

Install Tekton Pipelines before Tekton Chains; Pipelines is a Chains prerequisite. Choose specific releases for both, along with the RKE2 release, then validate that exact combination in the intended environment. The available documentation does not establish a production-tested compatibility matrix for RKE2, Tekton, the registry, and Kyverno, so do not treat an example’s historical versions as a current compatibility guarantee.

Configure build, signing, and storage

Give the pipeline the credentials and permissions it needs to fetch source and push images. Configure Chains with the signing method and storage backend you have selected, and provide the access it needs to write signed records and image artifacts. Separately, ensure the eventual verifier can read those artifacts. A pipeline that can push an image but cannot publish its signature or attestation has not completed the trust handoff.

Signing choices include a user-provided cryptographic key or a supported key/service arrangement. Kyverno also documents certificate and keyless verification patterns. Select a model supported by the exact releases you deploy, and make the identity visible to the admission policy: a key or certificate is useful only if the verifier can establish that it is the expected signer. Protect private signing material and restrict which pipeline workloads can use it.

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Chains supports multiple storage backends. Registry-backed signatures and attestations can keep verification artifacts alongside the image ecosystem; another configured backend may suit existing operational requirements. Whichever you choose, confirm that Chains can write there and both Cosign and Kyverno can retrieve the artifacts they need.

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Use the tutorial as a pattern, not a production prescription

Tekton’s signed provenance tutorial demonstrates a keypair held in a Kubernetes Secret and a Kaniko-based workflow that builds an image, signs it, produces in-toto provenance, and verifies the outputs. It is a documented example, not a requirement to use Kaniko or a Kubernetes Secret in production. The tutorial uses Minikube for its local example; it does not demonstrate a tested RKE2 deployment.

How do I verify a container image signature in Kubernetes?

Verify both identity and artifact

Use Cosign to check that the signature corresponds to the intended image digest and that the signer matches the trust identity you expect. If your policy depends on provenance, verify the attestation and evaluate its claims too; a signature check alone does not establish that the image came from an approved source revision or build process. Exact Cosign flags and identity constraints depend on the versions and trust model you choose, so use the documentation for those releases rather than copying an unpinned command from an older example.

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Deploy by digest

Put the verified digest in the workload manifest’s image reference. A tag can be moved to a different image, whereas a digest identifies the content that was checked. Kyverno’s image-verification documentation describes digest mutation and its immutability benefit. This makes the verification decision apply to the artifact the workload actually requests.

How should Kyverno enforce the trust policy?

Scope policy to the intended workloads

Create a verifyImages policy that covers the image repositories and resource kinds you intend to protect. Specify the accepted signer identity and whether the policy checks signatures only or also requires attestations and particular provenance claims. Configure credentials so Kyverno can fetch the signatures and attestations from the selected registry or storage backend.

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Policy scope is a security boundary: overly broad matching can block unrelated workloads, while a repository pattern that is too narrow can leave intended workloads unchecked. Ensure the policy’s identity constraints describe your organization’s actual key or certificate trust, not merely any signer whose signature is valid. Consult the Kyverno image verification guide for the versioned policy behavior and the Kyverno Sigstore verification guide for certificate and keyless patterns.

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Prove the policy’s behavior before broad enforcement

Test the policy with distinct cases before applying it broadly:

  • An image with the expected signature and signer should be accepted.
  • An unsigned image should be rejected when a signature is required.
  • An image signed by a different identity should be rejected.
  • An image with a valid signature but a missing required attestation should be rejected.

Also test the policy against the actual workload types and image references used by your teams. These cases are a practical rollout check, not a prescribed sequence from Kyverno’s documentation.

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What should operators check when the chain fails?

Follow the artifact through each handoff

  • Check that the Tekton PipelineRun and its TaskRuns completed successfully, and that Chains observed the completed runs and produced the expected signed records.
  • Confirm that the image was pushed to the expected repository and that its digest matches the reference used for verification and deployment.
  • Check registry or storage permissions for both writes by Chains and reads by Cosign and Kyverno. Successful image publication does not prove that signature or attestation access is working.
  • Compare the signer identity produced by the build flow with the identity allowed by Kyverno, including certificate identity constraints when using a certificate-based model.
  • Inspect Kyverno policy reports and admission events to distinguish a failed verification from a policy match, credential, or retrieval problem.

Manage RKE2-packaged manifests as live resources

RKE2 can automatically apply manifests placed in its packaged-component manifest directory. Removing a manifest file does not delete the Kubernetes resources that were already created from it. Use deliberate Kubernetes resource lifecycle management when uninstalling or upgrading a policy engine; do not assume that deleting its source file removes its controllers, policies, or related resources. See Managing packaged components for RKE2’s behavior.

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What does this design establish—and what does it not?

This design creates a verifiable link between a built image, its signed metadata, the identity trusted to sign it, and the admission decision that controls deployment. It does not make RKE2, the pipeline, or the source code secure merely by adding signatures, nor does the RKE2 distribution itself certify this stack as compliant. Treat release selection, key protection, registry access, policy scope, and provenance requirements as separate controls to design and validate.

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