feat: [CI-18308]: Add Cosign Image Signing Support (#494)

* Add signing support via cosign

* Updated docker.go

* Add signing support via cosign

* Updated docker.go

* Updated docker.go

* Updated docker.go

* Updated docker.go

* Updated docker.go

* Updated dockerfiles

COSIGN_USAGE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+# Cosign Integration for Drone-Docker
+
+This document describes how to use the cosign container image signing feature in drone-docker.
+
+## Overview
+
+The drone-docker plugin now supports automatic container image signing using cosign after each successful push. This provides cryptographic verification that images haven't been tampered with.
+
+## Environment Variables
+
+The plugin accepts three cosign-related environment variables:
+
+### `PLUGIN_COSIGN_PRIVATE_KEY` (Required for signing)
+- **Description**: Private key for signing (PEM format content or file path)
+- **Format**: Either PEM content or file path to private key
+- **Usage**: Should be provided via secrets
+
+### `PLUGIN_COSIGN_PASSWORD` (Optional)
+- **Description**: Password for encrypted private keys
+- **Usage**: Only needed if your private key is password-protected
+
+### `PLUGIN_COSIGN_PARAMS` (Optional)
+- **Description**: Additional cosign parameters
+- **Examples**: 
+  - `-a build_id=123` (add annotations)
+  - `--tlog-upload=false` (disable transparency log)
+  - `--rekor-url=https://custom-rekor.example.com` (custom rekor instance)
+
+## Usage Examples
+
+### 1. Basic Signing (Drone)
+
+```yaml
+kind: pipeline
+type: docker
+name: default
+
+steps:
+- name: docker
+  image: plugins/docker
+  settings:
+    repo: myregistry/myapp
+    tags: latest
+    cosign_private_key:
+      from_secret: cosign_private_key
+    cosign_password:
+      from_secret: cosign_password
+```
+
+### 2. Advanced Signing with Annotations (Drone)
+
+```yaml
+steps:
+- name: docker
+  image: plugins/docker
+  settings:
+    repo: myregistry/myapp
+    tags: 
+      - latest
+      - ${DRONE_BUILD_NUMBER}
+    cosign_private_key:
+      from_secret: cosign_private_key
+    cosign_params: "-a build_id=${DRONE_BUILD_NUMBER} -a commit_sha=${DRONE_COMMIT_SHA} -a branch=${DRONE_BRANCH}"
+```
+
+### 3. Harness CI/CD Usage
+
+```yaml
+- step:
+    type: Plugin
+    name: Build and Sign
+    identifier: build_and_sign
+    spec:
+      connectorRef: account.harnessImage
+      image: plugins/docker
+      settings:
+        repo: myregistry/myapp
+        tags: <+pipeline.sequenceId>
+        cosign_private_key: <+secrets.getValue("cosign_private_key")>
+        cosign_password: <+secrets.getValue("cosign_password")>
+        cosign_params: "-a harness_build=<+pipeline.sequenceId> -a harness_project=<+project.name>"
+```
+
+## Key Management
+
+### Generating Cosign Keys
+
+```bash
+# Generate a new key pair
+cosign generate-key-pair
+
+# This creates:
+# - cosign.key (private key) 
+# - cosign.pub (public key)
+```
+
+### Storing Keys Securely
+**Harness Secrets:**
+1. Go to Project Settings → Secrets
+2. Create new secret with type "File" for private key
+3. Create new secret with type "Text" for password
+
+## Security Features
+
+### Automatic Validation
+- ✅ **Private key format validation**: Ensures PEM format is correct
+- ✅ **Password requirement detection**: Warns if encrypted key needs password
+- ✅ **Keyless signing prevention**: Warns that OIDC keyless signing isn't supported
+
+### Error Handling
+- **Invalid private key**: `❌ Invalid private key format. Expected PEM format`
+- **Missing password**: `🔐 Encrypted private key requires password. Set PLUGIN_COSIGN_PASSWORD`
+- **Keyless signing**: `⚠️ WARNING: Keyless signing (OIDC) isn't supported yet in this plugin`
+
+## Signing Behavior
+
+### When Signing Occurs
+- ✅ **After each successful push**: Images are signed immediately after push
+- ✅ **Multiple tags**: Each tag gets signed individually
+- ✅ **Push-only mode**: Works with existing images
+- ✅ **Dry-run respect**: Skips signing in dry-run mode
+
+### Image References
+- **Preferred**: Signs by digest (e.g., `image@sha256:abc123...`) for security
+- **Fallback**: Signs by tag if digest unavailable
+
+### Authentication
+- **Registry auth**: Automatically uses existing Docker registry credentials
+
+## Verification
+
+To verify a signed image:
+
+```bash
+# Verify with public key
+cosign verify --key cosign.pub myregistry/myapp:latest
+
+# Verify with annotations
+cosign verify --key cosign.pub \
+  -a build_id=123 \
+  myregistry/myapp:latest
+```
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Common Issues
+
+1. **"cosign: command not found"**
+   - The container image includes cosign binary
+   - Use the latest plugin image: `plugins/docker:latest`
+
+2. **"keyless signing not supported"**
+   - This plugin only supports private key signing
+   - Don't use `--oidc` or `--identity-token` in `cosign_params`
+
+3. **"encrypted private key requires password"**
+   - Set `PLUGIN_COSIGN_PASSWORD` environment variable
+   - Or use an unencrypted private key
+
+4. **Registry authentication issues**
+   - Cosign uses the same Docker registry credentials
+   - Ensure Docker login is working first

cmd/drone-docker/main.go

@@ -323,6 +323,22 @@ func main() {
 			Usage:  "access token",
 			EnvVar: "ACCESS_TOKEN",
 		},
+		// Cosign signing configuration
+		cli.StringFlag{
+			Name:   "cosign.private-key",
+			Usage:  "cosign private key content or file path for signing",
+			EnvVar: "PLUGIN_COSIGN_PRIVATE_KEY",
+		},
+		cli.StringFlag{
+			Name:   "cosign.password",
+			Usage:  "password for encrypted cosign private key",
+			EnvVar: "PLUGIN_COSIGN_PASSWORD",
+		},
+		cli.StringFlag{
+			Name:   "cosign.params",
+			Usage:  "additional cosign parameters (e.g., annotations, flags)",
+			EnvVar: "PLUGIN_COSIGN_PARAMS",
+		},
 	}
 
 	if err := app.Run(os.Args); err != nil {
@@ -398,6 +414,11 @@ func run(c *cli.Context) error {
 		BaseImageRegistry: c.String("docker.baseimageregistry"),
 		BaseImageUsername: c.String("docker.baseimageusername"),
 		BaseImagePassword: c.String("docker.baseimagepassword"),
+		Cosign: docker.CosignConfig{
+			PrivateKey: c.String("cosign.private-key"),
+			Password:   c.String("cosign.password"),
+			Params:     c.String("cosign.params"),
+		},
 	}
 
 	if c.Bool("tags.auto") {

daemon.go

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 const dockerExe = "/usr/local/bin/docker"
 const dockerdExe = "/usr/local/bin/dockerd"
 const dockerHome = "/root/.docker/"
+const cosignExe = "/usr/local/bin/cosign"
 
 func (p Plugin) startDaemon() {
 	cmd := commandDaemon(p.Daemon)

daemon_win.go

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+//go:build windows
 // +build windows
 
 package docker
@@ -5,6 +6,7 @@ package docker
 const dockerExe = "C:\\bin\\docker.exe"
 const dockerdExe = ""
 const dockerHome = "C:\\ProgramData\\docker\\"
+const cosignExe = "C:\\bin\\cosign.exe"
 
 func (p Plugin) startDaemon() {
 	// this is a no-op on windows

docker.go

@@ -76,11 +76,19 @@ type (
 		SSHKeyPath          string   // Docker build ssh key path
 	}
 
+	// CosignConfig defines Cosign signing parameters.
+	CosignConfig struct {
+		PrivateKey string // Private key content (PEM format) or file path
+		Password   string // Password for encrypted private keys
+		Params     string // Additional cosign parameters
+	}
+
 	// Plugin defines the Docker plugin parameters.
 	Plugin struct {
 		Login             Login        // Docker login configuration
 		Build             Build        // Docker build configuration
 		Daemon            Daemon       // Docker daemon configuration
+		Cosign            CosignConfig // Cosign signing configuration
 		Dryrun            bool         // Docker push is skipped
 		Cleanup           bool         // Docker purge is enabled
 		CardPath          string       // Card path to write file to
@@ -249,6 +257,14 @@ func (p Plugin) Exec() error {
 
 	cmds = append(cmds, commandBuild(p.Build)) // docker build
 
+	// Validate cosign configuration if present
+	if p.shouldSignWithCosign() {
+		if err := validateCosignConfig(p.Cosign); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("cosign validation failed: %w", err)
+		}
+		fmt.Println("🔐 Cosign signing enabled - images will be signed after push")
+	}
+
 	for _, tag := range p.Build.Tags {
 		cmds = append(cmds, commandTag(p.Build, tag)) // docker tag
 
@@ -290,6 +306,31 @@ func (p Plugin) Exec() error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Handle cosign signing after all commands complete (like artifact generation)
+	if p.shouldSignWithCosign() && !p.Dryrun {
+		// Set up environment variables for cosign
+		os.Setenv("COSIGN_YES", "true")
+
+		if digest, err := getDigest(p.Build.TempTag); err == nil {
+			fmt.Printf("🔐 Found image digest: %s\n", digest)
+			
+			// Sign with digest reference
+			imageRef := fmt.Sprintf("%s@%s", p.Build.Repo, digest)
+			cosignCmd := createCosignCommand(imageRef, p.Cosign)
+			executeCosignCommand(cosignCmd)
+		} else {
+			fmt.Printf("⚠️  WARNING: Could not get image digest for cosign signing: %s\n", err)
+			fmt.Printf("   Falling back to tag-based signing\n")
+			
+			// Fall back to tag-based signing for each tag
+			for _, tag := range p.Build.Tags {
+				imageRef := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", p.Build.Repo, tag)
+				cosignCmd := createCosignCommand(imageRef, p.Cosign)
+				executeCosignCommand(cosignCmd)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	// execute cleanup routines in batch mode
 	if p.Cleanup {
 		// clear the slice
@@ -645,6 +686,11 @@ func isCommandRmi(args []string) bool {
 	return len(args) > 2 && args[1] == "rmi"
 }
 
+// helper to check if args match "cosign sign"
+func isCommandCosign(args []string) bool {
+	return len(args) > 1 && args[0] == cosignExe
+}
+
 func commandRmi(tag string) *exec.Cmd {
 	return exec.Command(dockerExe, "rmi", tag)
 }
@@ -681,7 +727,7 @@ func GetDroneDockerExecCmd() string {
 }
 
 func getDigest(buildName string) (string, error) {
-	cmd := exec.Command("docker", "inspect", "--format='{{index .RepoDigests 0}}'", buildName)
+	cmd := exec.Command(dockerExe, "inspect", "--format='{{index .RepoDigests 0}}'", buildName)
 	output, err := cmd.Output()
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
@@ -695,3 +741,108 @@ func getDigest(buildName string) (string, error) {
 	}
 	return "", errors.New("unable to fetch digest")
 }
+
+// shouldSignWithCosign determines if cosign signing should be performed
+func (p Plugin) shouldSignWithCosign() bool {
+	return p.Cosign.PrivateKey != ""
+}
+
+// validateCosignConfig validates the cosign configuration
+func validateCosignConfig(config CosignConfig) error {
+	if config.PrivateKey == "" {
+		return nil // No cosign config, skip silently
+	}
+
+	// Check if cosign binary is available
+	if _, err := exec.LookPath(cosignExe); err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("❌ ERROR: cosign binary not found at %s\n", cosignExe)
+		fmt.Println("   Ensure you're using a plugin image that includes cosign")
+		return fmt.Errorf("cosign binary not available: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Check if it's trying to use keyless signing
+	if strings.Contains(config.Params, "--oidc") ||
+		strings.Contains(config.Params, "--identity-token") {
+		fmt.Println("⚠️  WARNING: Keyless signing (OIDC) isn't supported yet in this plugin. Use private key signing instead.")
+		return errors.New("keyless signing not supported")
+	}
+
+	// Validate private key format if it's PEM content
+	if strings.HasPrefix(config.PrivateKey, "-----BEGIN") {
+		if !isValidPEMKey(config.PrivateKey) {
+			return errors.New("❌ Invalid private key format. Expected PEM format")
+		}
+
+		// Check encrypted key password requirement
+		if isEncryptedPEMKey(config.PrivateKey) && config.Password == "" {
+			return errors.New("🔐 Encrypted private key requires password. Set PLUGIN_COSIGN_PASSWORD")
+		}
+
+	} else {
+		// File-based key - check if it's accessible (basic check)
+		if _, err := os.Stat(config.PrivateKey); err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("⚠️  WARNING: Private key file may not be accessible: %s\n", config.PrivateKey)
+			fmt.Println("   This will be verified during signing")
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// isEncryptedPEMKey checks if a PEM key is encrypted
+func isEncryptedPEMKey(pemContent string) bool {
+	return strings.Contains(pemContent, "ENCRYPTED")
+}
+
+// isValidPEMKey performs basic PEM format validation
+func isValidPEMKey(pemContent string) bool {
+	return strings.Contains(pemContent, "-----BEGIN") &&
+		strings.Contains(pemContent, "-----END") &&
+		(strings.Contains(pemContent, "PRIVATE KEY") ||
+			strings.Contains(pemContent, "RSA PRIVATE KEY") ||
+			strings.Contains(pemContent, "EC PRIVATE KEY"))
+}
+
+// createCosignCommand creates a cosign sign command with the given image reference
+func createCosignCommand(imageRef string, cosign CosignConfig) *exec.Cmd {
+	args := []string{"sign", "--yes"}
+	
+	// Handle private key (content vs file path)
+	if strings.HasPrefix(cosign.PrivateKey, "-----BEGIN") {
+		args = append(args, "--key", "env://COSIGN_PRIVATE_KEY")
+		os.Setenv("COSIGN_PRIVATE_KEY", cosign.PrivateKey)
+	} else {
+		args = append(args, "--key", cosign.PrivateKey)
+	}
+	
+	// Set password if provided
+	if cosign.Password != "" {
+		os.Setenv("COSIGN_PASSWORD", cosign.Password)
+	}
+	
+	// Add any extra parameters
+	if cosign.Params != "" {
+		extraArgs := strings.Fields(cosign.Params)
+		args = append(args, extraArgs...)
+	}
+	
+	// Add the image reference to sign
+	args = append(args, imageRef)
+	
+	return exec.Command(cosignExe, args...)
+}
+
+// executeCosignCommand executes the given cosign command and handles errors
+func executeCosignCommand(cmd *exec.Cmd) {
+	cmd.Stdout = os.Stdout
+	cmd.Stderr = os.Stderr
+	fmt.Printf("🚀 Executing: %s %s\n", cmd.Path, strings.Join(cmd.Args[1:], " "))
+	
+	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("⚠️  WARNING: Image signing failed: %s\n", err)
+		fmt.Printf("   Image was pushed successfully but could not be signed\n")
+		fmt.Printf("   This is not fatal - continuing with the build\n")
+	}
+}
+
+

docker/docker/Dockerfile.linux.amd64

@@ -2,5 +2,9 @@ FROM docker:28.1.1-dind
 
 ENV DOCKER_HOST=unix:///var/run/docker.sock
 
+# Install cosign for container image signing
+RUN wget -O /usr/local/bin/cosign https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/releases/download/v2.5.3/cosign-linux-amd64 \
+    && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/cosign
+
 ADD release/linux/amd64/drone-docker /bin/
 ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/local/bin/dockerd-entrypoint.sh", "/bin/drone-docker"]

docker/docker/Dockerfile.linux.arm64

@@ -2,5 +2,9 @@ FROM arm64v8/docker:28.1.1-dind
 
 ENV DOCKER_HOST=unix:///var/run/docker.sock
 
+# Install cosign for container image signing
+RUN wget -O /usr/local/bin/cosign https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/releases/download/v2.5.3/cosign-linux-arm64 \
+    && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/cosign
+
 ADD release/linux/arm64/drone-docker /bin/
 ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/local/bin/dockerd-entrypoint.sh", "/bin/drone-docker"]

docker/docker/Dockerfile.windows.amd64.1809

@@ -24,6 +24,10 @@ LABEL maintainer="Drone.IO Community <drone-dev@googlegroups.com>" `
   org.label-schema.schema-version="1.0"
 
 RUN mkdir C:\bin
+
+# Install cosign for container image signing
+ADD https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/releases/download/v2.5.3/cosign-windows-amd64.exe C:/bin/cosign.exe
+
 COPY --from=download /windows/system32/netapi32.dll /windows/system32/netapi32.dll
 COPY --from=download /app/docker.exe C:/bin/docker.exe
 ADD release/windows/amd64/drone-docker.exe C:/bin/drone-docker.exe

docker/docker/Dockerfile.windows.amd64.ltsc2022

@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@ LABEL maintainer="Drone.IO Community <drone-dev@googlegroups.com>" `
   org.label-schema.schema-version="1.0"
 
 RUN mkdir C:\bin
+
+# Install cosign for container image signing
+ADD https://github.com/sigstore/cosign/releases/download/v2.5.3/cosign-windows-amd64.exe C:/bin/cosign.exe
+
 COPY --from=download /windows/system32/netapi32.dll /windows/system32/netapi32.dll
 COPY --from=download /app/docker.exe C:/bin/docker.exe
 ADD release/windows/amd64/drone-docker.exe C:/bin/drone-docker.exe