ironcore-dev / ironcore-dev/roadmap

Secure Boot Support for Metal Automation

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#33 2 comments 0 reactions 1 assignee View on GitHub

@hardikdr is already working on this.

Since Mar 28, 2025.

area/metal-automation area/operatingsystem
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Description

Summary

This initiative aims to introduce Secure Boot support in the Ironcore ecosystem, enabling users to launch machines (metal) with Secure Boot enabled—assuming the OS and BIOS settings permit it. Secure Boot ensures that only trusted, signed software can be executed during the boot process, and Ironcore should provide all the necessary APIs, primitives, and mechanisms to support this flow in a user-friendly and cloud-native way.

The goal is to enable secure OS bootstrapping via Ironcore, with support verified using Gardenlinux, which already supports Secure Boot.

Scope

✅ In Scope
  • Provide IroncoreAPI extensions or primitives to express Secure Boot requirements.
  • Support Secure Boot on Metal Machines, by enabling BIOS settings and passing signing keys via ServerClaim.
  • Validate and test with at least Gardenlinux as the reference OS.
  • Document how users can configure and launch Secure Boot-enabled machines.
  • Ensure workflows are seamlessly integrated into Ironcore’s provisioning flow.
❌ Out of Scope
  • Building or managing custom key infrastructure (user responsibility).
  • Broad multi-OS testing (initial focus is Gardenlinux).
  • Enforcement of Secure Boot policies at runtime.

Responsible Areas

  • Metal Automation
  • Operating System

Contributors

  • @5kt
  • @afritzler
  • @hardikdr

Acceptance Criteria

  • Metal Automation
    • BIOS settings related to Secure Boot can be toggled via ServerClaim or equivalent mechanism.
    • Keys (PK/KEK/DB) can be passed or referenced securely.
    • Contract and method of enabling Secure Boot are documented and implemented.
  • Operating System
    • Machines with Gardenlinux can be booted successfully with Secure Boot enabled.
  • Common
    • Complete documentation provided for users to configure and verify Secure Boot.

Action Items

  • Assign labels (e.g., area/security, area/virtualization, kind/epic)
  • Set milestone (H2/2025)
  • Assign dependent sub-issues in each required area
  • Assign an owner to the issue using the GitHub "Assignee" field
  • List all contributors in the "Contributors" section above
  • Add this issue to the ironcore-dev/roadmap project

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Assessment

This issue has not been assessed yet.

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