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How to Require a Signature Before Running Automated Server Repairs

A fail-closed repair workflow verifies an Ansible project’s signed manifest before job launch and applies PowerShell signature and publisher-trust controls on Windows targets.
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To keep automated repairs from running on altered or unapproved content, verify signatures and file integrity before the controller dispatches a job. For Ansible projects, that means verifying the signed checksum manifest and the protected files; on Windows, it also means configuring PowerShell’s execution policy and publisher trust. Treat a failed check as a hard stop, not a warning.

Choose where the run must be blocked

There are two distinct enforcement points. Controller-side project verification can prevent a job from launching when an Ansible project’s signature is invalid or a protected file has changed. Target-side PowerShell policy governs whether a script can run on a Windows host. They cover different stages, so use both when the workflow requires both project integrity and script execution controls.

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Enforcement point What it checks What a failure can stop
Automation Controller project update The signature and checksums for selected Ansible project files Red Hat documents that an invalid signature or changed file fails the project update and prevents jobs using that project from launching. Red Hat Automation Platform 2.5 project documentation
PowerShell on a Windows target Script signature status and whether its publisher is trusted under the configured execution policy Whether PowerShell permits that script to run on the target. Microsoft PowerShell 7.4 signing documentation

Require verification for an Ansible project

Define what the signature covers

Choose the project files that must not change between release and execution. Ansible’s ansible-sign workflow computes checksums for selected files, signs the checksum manifest, and verifies both the manifest signature and the files’ checksums. A valid signature by itself is not the whole integrity check: the files must still match the signed manifest. See the Ansible CLI rundown of ansible-sign.

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Separate signing from verification

Keep the private signing key within a controlled build or release process, and provision the matching public verification key to the verifier or controller. The private key authorizes a release; the public key lets the verifier check it. Decide how your organization approves signing identities and removes trust when an identity should no longer be accepted; the tool documentation describes the key model but does not define an organization’s approval process.

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Make controller verification part of admission

Configure project update or job admission so verification completes before execution can be dispatched. In Automation Controller, Red Hat documents that an invalid signature or changed file causes the project update to fail and jobs using that project not to launch. Do not build a workflow that merely reports verification failure while allowing a repair job to proceed. The documented ansible-sign project gpg-verify command checks signature validity and manifest checksums; GPG is the only currently supported signing and validation method for that utility.

Require trusted signatures for Windows PowerShell repairs

Choose the execution policy deliberately

Microsoft’s PowerShell 7.4 signing documentation describes AllSigned and RemoteSigned as policies that prevent scripts without a digital signature from running in the circumstances each policy defines. For a strict requirement that every repair script be signed, do not assume RemoteSigned is equivalent to AllSigned: it permits locally created unsigned scripts. Select and enforce the policy that matches the requirement across the Windows environment.

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Establish publisher trust

A signature does not make a script acceptable if its publisher is untrusted. Configure certificate trust and approved publishers so the signing identity is trusted on the systems that will execute the repair. Microsoft notes that a code-signing certificate issued by a trusted certificate authority can be suitable for sharing scripts with computers that trust that authority. A signature from an untrusted publisher does not establish acceptable trust.

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Account for Ansible’s Windows App Control helper status

Ansible documents New-AnsiblePowerShellSignature for signing wrappers and collection modules, but labels the helper as tech preview. Custom PowerShell content must be signed manually. App Control can also affect module behavior: Ansible notes that scripts may run in Constrained Language Mode or modules may not work. Check the current support status and constraints for the specific Ansible and Windows versions you deploy before relying on this helper in production. See Ansible’s Windows App Control documentation.

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Preserve the exact signed content

Verification applies to bytes, not to an intended script after someone has reformatted or converted it. Ansible warns that whitespace, line endings, encoding, or stripped trailing newlines can break a script signature. Keep the signed content unchanged through packaging, transfer, templating, and execution. If a wrapper or deployment step transforms the content, sign the final bytes that will actually be run, and verify that the handoff preserves them.

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Test the fail-closed path before enabling repairs

In a controlled environment, verify both the passing case and the stop cases before connecting the gate to production repairs:

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  • Valid signature, trusted identity, and unchanged protected files: verification passes and the intended job can proceed.
  • Modified protected project file: checksum verification fails and the controller blocks job launch.
  • Missing or invalid project signature: verification fails and the controller blocks job launch.
  • Windows script signed by an identity that is not trusted: PowerShell must not treat it as an approved publisher under the configured policy.
  • Changed script bytes or altered line endings after signing: signature verification should fail; restore or re-sign the intended final content rather than bypassing the check.

These are expected checks based on the documented verification behavior, not claims of a particular test result or performance impact.

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Where Sigstore fits—and where it does not

Sigstore is a broader ecosystem for signing and verifying software artifacts, including transparency-log-based verification for keyless or ephemeral-key signing. The cited Ansible project workflow documents GPG, and no specific Sigstore integration with the repair controller is established here. Do not substitute a general signing ecosystem for a controller-enforced verification step unless your chosen integration actually blocks dispatch on verification failure. See the Sigstore overview.

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