Custom Cortex checks and signature verification

Load custom Cortex checks and optionally verify their signatures.

Cortex CLI supports custom Cortex checks from a local directory or Git repository. You can optionally verify custom Python checks cryptographically before the CLI loads them.

Overview

Use --external-checks-dir or --external-checks-git to load custom Cortex checks. To verify their integrity and authenticity, use --external-checks-public-key.

Supported flags

• --external-checks-dir: Specifies a local directory containing custom checks.
• --external-checks-git: Specifies a Git repository containing custom checks.
• --external-checks-public-key: Specifies the public key file used to verify signed checks. You can repeat this flag to support key rotation.

Enforcement and exit codes

Signature verification is opt-in. CLI behavior depends on whether you provide a public key and whether the check signature is valid

• No verification: Without a public key, the CLI loads checks without verification. The scan runs normally. It returns exit code 1 if it finds scan issues
• Successful verification: With a valid public key and a correctly signed check, the scan runs with signature verification enabled. It returns exit code 1 if it finds scan issues
• Wrong key: If the check uses a different private key, the CLI refuses the scan before custom code runs. It returns exit code 2
• Tampered file: If a signed check changes after signing, verification fails. The CLI refuses the scan and returns exit code 2

Workflow: Sign and verify custom checks

1. Generate a P-256 key pair

Keep private.pem secret.

openssl ecparam -name prime256v1 -genkey -noout -out private.pem
openssl ec -in private.pem -pubout -out public.pem

2. Sign the custom check (.py) and append the trailer

hex=$(openssl dgst -sha256 -sign private.pem my_check.py | xxd -p | tr -d '\n')
printf '# checkov-digest: %s\n' "$hex" >> my_check.py

3. Run the scan with the matching public key

cortexcli code scan --directory ./target \
  --external-checks-dir ./checks \
  --external-checks-public-key ./public.pem