Manage Supply Chain

Configure SBOM generation, artifact signing, supply chain policy enforcement, and SLSA provenance tracking in Harness SSCA.

Instructions

Step 1: Establish Scope

Confirm the user's org, project, service, and build tool.

Call MCP tool: harness_list
Parameters:
  resource_type: "project"
  org_id: "<organization>"

Step 2: Identify the SSCA Task

Determine which workflow the user needs:

1. SBOM Generation -- Automated SBOM creation on every build with signing and attestation
2. Supply Chain Policy Enforcement -- OPA policies for artifact provenance, signing, and compliance

Step 3: Configure SBOM Generation

Gather from the user:

• Service name, build tool, and language
• Pipeline to attach SBOM generation to
• SBOM format: CycloneDX 1.5 (JSON) or SPDX 2.3 (JSON)
• SBOM scope: direct dependencies, transitive, or full (OS + language + transitive)
• Signing key provider: Cosign keyless (Sigstore), Cosign with KMS, AWS KMS, GCP KMS

Configure SBOM generation in the CI pipeline:

• Trigger on every successful build or container push
• Generate SBOM in the selected format
• Sign SBOM with the configured key provider
• Attach as OCI artifact alongside the container image
• Require valid signature verification before deployment to protected environments

Supply Chain Risk Analysis:

• Flag dependencies with known CVEs above CVSS threshold (default 7.0)
• Detect license conflicts (e.g., GPL-3.0, AGPL-3.0)
• Flag dependencies outdated by more than N months
• Flag dependencies from untrusted registries

Compliance Mapping:

• Target SLSA level (Level 1, 2, or 3)
• Map to compliance frameworks: NIST SSDF, EO 14028, SOC2

Step 4: Configure Supply Chain Policy Enforcement

Gather enforcement points from the user (build, push, deploy, or all stages).

Define OPA policies:

1. Artifact Provenance -- Require all container images to have valid Cosign signatures
2. SLSA Level -- Enforce minimum SLSA level for production deployments
3. SBOM Requirements -- Block deployment if SBOM is missing or unsigned
4. Dependency Restrictions -- Block artifacts with banned licenses or known malicious packages
5. Registry Allowlist -- Only allow artifacts from approved registries

Call MCP tool: harness_create
Parameters:
  resource_type: "policy"
  org_id: "<organization>"
  project_id: "<project>"
  body:
    name: "supply-chain-enforcement"
    identifier: "supply_chain_enforcement"
    rego: |
      package harness.supply_chain

      deny[msg] {
        not input.artifact.signed
        msg := "Artifact must be signed with Cosign before deployment"
      }

      deny[msg] {
        not input.artifact.sbom_attached
        msg := "SBOM must be generated and attached to artifact"
      }

Step 5: Set Up SBOM Storage and Dashboards

Configure SBOM storage:

• Store in Harness AR alongside the image, or in S3/GCS/Dependency-Track
• Set retention period (default 365 days)

Enable the SSCA portal dashboard for:

• Real-time component inventory across all services
• Vulnerability trends over time
• License compliance status
• SLSA level tracking per service

Examples

• "Generate SBOMs for our payment-service builds" -- Configure CycloneDX SBOM generation with Cosign signing in the CI pipeline
• "Enforce artifact signing for production deployments" -- Create OPA policy requiring valid Cosign signatures
• "Set up SLSA Level 2 compliance tracking" -- Configure provenance tracking and SBOM attestation
• "Block deployments with GPL-3.0 dependencies" -- Create supply chain policy with license restrictions
• "Track our software supply chain risk" -- Enable SSCA dashboard with CVE, license, and staleness analysis

Performance Notes

• SBOM generation adds 10-30 seconds to the build depending on dependency count -- acceptable for most pipelines.
• Cosign keyless signing (Sigstore) is simpler to set up than KMS-backed keys but requires internet access.
• SLSA Level 3 requires hermetic builds -- this may require significant pipeline restructuring.
• SBOM storage costs are minimal (JSON files) but retention policies prevent unbounded growth.

Troubleshooting

SBOM Generation Failing

• Verify the build tool is supported by the SBOM generator (Syft, Trivy, cdxgen)
• Check that the container image is accessible at the point SBOM generation runs
• For monorepos, ensure the SBOM scope is set to the correct subdirectory

Cosign Signing Errors

• For keyless: verify the OIDC provider (Sigstore/Fulcio) is reachable
• For KMS: verify the service account has signing permissions on the key
• Check that the Cosign binary version is compatible with the image format

Policy Blocking Deployments

• Check which specific policy rule is triggering the deny
• Use the exemption workflow for known false positives
• Verify the policy is evaluating the correct input fields from the pipeline