Keylime

Keylime is an open-source remote attestation framework (security, confidential computing) for bootstrapping and maintaining trust in workloads using hardware-based roots of trust such as Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs) and related technologies.

• Remote attestation and continuous verification of system integrity using TPM-based measurements (security, attestation)
• Automated key bootstrapping and secrets provisioning only to verified and trusted nodes (security, key management)
• Runtime monitoring of platform state with policy-driven responses to integrity violations (security operations, compliance)
• Support for cloud, edge, and on-premises (on-prem) infrastructures with integration into existing platforms (infrastructure security)
• Extensible architecture with pluggable components for different attestation backends and deployment models (security framework)

More About Keylime

Keylime is an open-source remote attestation framework (security, confidential computing) developed under the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) that focuses on establishing and maintaining trust in distributed systems by leveraging hardware-based roots of trust such as Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs). It targets environments where operators need to verify that nodes and workloads are running expected, untampered software before granting access to secrets, credentials, or sensitive services. The project addresses requirements in cloud, edge, and hybrid infrastructure where infrastructure operators need automated attestation and policy enforcement at scale.

At its core, Keylime implements remote attestation (security, attestation) by measuring the platform state against reference values and using Trusted Platform Module (TPM) capabilities to provide cryptographic evidence of integrity. It can verify boot-time and runtime measurements, including firmware, bootloaders, Operating System (OS) components, and other configured artifacts. Keylime then uses these integrity checks as the basis for controlled secrets provisioning (security, key management), ensuring that cryptographic keys and application secrets are released only to nodes that pass attestation according to operator-defined policies.

The framework includes components such as an agent on the measured node, a verifier service, and a registrar or tenant-facing Application Programming Interface (API) (security framework, distributed systems). The agent interacts with the hardware TPM or compatible root-of-trust technology to collect measurements and respond to attestation requests. The verifier validates quotes and measurements against known-good values and enforces policies, while the higher-level services integrate with orchestration systems or enterprise workflows. This architecture allows Keylime to operate across heterogeneous infrastructure, including virtual machines, bare-metal servers, and edge devices, where TPMs or similar technologies are available.

In enterprise and institutional environments, Keylime is used to automate trust establishment for workloads before they join clusters, access service meshes, or receive configuration data and credentials (infrastructure security, zero trust). Operators can configure policies that specify which software baselines and configurations are acceptable, and Keylime continuously monitors nodes for deviations from those baselines. If integrity checks fail, Keylime can trigger policy-defined responses, such as revoking secrets, flagging the node, or integrating with incident response systems (security operations).

Keylime is positioned in the confidential computing and attestation ecosystem, aligning with TPM standards and hardware-based trust anchors (security standards, hardware security). It interoperates with existing TPM implementations and can integrate with cloud-native platforms and Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines to enforce security posture at deployment time and throughout runtime. For enterprises, it functions as a framework for continuous verification of infrastructure trustworthiness, aiding compliance controls related to platform integrity, secure key management, and zero-trust architectures.