Jsign - Authenticode implementation in Java

Jsign is a Java implementation of Microsoft Authenticode that lets you sign and timestamp executable files for Windows, Microsoft Installers (MSI), Cabinet files (CAB) and scripts (PowerShell, VBScript, JScript, WSF). Jsign is platform independent and provides an alternative to native tools like signcode/signtool on Windows or the Mono development tools on Unix systems.

Jsign comes as an easy to use task/plugin for the main build systems (Maven, Gradle, Ant). It's especially suitable for signing executable wrappers and installers generated by tools like NSIS, msitools, install4j, exe4j or launch4j. Jsign can also be used programmatically or standalone as a command line tool.

Jsign is free to use and licensed under the Apache License version 2.0.

Features

Platform independent signing of Windows executables, DLLs, Microsoft Installers (MSI), Cabinet files (CAB) and scripts (PowerShell, VBScript, JScript, WSF)
Timestamping with retries and fallback on alternative servers (RFC 3161 and Authenticode protocols supported)
Supports multiple signatures per file, for all file types
Extracts and embeds detached signatures to support reproducible builds
Hashing algorithms: MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512
Keystores supported:
- PKCS#12, JKS and JCEKS files
- PKCS#11 hardware tokens (YubiKey, Nitrokey, etc)
- Cloud key management systems (Azure Key Vault, DigiCert ONE, Google Cloud KMS, SSL.com eSigner)
Private key formats: PVK and PEM (PKCS#1 and PKCS#8), encrypted or not
Certificates: PKCS#7 in PEM and DER format
Build tools integration (Maven, Gradle, Ant)
Command line signing tool
Authenticode signing API (Javadoc)

Ant Task

Here is an example showing how the signing works with Ant, using a Java keystore:

 <taskdef name="jsign" classname="net.jsign.JsignTask" classpath="jsign-4.1.jar"/>

 <jsign file="application.exe"
        name="My Application"
        url="http://www.example.com"
        keystore="keystore.jks"
        alias="test"
        storepass="password"
        tsaurl="http://timestamp.sectigo.com"/>

Another example with SPC and PVK files commonly used with signcode.exe:

 <jsign file="application.exe"
        certfile="certificate.spc"
        keyfile="key.pvk"
        keypass="password"
        tsaurl="http://timestamp.digicert.com"/>

The task also accepts a fileset to sign multiple files:

 <jsign keystore="keystore.p12"
        alias="test"
        storepass="password">
   <fileset dir="build/binaries" includes="*.exe"/>
 </jsign>

Attributes

Attribute	Description	Required
file	The file to be signed. The supported files are Windows executables (EXE), DLLs, Microsoft Installers (MSI), Cabinet files (CAB) and scripts (PowerShell, VBScript, JScript, WSF)	Yes, unless a fileset is specified.
name	The name of the application	No
url	The URL of the application	No
keystore	The keystore file, or the SunPKCS11 configuration file	Yes, unless `certfile` and `keyfile` are specified.
storepass	The password to open the keystore. The password can be loaded from a file by using the `file:` prefix followed by the path of the file, or from an enviroment variable by using the `env:` prefix followed by the name of the variable.	No
storetype	The type of the keystore: `JKS`: Java keystore (`.jks` files) `JCEKS`: SunJCE keystore (`.jceks` files) `PKCS12`: Standard PKCS#12 keystore (`.p12` or `.pfx` files) `PKCS11`: PKCS#11 hardware token `YUBIKEY`: YubiKey security key (requires ykcs11) `AZUREKEYVAULT`: Azure Key Vault key management system `DIGICERTONE`: DigiCert ONE Secure Software Manager `ESIGNER`: SSL.com eSigner `GOOGLECLOUD`: Google Cloud KMS	No, automatically detected for file based keystores.
alias	The alias of the certificate used for signing in the keystore.	Yes, if `keystore` is specified and more than one alias exist
certfile	The file containing the PKCS#7 certificate chain (`.p7b` or `.spc` files).	Yes, unless `keystore` is specified.
keyfile	The file containing the private key. `PEM` and `PVK` files are supported.	Yes, unless `keystore` is specified.
keypass	The password of the private key. When using a keystore, this parameter can be omitted if the keystore shares the same password. The password can be loaded from a file by using the `file:` prefix followed by the path of the file, or from an enviroment variable by using the `env:` prefix followed by the name of the variable.	No
alg	The digest algorithm (SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 or SHA-512)	No; defaults to SHA-256
tsaurl	The URL of the timestamping authority, either RFC 3161 or Authenticode services. You can use for example the Sectigo (http://timestamp.sectigo.com) or the DigiCert (http://timestamp.digicert.com) services. Several URLs separated by a comma can be specified to fallback on alternative servers.	No
tsmode	The timestamping mode (RFC3161 or Authenticode)	No; defaults to Authenticode
tsretries	The number of retries for timestamping	No; defaults to 3
tsretrywait	The number of seconds to wait between timestamping retries	No; defaults to 10 seconds
replace	Tells if previous signatures should be replaced.	No; defaults to "false"
encoding	The encoding of the script to be signed (if it doesn't contain a byte order mark).	No; defaults to "UTF-8"
detached	Tells if a detached signature should be generated or reused. The detached signature is a file in the same directory using the name of the file signed with the `.sig` suffix added (for example `application.exe.sig`). If the signature doesn't exist, the file is signed as usual and the detached signature is generated. If the signature exists it is attached to the file, replacing any existing signature (in this case the private key isn't used for signing and no timestamping is performed).	No; defaults to "false"

Maven plugin

Here is an example showing how the signing works with Maven. The parameters are the same as those described above for the Ant task. The execution is bound by default to the package phase.

    <build>
      <plugins>
        <plugin>
          <groupId>net.jsign</groupId>
          <artifactId>jsign-maven-plugin</artifactId>
          <version>4.1</version>
          <executions>
            <execution>
              <goals>
                <goal>sign</goal>
              </goals>
              <configuration>
                <file>application.exe</file>
                <name>My Application</name>
                <url>http://www.example.com</url>
                <keystore>keystore.jks</keystore>
                <alias>test</alias>
                <storepass>password</storepass>
              </configuration>
            </execution>
          </executions>
        </plugin>
      </plugins>
    </build>

It's possible to sign multiple files by using a fileset element instead of file:

              ...
              <configuration>
                <fileset>
                  <directory>target</directory>
                  <includes>
                    <include>*.exe</include>
                  </includes>
                </fileset>
                <keystore>keystore.jks</keystore>
                <alias>test</alias>
                <storepass>password</storepass>
              </configuration>
              ...

Gradle plugin

Here is an example showing how to use Jsign with Gradle. The parameters are the same as those described above for the Ant task.

With the Groovy syntax:

    buildscript {
        dependencies {
            classpath 'net.jsign:jsign-gradle-plugin:4.1'
        }
    }
    
    apply plugin: 'net.jsign'
    
    task sign {
        doLast {
            jsign(file      : 'application.exe',
                  name      : 'My Application',
                  url       : 'http://www.example.com',
                  keystore  : 'keystore.p12',
                  alias     : 'test',
                  storepass : 'secret',
                  tsaurl    : 'http://timestamp.sectigo.com')
        }
    }

With the Kotlin syntax:

    buildscript {
        dependencies {
            classpath("net.jsign:jsign-gradle-plugin:4.1")
        }
    }
    
    apply(plugin = "net.jsign")
    
    task("sign") {
        doLast {
            val jsign = project.extensions.getByName("jsign") as groovy.lang.Closure<*>
            jsign("file"      to "application.exe",
                  "name"      to "My Application",
                  "url"       to "http://www.example.com",
                  "keystore"  to "keystore.p12",
                  "alias"     to "test",
                  "storepass" to "secret",
                  "tsaurl"    to "http://timestamp.sectigo.com")
        }
    }

Command Line Tool

Jsign can also be used as a command line tool. A Debian package and a RPM package are provided to install it easily on most Linux distributions. On these systems the command line is invoked with:

 jsign [OPTIONS] [FILE]...

On other systems the command line is invoked by running the jar with:

 java -jar jsign-4.1.jar [OPTIONS] [FILE]...

The parameters expected are the same as those used by the Ant task:

  usage: jsign [OPTIONS] [FILE]...
  Sign and timestamp Windows executable files, Microsoft Installers (MSI), Cabinet
  files or scripts (PowerShell, VBScript, JScript, WSF).
  
  -s,--keystore <FILE>       The keystore file, or the SunPKCS11 configuration file
     --storepass <PASSWORD>  The password to open the keystore
     --storetype <TYPE>      The type of the keystore:
                             - JKS: Java keystore (.jks files)
                             - JCEKS: SunJCE keystore (.jceks files)
                             - PKCS12: Standard PKCS#12 keystore (.p12 or .pfx files)
                             - PKCS11: PKCS#11 hardware token
                             - AZUREKEYVAULT: Azure Key Vault key management system
                             - DIGICERTONE: DigiCert ONE Secure Software Manager
                             - ESIGNER: SSL.com eSigner
                             - GOOGLECLOUD: Google Cloud KMS
  -a,--alias <NAME>          The alias of the certificate used for signing in the keystore.
     --keypass <PASSWORD>    The password of the private key. When using a keystore,
                             this parameter can be omitted if the keystore shares the
                             same password.
     --keyfile <FILE>        The file containing the private key (supports PEM & PVK files)
  -c,--certfile <FILE>       The file containing the PKCS#7 certificate chain
                             (.p7b or .spc files).
  -d,--alg <ALGORITHM>       The digest algorithm (SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384 or SHA-512)
  -t,--tsaurl <URL>          The URL of the timestamping authority. Several URLs separated
                             by a comma can be specified to fallback on alternative servers
  -m,--tsmode <MODE>         The timestamping mode (RFC3161 or Authenticode)
  -r,--tsretries <NUMBER>    The number of retries for timestamping
  -w,--tsretrywait <SECONDS> The number of seconds to wait between timestamping retries
  -n,--name <NAME>           The name of the application
  -u,--url <URL>             The URL of the application
     --proxyUrl <URL>        The URL of the HTTP proxy
     --proxyUser <NAME>      The user for the HTTP proxy. If an user is needed.
     --proxyPass <PASSWORD>  The password for the HTTP proxy user. If an user is needed.
     --replace               Tells if previous signatures should be replaced.
  -e,--encoding <ENCODING>   The encoding of the script to be signed (UTF-8 by default,
                             or the encoding specified by the byte order mark if there is one)
     --detached              Tells if a detached signature should be generated or reused.
  -h,--help                  Print the help

Example using a Java keystore:

 jsign --keystore keystore.jks --alias test --storepass password \
       --tsaurl http://timestamp.sectigo.com application.exe

Example using SPC/PVK files:

 jsign --certfile certificate.spc --keyfile key.pvk --keypass password application.exe

Example using a YubiKey:

When using a YubiKey the X.509 Certificate for Digital Signature certificate (slot 9c) is used by default but can be overridden by specifying another alias. The ykcs11 library from the Yubico PIV Tool must be installed on the system at the default location.

 jsign --storetype YUBIKEY --certfile full-chain.pem --storepass 123456 application.exe

Example using Azure Key Vault:

Certificates and keys stored in the Azure Key Vault key management system can be used with:

 jsign --storetype AZUREKEYVAULT --keystore vaultname --alias test \
       --storepass <api-access-token> application.exe

Example using DigiCert ONE:

Certificates and keys stored in the DigiCert ONE Secure Software Manager can be used directly without installing the DigiCert client tools. It requires an API key and a PKCS#12 keystore holding a client certificate for the authentication.

 jsign --storetype DIGICERTONE --alias test \
       --storepass "<api-key>|/path/to/Certificate_pkcs12.p12|<password>" application.exe

Example using SSL.com eSigner:

When signing with the SSL.com eSigner service, the SSL.com username and password are used as the keystore password, and the base64 encoded TOTP secret is used as the key password:

 jsign --storetype ESIGNER --storepass "<username>|<password>" \
       --alias 8b072e22-7685-4771-b5c6-48e46614915f \
       --keypass <totp-secret> application.exe

SSL.com provides a sandbox environment, to use a test certificate simply add the parameter --keystore https://cs-try.ssl.com.

Example using Google Cloud KMS:

Google Cloud KMS stores only the private key, the certificate must be provided separately. The keystore parameter references the path of the keyring. The alias can specify either the full path of the key, or only the short name. If the version is omitted the most recent one will be picked automatically.

 jsign --storetype GOOGLECLOUD --storepass <api-access-token> \
       --keystore projects/first-rain-123/locations/global/keyRings/mykeyring \
       --alias test --certfile full-chain.pem application.exe

API

Jsign also provides a simple API for signing files and can be embedded in another application.

Simply add this dependency to the project:

    <dependency>
      <groupId>net.jsign</groupId>
      <artifactId>jsign-core</artifactId>
      <version>4.1</version>
    </dependency>

and then use the AuthenticodeSigner class like this:

 KeyStore keystore = KeyStoreUtils.load(new File("keystore.p12"), "PKCS12", "password", null);

 AuthenticodeSigner signer = new AuthenticodeSigner(keystore, "test", "secret");
 signer.withProgramName("My Application")
       .withProgramURL("http://www.example.com")
       .withTimestamping(true)
       .withTimestampingAuthority("http://timestamp.sectigo.com");

 try (Signable file = Signable.of(new File("application.exe"))) {
     signer.sign(file);
 }

See the Javadoc for more details about the API.

Downloads

jsign_4.1_all.deb - Jsign command line tool for Debian/Ubuntu
jsign-4.1-1.noarch.rpm - Jsign command line tool for RedHat/Fedora/CentOS
jsign-4.1.jar - Jsign Ant Task

Credits

Jsign leverages the cryptography API developed by the Bouncy Castle project.
PVK parsing is based on the pvktool by Stephen N Henson.
MSI signing was possible thanks to the work done by the osslsigncode and Apache POI projects.

Jsign includes contributions from Emmanuel Bourg, Florent Daigniere, Michael Szediwy, Michael Peterson, Markus Kilås, Erwin Tratar, Björn Kautler and Joseph Lee.

Contact

Emmanuel Bourg (ebourg@apache.org, @smanux)