diff --git a/app/cli/pkg/action/workflow_run_describe.go b/app/cli/pkg/action/workflow_run_describe.go
index 471aea657..c1532b5c5 100644
--- a/app/cli/pkg/action/workflow_run_describe.go
+++ b/app/cli/pkg/action/workflow_run_describe.go
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 //
-// Copyright 2024-2025 The Chainloop Authors.
+// Copyright 2024-2026 The Chainloop Authors.
 //
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
+	"unicode/utf8"
 
 	pb "github.com/chainloop-dev/chainloop/app/controlplane/api/controlplane/v1"
 	"github.com/chainloop-dev/chainloop/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop"
@@ -76,6 +77,7 @@ type PolicyEvaluationStatus struct {
 type Material struct {
 	Name           string        `json:"name"`
 	Value          string        `json:"value"`
+	RawValue       []byte        `json:"raw_value,omitempty"`
 	Hash           string        `json:"hash"`
 	Tag            string        `json:"tag"`
 	Filename       string        `json:"filename"`
@@ -312,9 +314,22 @@ func policyEvaluationPBToAction(in *pb.PolicyEvaluation) *PolicyEvaluation {
 }
 
 func materialPBToAction(in *pb.AttestationItem_Material) *Material {
+	// Prefer raw_value (binary-safe) when available.
+	// Fall back to deprecated string value field for compatibility with
+	// older control plane versions that don't populate raw_value.
+	var value string
+	if raw := in.GetRawValue(); len(raw) > 0 {
+		if utf8.Valid(raw) {
+			value = string(raw)
+		}
+	} else {
+		value = in.GetValue() //nolint:staticcheck // fallback for older servers
+	}
+
 	m := &Material{
 		Name:           in.Name,
-		Value:          in.Value,
+		Value:          value,
+		RawValue:       in.GetRawValue(),
 		Type:           in.Type,
 		Hash:           in.Hash,
 		Tag:            in.Tag,
diff --git a/app/controlplane/api/controlplane/v1/response_messages.pb.go b/app/controlplane/api/controlplane/v1/response_messages.pb.go
index 0fff67449..fa8b0b7c5 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/api/controlplane/v1/response_messages.pb.go
+++ b/app/controlplane/api/controlplane/v1/response_messages.pb.go
@@ -2434,7 +2434,9 @@ func (x *AttestationItem_EnvVariable) GetValue() string {
 type AttestationItem_Material struct {
 	state protoimpl.MessageState `protogen:"open.v1"`
 	Name  string                 `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=name,proto3" json:"name,omitempty"`
-	// This might be the raw value, the container image name, the filename and so on
+	// Deprecated: use raw_value instead. This field cannot represent binary content.
+	//
+	// Deprecated: Marked as deprecated in controlplane/v1/response_messages.proto.
 	Value string `protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=value,proto3" json:"value,omitempty"`
 	// filename of the artifact that was either uploaded or injected inline in "value"
 	Filename string `protobuf:"bytes,8,opt,name=filename,proto3" json:"filename,omitempty"`
@@ -2448,8 +2450,14 @@ type AttestationItem_Material struct {
 	UploadedToCas bool `protobuf:"varint,6,opt,name=uploaded_to_cas,json=uploadedToCas,proto3" json:"uploaded_to_cas,omitempty"`
 	// the content instead if inline
 	EmbeddedInline bool `protobuf:"varint,7,opt,name=embedded_inline,json=embeddedInline,proto3" json:"embedded_inline,omitempty"`
-	unknownFields  protoimpl.UnknownFields
-	sizeCache      protoimpl.SizeCache
+	// Binary-safe material content. For inline artifacts, contains the raw bytes.
+	// For string materials, contains the UTF-8 encoded value.
+	// For non-inline materials (container images, uploaded artifacts), contains
+	// the filename or image reference as UTF-8.
+	// Clients should prefer this field over the deprecated string value field.
+	RawValue      []byte `protobuf:"bytes,10,opt,name=raw_value,json=rawValue,proto3" json:"raw_value,omitempty"`
+	unknownFields protoimpl.UnknownFields
+	sizeCache     protoimpl.SizeCache
 }
 
 func (x *AttestationItem_Material) Reset() {
@@ -2489,6 +2497,7 @@ func (x *AttestationItem_Material) GetName() string {
 	return ""
 }
 
+// Deprecated: Marked as deprecated in controlplane/v1/response_messages.proto.
 func (x *AttestationItem_Material) GetValue() string {
 	if x != nil {
 		return x.Value
@@ -2545,6 +2554,13 @@ func (x *AttestationItem_Material) GetEmbeddedInline() bool {
 	return false
 }
 
+func (x *AttestationItem_Material) GetRawValue() []byte {
+	if x != nil {
+		return x.RawValue
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 type WorkflowContractVersionItem_RawBody struct {
 	state         protoimpl.MessageState                     `protogen:"open.v1"`
 	Body          []byte                                     `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=body,proto3" json:"body,omitempty"`
@@ -2693,7 +2709,7 @@ const file_controlplane_v1_response_messages_proto_rawDesc = "" +
 	"\n" +
 	"created_at\x18\x04 \x01(\v2\x1a.google.protobuf.TimestampR\tcreatedAt\x12;\n" +
 	"\vreleased_at\x18\x05 \x01(\v2\x1a.google.protobuf.TimestampR\n" +
-	"releasedAt\"\xbb\v\n" +
+	"releasedAt\"\xdc\v\n" +
 	"\x0fAttestationItem\x12\x1e\n" +
 	"\benvelope\x18\x03 \x01(\fB\x02\x18\x01R\benvelope\x12\x16\n" +
 	"\x06bundle\x18\n" +
@@ -2720,17 +2736,19 @@ const file_controlplane_v1_response_messages_proto_rawDesc = "" +
 	"\x10violations_count\x18\a \x01(\x05R\x0fviolationsCount\x1a7\n" +
 	"\vEnvVariable\x12\x12\n" +
 	"\x04name\x18\x01 \x01(\tR\x04name\x12\x14\n" +
-	"\x05value\x18\x02 \x01(\tR\x05value\x1a\xf9\x02\n" +
+	"\x05value\x18\x02 \x01(\tR\x05value\x1a\x9a\x03\n" +
 	"\bMaterial\x12\x12\n" +
-	"\x04name\x18\x01 \x01(\tR\x04name\x12\x14\n" +
-	"\x05value\x18\x02 \x01(\tR\x05value\x12\x1a\n" +
+	"\x04name\x18\x01 \x01(\tR\x04name\x12\x18\n" +
+	"\x05value\x18\x02 \x01(\tB\x02\x18\x01R\x05value\x12\x1a\n" +
 	"\bfilename\x18\b \x01(\tR\bfilename\x12\x12\n" +
 	"\x04type\x18\x03 \x01(\tR\x04type\x12\\\n" +
 	"\vannotations\x18\x04 \x03(\v2:.controlplane.v1.AttestationItem.Material.AnnotationsEntryR\vannotations\x12\x10\n" +
 	"\x03tag\x18\t \x01(\tR\x03tag\x12\x12\n" +
 	"\x04hash\x18\x05 \x01(\tR\x04hash\x12&\n" +
 	"\x0fuploaded_to_cas\x18\x06 \x01(\bR\ruploadedToCas\x12'\n" +
-	"\x0fembedded_inline\x18\a \x01(\bR\x0eembeddedInline\x1a>\n" +
+	"\x0fembedded_inline\x18\a \x01(\bR\x0eembeddedInline\x12\x1b\n" +
+	"\traw_value\x18\n" +
+	" \x01(\fR\brawValue\x1a>\n" +
 	"\x10AnnotationsEntry\x12\x10\n" +
 	"\x03key\x18\x01 \x01(\tR\x03key\x12\x14\n" +
 	"\x05value\x18\x02 \x01(\tR\x05value:\x028\x01\"X\n" +
diff --git a/app/controlplane/api/controlplane/v1/response_messages.proto b/app/controlplane/api/controlplane/v1/response_messages.proto
index dc3e71779..e90a1a213 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/api/controlplane/v1/response_messages.proto
+++ b/app/controlplane/api/controlplane/v1/response_messages.proto
@@ -130,8 +130,8 @@ message AttestationItem {
 
   message Material {
     string name = 1;
-    // This might be the raw value, the container image name, the filename and so on
-    string value = 2;
+    // Deprecated: use raw_value instead. This field cannot represent binary content.
+    string value = 2 [deprecated = true];
     // filename of the artifact that was either uploaded or injected inline in "value"
     string filename = 8;
     // Material type, i.e ARTIFACT
@@ -144,6 +144,12 @@ message AttestationItem {
     bool uploaded_to_cas = 6;
     // the content instead if inline
     bool embedded_inline = 7;
+    // Binary-safe material content. For inline artifacts, contains the raw bytes.
+    // For string materials, contains the UTF-8 encoded value.
+    // For non-inline materials (container images, uploaded artifacts), contains
+    // the filename or image reference as UTF-8.
+    // Clients should prefer this field over the deprecated string value field.
+    bytes raw_value = 10;
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/app/controlplane/api/gen/frontend/controlplane/v1/response_messages.ts b/app/controlplane/api/gen/frontend/controlplane/v1/response_messages.ts
index 51e86aa40..ed9f68968 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/api/gen/frontend/controlplane/v1/response_messages.ts
+++ b/app/controlplane/api/gen/frontend/controlplane/v1/response_messages.ts
@@ -405,7 +405,11 @@ export interface AttestationItem_EnvVariable {
 
 export interface AttestationItem_Material {
   name: string;
-  /** This might be the raw value, the container image name, the filename and so on */
+  /**
+   * Deprecated: use raw_value instead. This field cannot represent binary content.
+   *
+   * @deprecated
+   */
   value: string;
   /** filename of the artifact that was either uploaded or injected inline in "value" */
   filename: string;
@@ -419,6 +423,14 @@ export interface AttestationItem_Material {
   uploadedToCas: boolean;
   /** the content instead if inline */
   embeddedInline: boolean;
+  /**
+   * Binary-safe material content. For inline artifacts, contains the raw bytes.
+   * For string materials, contains the UTF-8 encoded value.
+   * For non-inline materials (container images, uploaded artifacts), contains
+   * the filename or image reference as UTF-8.
+   * Clients should prefer this field over the deprecated string value field.
+   */
+  rawValue: Uint8Array;
 }
 
 export interface AttestationItem_Material_AnnotationsEntry {
@@ -1931,6 +1943,7 @@ function createBaseAttestationItem_Material(): AttestationItem_Material {
     hash: "",
     uploadedToCas: false,
     embeddedInline: false,
+    rawValue: new Uint8Array(0),
   };
 }
 
@@ -1963,6 +1976,9 @@ export const AttestationItem_Material = {
     if (message.embeddedInline === true) {
       writer.uint32(56).bool(message.embeddedInline);
     }
+    if (message.rawValue.length !== 0) {
+      writer.uint32(82).bytes(message.rawValue);
+    }
     return writer;
   },
 
@@ -2039,6 +2055,13 @@ export const AttestationItem_Material = {
 
           message.embeddedInline = reader.bool();
           continue;
+        case 10:
+          if (tag !== 82) {
+            break;
+          }
+
+          message.rawValue = reader.bytes();
+          continue;
       }
       if ((tag & 7) === 4 || tag === 0) {
         break;
@@ -2064,6 +2087,7 @@ export const AttestationItem_Material = {
       hash: isSet(object.hash) ? String(object.hash) : "",
       uploadedToCas: isSet(object.uploadedToCas) ? Boolean(object.uploadedToCas) : false,
       embeddedInline: isSet(object.embeddedInline) ? Boolean(object.embeddedInline) : false,
+      rawValue: isSet(object.rawValue) ? bytesFromBase64(object.rawValue) : new Uint8Array(0),
     };
   },
 
@@ -2083,6 +2107,8 @@ export const AttestationItem_Material = {
     message.hash !== undefined && (obj.hash = message.hash);
     message.uploadedToCas !== undefined && (obj.uploadedToCas = message.uploadedToCas);
     message.embeddedInline !== undefined && (obj.embeddedInline = message.embeddedInline);
+    message.rawValue !== undefined &&
+      (obj.rawValue = base64FromBytes(message.rawValue !== undefined ? message.rawValue : new Uint8Array(0)));
     return obj;
   },
 
@@ -2109,6 +2135,7 @@ export const AttestationItem_Material = {
     message.hash = object.hash ?? "";
     message.uploadedToCas = object.uploadedToCas ?? false;
     message.embeddedInline = object.embeddedInline ?? false;
+    message.rawValue = object.rawValue ?? new Uint8Array(0);
     return message;
   },
 };
diff --git a/app/controlplane/api/gen/jsonschema/controlplane.v1.AttestationItem.Material.jsonschema.json b/app/controlplane/api/gen/jsonschema/controlplane.v1.AttestationItem.Material.jsonschema.json
index 35934092d..e68a61639 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/api/gen/jsonschema/controlplane.v1.AttestationItem.Material.jsonschema.json
+++ b/app/controlplane/api/gen/jsonschema/controlplane.v1.AttestationItem.Material.jsonschema.json
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@
       "description": "the content instead if inline",
       "type": "boolean"
     },
+    "^(raw_value)$": {
+      "description": "Binary-safe material content. For inline artifacts, contains the raw bytes.\n For string materials, contains the UTF-8 encoded value.\n For non-inline materials (container images, uploaded artifacts), contains\n the filename or image reference as UTF-8.\n Clients should prefer this field over the deprecated string value field.",
+      "pattern": "^[A-Za-z0-9+/]*={0,2}$",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
     "^(uploaded_to_cas)$": {
       "description": "it's been uploaded to an actual CAS backend",
       "type": "boolean"
@@ -36,6 +41,11 @@
     "name": {
       "type": "string"
     },
+    "rawValue": {
+      "description": "Binary-safe material content. For inline artifacts, contains the raw bytes.\n For string materials, contains the UTF-8 encoded value.\n For non-inline materials (container images, uploaded artifacts), contains\n the filename or image reference as UTF-8.\n Clients should prefer this field over the deprecated string value field.",
+      "pattern": "^[A-Za-z0-9+/]*={0,2}$",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
     "tag": {
       "description": "in the case of a container image, the tag of the attested image",
       "type": "string"
@@ -49,7 +59,7 @@
       "type": "boolean"
     },
     "value": {
-      "description": "This might be the raw value, the container image name, the filename and so on",
+      "description": "Deprecated: use raw_value instead. This field cannot represent binary content.",
       "type": "string"
     }
   },
diff --git a/app/controlplane/api/gen/jsonschema/controlplane.v1.AttestationItem.Material.schema.json b/app/controlplane/api/gen/jsonschema/controlplane.v1.AttestationItem.Material.schema.json
index abd84119c..078d282b6 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/api/gen/jsonschema/controlplane.v1.AttestationItem.Material.schema.json
+++ b/app/controlplane/api/gen/jsonschema/controlplane.v1.AttestationItem.Material.schema.json
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@
       "description": "the content instead if inline",
       "type": "boolean"
     },
+    "^(rawValue)$": {
+      "description": "Binary-safe material content. For inline artifacts, contains the raw bytes.\n For string materials, contains the UTF-8 encoded value.\n For non-inline materials (container images, uploaded artifacts), contains\n the filename or image reference as UTF-8.\n Clients should prefer this field over the deprecated string value field.",
+      "pattern": "^[A-Za-z0-9+/]*={0,2}$",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
     "^(uploadedToCas)$": {
       "description": "it's been uploaded to an actual CAS backend",
       "type": "boolean"
@@ -36,6 +41,11 @@
     "name": {
       "type": "string"
     },
+    "raw_value": {
+      "description": "Binary-safe material content. For inline artifacts, contains the raw bytes.\n For string materials, contains the UTF-8 encoded value.\n For non-inline materials (container images, uploaded artifacts), contains\n the filename or image reference as UTF-8.\n Clients should prefer this field over the deprecated string value field.",
+      "pattern": "^[A-Za-z0-9+/]*={0,2}$",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
     "tag": {
       "description": "in the case of a container image, the tag of the attested image",
       "type": "string"
@@ -49,7 +59,7 @@
       "type": "boolean"
     },
     "value": {
-      "description": "This might be the raw value, the container image name, the filename and so on",
+      "description": "Deprecated: use raw_value instead. This field cannot represent binary content.",
       "type": "string"
     }
   },
diff --git a/app/controlplane/internal/service/attestation.go b/app/controlplane/internal/service/attestation.go
index ece70348e..75a1731c9 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/internal/service/attestation.go
+++ b/app/controlplane/internal/service/attestation.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"sort"
 	"time"
+	"unicode/utf8"
 
 	"github.com/cenkalti/backoff/v4"
 	cpAPI "github.com/chainloop-dev/chainloop/app/controlplane/api/controlplane/v1"
@@ -654,12 +655,18 @@ func extractMaterials(in []*chainloop.NormalizedMaterial) ([]*cpAPI.AttestationI
 			Type:           m.Type,
 			Filename:       m.Filename,
 			Annotations:    m.Annotations,
-			Value:          m.Value,
+			RawValue:       m.Value,
 			UploadedToCas:  m.UploadedToCAS,
 			EmbeddedInline: m.EmbeddedInline,
 			Tag:            m.Tag,
 		}
 
+		// Deprecated: maintained for backward compatibility with older CLI versions
+		// that read the string value field. Only populated when content is valid UTF-8.
+		if utf8.Valid(m.Value) {
+			materialItem.Value = string(m.Value) //nolint:staticcheck // deprecated field populated for backward compatibility
+		}
+
 		if m.Hash != nil {
 			materialItem.Hash = m.Hash.String()
 		}
diff --git a/app/controlplane/internal/service/attestation_test.go b/app/controlplane/internal/service/attestation_test.go
index 26c71700b..a696ec577 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/internal/service/attestation_test.go
+++ b/app/controlplane/internal/service/attestation_test.go
@@ -31,17 +31,17 @@ func TestExtractMaterials(t *testing.T) {
 		want  []*cpAPI.AttestationItem_Material
 	}{
 		{
-			name: "different material types",
+			name: "different material types with UTF-8 content",
 			input: []*chainloop.NormalizedMaterial{
 				{
 					Name:  "foo",
 					Type:  "STRING",
-					Value: "bar",
+					Value: []byte("bar"),
 				},
 				{
 					Name:  "with_annotations",
 					Type:  "STRING",
-					Value: "bar",
+					Value: []byte("bar"),
 					Annotations: map[string]string{
 						"foo": "bar",
 						"bar": "baz",
@@ -50,42 +50,69 @@ func TestExtractMaterials(t *testing.T) {
 				{
 					Name:  "foo",
 					Type:  "ARTIFACT",
-					Value: "bar",
+					Value: []byte("bar"),
 					Hash:  &crv1.Hash{Algorithm: "sha256", Hex: "deadbeef"},
 				},
 				{
 					Name:  "image",
 					Type:  "CONTAINER_IMAGE",
-					Value: "docker.io/nginx",
+					Value: []byte("docker.io/nginx"),
 					Hash:  &crv1.Hash{Algorithm: "sha256", Hex: "deadbeef"},
 				},
 			},
 			want: []*cpAPI.AttestationItem_Material{
 				{
-					Name:  "foo",
-					Type:  "STRING",
-					Value: "bar",
+					Name:     "foo",
+					Type:     "STRING",
+					Value:    "bar",
+					RawValue: []byte("bar"),
 				},
 				{
-					Name:  "with_annotations",
-					Type:  "STRING",
-					Value: "bar",
+					Name:     "with_annotations",
+					Type:     "STRING",
+					Value:    "bar",
+					RawValue: []byte("bar"),
 					Annotations: map[string]string{
 						"foo": "bar",
 						"bar": "baz",
 					},
 				},
 				{
-					Name:  "foo",
-					Type:  "ARTIFACT",
-					Value: "bar",
-					Hash:  "sha256:deadbeef",
+					Name:     "foo",
+					Type:     "ARTIFACT",
+					Value:    "bar",
+					RawValue: []byte("bar"),
+					Hash:     "sha256:deadbeef",
 				},
 				{
-					Name:  "image",
-					Type:  "CONTAINER_IMAGE",
-					Value: "docker.io/nginx",
-					Hash:  "sha256:deadbeef",
+					Name:     "image",
+					Type:     "CONTAINER_IMAGE",
+					Value:    "docker.io/nginx",
+					RawValue: []byte("docker.io/nginx"),
+					Hash:     "sha256:deadbeef",
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "binary content skips deprecated string value",
+			input: []*chainloop.NormalizedMaterial{
+				{
+					Name:           "binary-artifact",
+					Type:           "ARTIFACT",
+					Filename:       "data.bin",
+					Value:          []byte{0xff, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x01},
+					Hash:           &crv1.Hash{Algorithm: "sha256", Hex: "deadbeef"},
+					EmbeddedInline: true,
+				},
+			},
+			want: []*cpAPI.AttestationItem_Material{
+				{
+					Name:           "binary-artifact",
+					Type:           "ARTIFACT",
+					Filename:       "data.bin",
+					RawValue:       []byte{0xff, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x01},
+					Hash:           "sha256:deadbeef",
+					EmbeddedInline: true,
 				},
 			},
 		},
diff --git a/app/controlplane/pkg/biz/organization.go b/app/controlplane/pkg/biz/organization.go
index e0a3cbb8c..20e23a63d 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/pkg/biz/organization.go
+++ b/app/controlplane/pkg/biz/organization.go
@@ -142,7 +142,6 @@ func (uc *OrganizationUseCase) CreateWithRandomName(ctx context.Context, opts ..
 				uc.logger.Debugw("msg", "Org exists!", "name", name)
 				continue
 			}
-			uc.logger.Debugw("msg", "BOOM", "name", name, "err", err)
 			return nil, err
 		}
 
diff --git a/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/helpers.go b/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/helpers.go
index f85b2fbaf..7b4ba3e6f 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/helpers.go
+++ b/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/helpers.go
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 //
-// Copyright 2023 The Chainloop Authors.
+// Copyright 2023-2026 The Chainloop Authors.
 //
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"sort"
 	"time"
+	"unicode/utf8"
 
 	"github.com/chainloop-dev/chainloop/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop"
 	"github.com/jedib0t/go-pretty/v6/table"
@@ -135,10 +136,12 @@ func (r *renderer) summaryTable(m *ChainloopMetadata, predicate chainloop.Normal
 		for _, m := range materials {
 			mt.AppendRow(table.Row{"Name", m.Name})
 			mt.AppendRow(table.Row{"Type", m.Type})
-			value := m.Value
+			var value string
 			// Override the value for the filename of the item uploaded
 			if m.EmbeddedInline || m.UploadedToCAS {
 				value = m.Filename
+			} else if utf8.Valid(m.Value) {
+				value = string(m.Value)
 			}
 			mt.AppendRow(table.Row{"Value", wrap.String(value, 100)})
 			if m.Hash != nil {
diff --git a/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout.pb.go b/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout.pb.go
index a6b831964..807320b93 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout.pb.go
+++ b/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout.pb.go
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 //
-// Copyright 2023 The Chainloop Authors.
+// Copyright 2023-2026 The Chainloop Authors.
 //
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
diff --git a/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout.proto b/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout.proto
index dda1c18b2..a717e439a 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout.proto
+++ b/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout.proto
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 //
-// Copyright 2023 The Chainloop Authors.
+// Copyright 2023-2026 The Chainloop Authors.
 //
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
diff --git a/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout_grpc.pb.go b/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout_grpc.pb.go
index c9e21f461..74c4cda2a 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout_grpc.pb.go
+++ b/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/fanout_grpc.pb.go
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 //
-// Copyright 2023 The Chainloop Authors.
+// Copyright 2023-2026 The Chainloop Authors.
 //
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
diff --git a/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/translation.go b/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/translation.go
index dbb126cee..be3df4b63 100644
--- a/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/translation.go
+++ b/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1/plugin/api/translation.go
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 //
-// Copyright 2023 The Chainloop Authors.
+// Copyright 2023-2026 The Chainloop Authors.
 //
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ package api
 
 import (
 	"errors"
+	"unicode/utf8"
 
 	"github.com/chainloop-dev/chainloop/app/controlplane/plugins/sdk/v1"
 	"github.com/chainloop-dev/chainloop/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop"
@@ -148,11 +149,18 @@ func MetadataProtoToSDK(in *ExecuteRequest_Metadata) *sdk.ChainloopMetadata {
 }
 
 func MaterialSDKToProto(in *sdk.ExecuteMaterial) *ExecuteRequest_NormalizedMaterial {
+	// The fanout proto uses string for value since plugins expect text.
+	// Binary inline content is available in the Content bytes field instead.
+	var value string
+	if utf8.Valid(in.Value) {
+		value = string(in.Value)
+	}
+
 	return &ExecuteRequest_NormalizedMaterial{
 		Content:       in.Content,
 		Name:          in.Name,
 		Type:          in.Type,
-		Value:         in.Value,
+		Value:         value,
 		FileName:      in.Filename,
 		Hash:          in.Hash.String(),
 		UploadedToCas: in.UploadedToCAS,
@@ -171,7 +179,7 @@ func MaterialProtoToSDK(in *ExecuteRequest_NormalizedMaterial) *sdk.ExecuteMater
 		NormalizedMaterial: &chainloop.NormalizedMaterial{
 			Name:          in.Name,
 			Type:          in.Type,
-			Value:         in.Value,
+			Value:         []byte(in.Value),
 			Filename:      in.FileName,
 			UploadedToCAS: in.UploadedToCas,
 			Hash:          &hash,
diff --git a/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/chainloop.go b/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/chainloop.go
index ae46fe1a1..b1a7947f2 100644
--- a/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/chainloop.go
+++ b/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/chainloop.go
@@ -70,8 +70,8 @@ type NormalizedMaterial struct {
 	Type string
 	// filename of the artifact that was either uploaded or injected inline in "value"
 	Filename string
-	// Inline content for an artifact or string material
-	Value string
+	// Inline content for an artifact or string material (binary-safe)
+	Value []byte
 	// Hash of the Material
 	Hash *crv1.Hash
 	// Tag of the container image
diff --git a/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/chainloop_test.go b/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/chainloop_test.go
index b05cbb138..391e148ef 100644
--- a/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/chainloop_test.go
+++ b/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/chainloop_test.go
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ func TestExtractPredicate(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 				{
 					Name: "image", Type: "CONTAINER_IMAGE",
-					Value: "index.docker.io/bitnami/nginx",
+					Value: []byte("index.docker.io/bitnami/nginx"),
 					Hash:  &crv1.Hash{Algorithm: "sha256", Hex: "747ef335ea27a2faf08aa292a5bc5491aff50c6a94ee4ebcbbcd43cdeccccaf1"},
 					Annotations: map[string]string{
 						"another_annotation":      "foo",
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func TestExtractPredicate(t *testing.T) {
 					Filename:       "inline-sbom.json",
 					Hash:           &crv1.Hash{Algorithm: "sha256", Hex: "16159bb881eb4ab7eb5d8afc5350b0feeed1e31c0a268e355e74f9ccbe885e0c"},
 					EmbeddedInline: true,
-					Value:          "hello inline!",
+					Value:          []byte("hello inline!"),
 					Annotations: map[string]string{
 						"chainloop.material.cas.inline": "true",
 						"chainloop.material.name":       "sbom",
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ func TestExtractPredicate(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 				{
 					Name: "stringvar", Type: "STRING",
-					Value: "helloworld",
+					Value: []byte("helloworld"),
 					Annotations: map[string]string{
 						"chainloop.material.name": "stringvar",
 						"chainloop.material.type": "STRING",
diff --git a/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/v02.go b/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/v02.go
index 3d6b5a5b4..cf48aa3a6 100644
--- a/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/v02.go
+++ b/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/v02.go
@@ -508,7 +508,7 @@ func normalizeMaterial(material *intoto.ResourceDescriptor) (*NormalizedMaterial
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("material content not found")
 		}
 
-		m.Value = string(material.Content)
+		m.Value = material.Content
 		hash, ok := material.Digest["sha256"]
 		if ok {
 			m.Hash = &crv1.Hash{Algorithm: "sha256", Hex: hash}
@@ -531,7 +531,7 @@ func normalizeMaterial(material *intoto.ResourceDescriptor) (*NormalizedMaterial
 	}
 
 	// In the case of container images for example the value is in the name field
-	m.Value = material.Name
+	m.Value = []byte(material.Name)
 
 	if v, ok := mAnnotationsMap[v1.AnnotationMaterialCAS]; ok && v.GetBoolValue() {
 		m.UploadedToCAS = true
@@ -564,11 +564,11 @@ func normalizeMaterial(material *intoto.ResourceDescriptor) (*NormalizedMaterial
 	// In the case of an artifact type or derivative the filename is set and the inline content if any
 	if m.EmbeddedInline || m.UploadedToCAS {
 		m.Filename = material.Name
-		m.Value = ""
+		m.Value = nil
 	}
 
 	if m.EmbeddedInline {
-		m.Value = string(material.Content)
+		m.Value = material.Content
 	}
 
 	return m, nil
diff --git a/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/v02_test.go b/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/v02_test.go
index 744687155..f7ccfdb3d 100644
--- a/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/v02_test.go
+++ b/pkg/attestation/renderer/chainloop/v02_test.go
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ func TestNormalizeMaterial(t *testing.T) {
 			want: &NormalizedMaterial{
 				Name:  "foo",
 				Type:  "STRING",
-				Value: "bar",
+				Value: []byte("bar"),
 				Annotations: map[string]string{
 					"chainloop.material.name": "foo",
 					"chainloop.material.type": "STRING",
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ func TestNormalizeMaterial(t *testing.T) {
 				Name:           "foo",
 				Type:           "ARTIFACT",
 				Filename:       "artifact.tgz",
-				Value:          "this is an inline material",
+				Value:          []byte("this is an inline material"),
 				Hash:           &crv1.Hash{Algorithm: "sha256", Hex: "deadbeef"},
 				EmbeddedInline: true,
 				Annotations: map[string]string{
@@ -300,6 +300,102 @@ func TestNormalizeMaterial(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestBinaryContentStructRoundTrip verifies that binary (non-UTF-8) content in
+// ResourceDescriptor.Content survives the structpb.Struct round-trip that happens
+// during predicate() → extractPredicate(): json.Marshal → protojson.Unmarshal(Struct) →
+// protojson.Marshal(Struct) → json.Unmarshal.
+func TestBinaryContentStructRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
+	testCases := []struct {
+		name    string
+		content []byte
+	}{
+		{
+			name:    "null bytes and high bytes",
+			content: []byte{0xff, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x01, 0x80, 0x7f},
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "ELF header",
+			content: []byte{0x7f, 0x45, 0x4c, 0x46, 0x02, 0x01, 0x01, 0x00},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "all byte values",
+			content: func() []byte {
+				b := make([]byte, 256)
+				for i := range b {
+					b[i] = byte(i)
+				}
+				return b
+			}(),
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "valid UTF-8 text",
+			content: []byte("hello world"),
+		},
+		{
+			name: "large binary payload",
+			content: func() []byte {
+				b := make([]byte, 64*1024)
+				for i := range b {
+					b[i] = byte(i % 251)
+				}
+				return b
+			}(),
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range testCases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			// Build a minimal predicate with one inline artifact material
+			original := &ProvenancePredicateV02{
+				ProvenancePredicateCommon: &ProvenancePredicateCommon{},
+				Materials: []*intoto.ResourceDescriptor{
+					{
+						Name: "binary.bin",
+						Annotations: mapToStruct(t, map[string]any{
+							"chainloop.material.name":       "test-binary",
+							"chainloop.material.type":       "ARTIFACT",
+							"chainloop.material.cas.inline": true,
+						}),
+						Digest:  map[string]string{"sha256": "deadbeef"},
+						Content: tc.content,
+					},
+				},
+			}
+
+			// === Step 1: predicate() path ===
+			// json.Marshal base64-encodes []byte fields
+			predicateJSON, err := json.Marshal(original)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+
+			// protojson.Unmarshal stores the base64 string in Struct
+			predStruct := &structpb.Struct{}
+			err = protojson.Unmarshal(predicateJSON, predStruct)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+
+			// === Step 2: extractPredicate() path ===
+			// protojson.Marshal outputs the Struct as JSON
+			roundTrippedJSON, err := protojson.Marshal(predStruct)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+
+			// json.Unmarshal decodes base64 back into []byte
+			var restored ProvenancePredicateV02
+			err = json.Unmarshal(roundTrippedJSON, &restored)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+
+			require.Len(t, restored.Materials, 1)
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.content, restored.Materials[0].Content,
+				"binary content should survive structpb.Struct round-trip")
+
+			// === Step 3: normalizeMaterial() ===
+			normalized, err := normalizeMaterial(restored.Materials[0])
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.content, normalized.Value,
+				"binary content should survive normalization")
+			assert.True(t, normalized.EmbeddedInline)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestStructValueToString(t *testing.T) {
 	testCases := []struct {
 		name  string