Secrets Scan

Deep detection of hardcoded credentials and sensitive data in source code.

Quick Start

/secrets-scan                    # Scan current directory
/secrets-scan --scope src/       # Scan specific path
/secrets-scan --entropy          # Include high-entropy detection
/secrets-scan --git-history      # Check git commit history

What This Skill Detects

High-Confidence Patterns

Patterns with very low false positive rates:

Type	Pattern Example	Provider
AWS Access Key	AKIA... (20 chars)	AWS
AWS Secret Key	40 char base64	AWS
GitHub Token	ghp_, gho_, ghu_, ghs_, ghr_	GitHub
GitLab Token	glpat-...	GitLab
Slack Token	xoxb-, xoxp-, xoxa-	Slack
Stripe Key	sk_live_, rk_live_	Stripe
Twilio	SK... (34 chars)	Twilio
SendGrid	SG. followed by base64	SendGrid
Private Key	-----BEGIN (RSA|EC|DSA)?PRIVATE KEY-----	Various
Google API Key	AIza... (39 chars)	Google

Medium-Confidence Patterns

May require context validation:

Type	Pattern	Notes
Generic API Key	api[_-]?key.*=.*['"][a-zA-Z0-9]{16,}	Variable names
Generic Secret	secret.*=.*['"][^'"]+	Context needed
Password	password.*=.*['"][^'"]+	May be config
Connection String	://[^:]+:[^@]+@	DB credentials
Bearer Token	Bearer [a-zA-Z0-9_-]+	In headers/code

High-Entropy Detection

Finds potential secrets via entropy analysis:

/secrets-scan --entropy

Detects strings with high randomness that may be:

• Base64-encoded secrets
• Hex-encoded tokens
• Custom API key formats

Detection Patterns

Cloud Provider Keys

# AWS
AKIA[0-9A-Z]{16}                           # Access Key ID
[A-Za-z0-9/+=]{40}                         # Secret Access Key (context needed)

# Azure
[a-zA-Z0-9+/=]{88}                         # Storage Account Key

# GCP
AIza[0-9A-Za-z_-]{35}                      # API Key
[0-9]+-[a-z0-9]{32}\.apps\.googleusercontent\.com  # OAuth Client

Version Control Tokens

# GitHub
gh[pousr]_[A-Za-z0-9]{36,}                 # Personal/OAuth/User/Repo/App
github_pat_[A-Za-z0-9]{22}_[A-Za-z0-9]{59} # Fine-grained PAT

# GitLab
glpat-[A-Za-z0-9-_]{20,}                   # Personal Access Token

# Bitbucket
[a-zA-Z0-9]{24}                            # App Password (context needed)

Payment & Finance

# Stripe
sk_live_[a-zA-Z0-9]{24,}                   # Secret Key
rk_live_[a-zA-Z0-9]{24,}                   # Restricted Key
pk_live_[a-zA-Z0-9]{24,}                   # Publishable Key

# Square
sq0[a-z]{3}-[A-Za-z0-9_-]{22,}            # Access Token

# PayPal
access_token\$[a-zA-Z0-9-_.]+             # OAuth Token

Communication Services

# Slack
xox[bpas]-[0-9]{10,}-[a-zA-Z0-9]{24,}     # Bot/User/App Token

# Twilio
SK[a-f0-9]{32}                             # API Key SID
[a-f0-9]{32}                               # Auth Token (context)

# SendGrid
SG\.[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{22}\.[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{43}  # API Key

Database Connection Strings

# PostgreSQL/MySQL
(postgres|mysql|mariadb)://[^:]+:[^@]+@[^/]+/\w+

# MongoDB
mongodb(\+srv)?://[^:]+:[^@]+@

# Redis
redis://:[^@]+@

Private Keys

-----BEGIN (RSA |EC |DSA |OPENSSH )?PRIVATE KEY-----
-----BEGIN PGP PRIVATE KEY BLOCK-----

JWT & Session

eyJ[A-Za-z0-9_-]+\.eyJ[A-Za-z0-9_-]+\.[A-Za-z0-9_-]+   # JWT

Scan Options

Basic Scan

/secrets-scan

Scans for high-confidence patterns only.

With Entropy Analysis

/secrets-scan --entropy

Adds high-entropy string detection (more findings, some false positives).

Specific Scope

/secrets-scan --scope src/api/
/secrets-scan --scope "*.ts"

Git History Scan

/secrets-scan --git-history
/secrets-scan --git-history --since "2024-01-01"

Scans commit history for secrets that were committed and later removed.

Exclude Patterns

/secrets-scan --exclude "*.test.ts" --exclude "fixtures/"

Output Format

Finding Report

SECRETS SCAN RESULTS
====================

High-Confidence Findings: 2
Medium-Confidence Findings: 5
Entropy Findings: 3

[!] CRITICAL: AWS Access Key
    File: src/config/aws.ts:15
    Pattern: AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE
    Action: Rotate immediately, check CloudTrail

[!] CRITICAL: GitHub Token
    File: .env.example:8
    Pattern: ghp_xxxx...xxxx (redacted)
    Action: Revoke token, remove from history

[H] HIGH: Database Password
    File: docker-compose.yml:23
    Pattern: password: supersecret
    Action: Use environment variable

[M] MEDIUM: Possible API Key
    File: src/services/api.ts:44
    Pattern: apiKey = "a1b2c3..."
    Context: May be test value

Summary Statistics

Files scanned: 342
Patterns checked: 127
Time elapsed: 2.3s

By Severity:
  Critical: 2
  High: 5
  Medium: 8

By Type:
  Cloud credentials: 2
  API keys: 4
  Passwords: 3
  Private keys: 1
  Other: 5

False Positive Handling

Common False Positives

1. Example/placeholder values

   • AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE (AWS example)
   • sk_test_... (Stripe test key)
   • your-api-key-here

2. Test fixtures

   • Mock credentials in test files
   • Fixture data

3. Documentation

   • README examples
   • API documentation

Ignore File

Create .secrets-scan-ignore:

# Ignore test fixtures
**/fixtures/**
**/__mocks__/**
*.test.ts
*.spec.js

# Ignore documentation
docs/**
*.md

# Ignore specific false positives
src/constants.ts:EXAMPLE_KEY

# Inline ignore comment
# secrets-scan-ignore: test fixture

Inline Ignore

// secrets-scan-ignore: example value
const EXAMPLE_KEY = "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE";

Remediation Steps

When Secrets Are Found

1. Immediate Actions

   • Rotate the credential immediately
   • Check access logs for unauthorized use
   • Remove from code/config

2. Clean Git History

   # Remove secret from history
   git filter-branch --force --index-filter \
     'git rm --cached --ignore-unmatch path/to/file' \
     --prune-empty --tag-name-filter cat -- --all
   
   # Or use BFG Repo Cleaner
   bfg --replace-text secrets.txt repo.git
   

3. Prevent Future Commits

   • Add pre-commit hooks
   • Configure secret scanning in CI

Prevention

# Install pre-commit hook
npx husky add .husky/pre-commit "npx secrets-scan --staged"

Integration

CI/CD Pipeline

# GitHub Actions
- name: Secrets Scan
  run: |
    /secrets-scan --fail-on-findings
    exit $?

# Exit codes:
# 0 = No findings
# 1 = Findings detected
# 2 = Error during scan

Pre-Commit Hook

#!/bin/sh
# .husky/pre-commit
files=$(git diff --cached --name-only)
/secrets-scan --files "$files"

Related Skills

• /security-scan - Full security analysis
• /config-scan - Configuration security
• /dependency-scan - Package vulnerabilities