Usage of hard-coded secret

• Rule ID: ruby_lang_hardcoded_secret
• Languages: ruby
• Source: hardcoded_secret.yml

Description

Storing secret values directly in the source code exposes them to unauthorized access and compromises security.

Remediations

• Do not embed secret values directly in your source code. This practice makes your application vulnerable to attacks if the source code is accessed.

  SECRET_KEY = "hardcoded_secret_key" # unsafe

• Do use environment variables to manage secrets securely. This method keeps sensitive information out of your codebase and makes it more difficult for unauthorized users to access.
• Do retrieve secrets from a secure location at runtime to ensure they are not exposed in the source code.

  SECRET_KEY = ENV['SECRET_KEY']

• Do consider implementing a key-management system to securely handle secrets and other sensitive information. This approach provides enhanced security measures for managing and accessing credentials.

References

• OWASP hardcoded passwords
• OWASP secrets management cheat sheet

Associated CWE

• CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials

OWASP Top 10

• A07:2021 - Identification and Authentication Failures

Configuration

To skip this rule during a scan, use the following flag

bearer scan /path/to/your-project/ --skip-rule=ruby_lang_hardcoded_secret

To run only this rule during a scan, use the following flag

bearer scan /path/to/your-project/ --only-rule=ruby_lang_hardcoded_secret