Digital Sprawl of Exposed Secrets Fuels Cybersecurity Crisis

The Expanding Threat Landscape

Cybersecurity experts are sounding alarms about what they describe as an accelerating crisis of “secrets sprawl,” where sensitive credentials and authentication tokens are increasingly exposed across multiple digital platforms. According to security researchers, threat actors are capitalizing on this trend, finding valuable data in unexpected locations beyond traditional code repositories.

The Expanding Threat Landscape
Real-World Attack Patterns Emerge
Unexpected Locations for Sensitive Data
Supply Chain Vulnerabilities Multiply
AI Tools Exacerbate the Problem
Improving Security Practices

Recent high-profile attacks against Salesforce instances illustrate the severity of the problem, with analysts suggesting that attackers obtained credentials, authentication tokens, and API keys contained in customer support cases. Security professionals indicate that this represents a significant shift in how cybercriminals operate, targeting platforms not traditionally associated with secret storage.

Real-World Attack Patterns Emerge

One particularly devastating campaign tracked as UNC6395 demonstrates the cascading effects of exposed secrets, according to security reports. The threat group reportedly used stolen OAuth tokens from an integrated third-party application to compromise multiple Salesforce customer instances. Sources indicate that several technology and cybersecurity companies were impacted, with their instances containing secrets that potentially put downstream customers at risk.

Ironically, security analysts note that UNC6395’s campaign originated from a compromised GitHub account that provided access to private repositories. This access reportedly enabled the theft of OAuth tokens that subsequently allowed infiltration of customer Salesforce instances, creating a dangerous supply chain vulnerability.

Unexpected Locations for Sensitive Data

Cloudflare’s disclosure following the attacks revealed that technical support cases within their Salesforce instances contained customer-submitted logs, credentials, and more than 100 API tokens intended for troubleshooting purposes. The company warned that anything shared through these channels should be considered compromised, according to their public statements.

Security researcher Guillaume Valadon of GitGuardian characterized the situation as “super unusual,” noting that Salesforce specialists would typically assert that people don’t store secrets in the platform. This discovery highlights what analysts suggest is a growing pattern of sensitive data appearing in unconventional locations.

Supply Chain Vulnerabilities Multiply

The recent Red Hat breach further illustrates the supply chain risks associated with secrets sprawl, according to security reports. Threat actors reportedly compromised Red Hat’s GitLab instance and accessed thousands of private code repositories. The cybercriminal group behind the breach, Crimson Collective, claimed to have stolen customer engagement reports containing client secrets such as access tokens.

In another concerning development, researchers at Wiz discovered more than 550 validated secrets from hundreds of extension publishers in Visual Studio Code marketplaces. Analysis suggests that these secrets, which included access tokens for AI providers and major cloud platforms, could enable threat actors to tamper with extensions and conduct massive supply chain attacks.

AI Tools Exacerbate the Problem

Security researchers point to artificial intelligence tools as a significant contributor to the secrets sprawl epidemic. According to Wiz principal security researcher Rami McCarthy, increased adoption of AI coding assistants and generative AI platforms has led to “bad patterns of secrets management,” including storing plaintext secrets in configuration files.

GitGuardian officials report a continued rise in exposed secrets in recent years, with Chief Marketing Officer Carole Winqwist noting that AI coding assistants often require secrets to connect to resources while being used by non-professional developers with limited security knowledge. Analysts suggest that AI agents are multiplying the volume of secrets leveraged by different systems, creating additional exposure points.

Improving Security Practices

Security experts outline two primary approaches to address the secrets sprawl crisis: practicing better secret hygiene and making the secrets themselves less dangerous when exposed. According to their recommendations, organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring and scanning for secrets in both internal development environments and external resources.

Researchers also advocate for using short-term credentials and restricting privileges for tokens and API keys. Some organizations reportedly employ access tokens that are valid only when used from designated regions or specific IP addresses. Security professionals emphasize that over-privileging secrets has become a disturbingly common practice that needs urgent addressing.

As Winqwist noted, many organizations use the same keys for test and production environments, a practice security experts characterize as fundamentally problematic. With secrets continuing to spread to unexpected platforms including collaboration tools like Slack, analysts suggest that comprehensive security reassessments are becoming increasingly necessary.

References & Further Reading

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