Sensitive values exposed through state or plan artifacts
A deployment artifact readable by an unintended principal contains credentials or equivalent confidential material.
Candidate CWE: CWE-522
Test hypothesis#
Create a trusted fixture plan/state with a synthetic secret marker. Trace the marker into the artifact, then compare artifact access for its owner and a principal who should not receive the value.
Evidence required#
Exact artifact version, marker presence, storage/access policy, unintended reader and secure comparison. Redact real values if encountered incidentally.
Rule out false positives#
The sensitive display flag does not remove state values by design; the finding requires an inappropriate reader, exposure path or broken confidentiality promise.
Playbook and command references#
- Infrastructure configuration: from repository default to deployed impact — Trace IaC, charts, Compose and image packaging into supported deployments, including exposed services and sensitive artifacts.
Find the associated command snippets
Referenced by these target playbooks#
Report checklist#
- Capture the affected version, configuration, identities, and object ownership.
- Preserve a valid baseline and a negative control.
- Reproduce the forbidden data access, action, or state change on controlled fixtures.
- Explain the intended security rule and why the observed behavior violates it.
- State prerequisites, uncertainty, cleanup, and the smallest demonstrated impact.
Conditional ATT&CK mapping#
- T1552.001 · Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files — Only if: The tested path retrieves credentials from insufficiently protected configuration, source, log, archive, or other files; retain only redacted evidence and location details. Not established by: A high-entropy string, sample credential, or accessible file without authentication material is insufficient. Reading arbitrary non-secret data is a different behavior.