Cyber security

Gitleaks – Comprehensive Guide To Detecting Hardcoded Secrets In Git Repositories

Gitleaks is a SAST tool for detecting and preventing hardcoded secrets like passwords, api keys, and tokens in git repos.

Gitleaks is an easy-to-use, all-in-one solution for detecting secrets, past or present, in your code.

➜  ~/code(master) gitleaks detect --source . -v

    ○
    │╲
    │ ○
    ○ ░
    ░    gitleaks


Finding:     "export BUNDLE_ENTERPRISE__CONTRIBSYS__COM=cafebabe:deadbeef",
Secret:      cafebabe:deadbeef
RuleID:      sidekiq-secret
Entropy:     2.609850
File:        cmd/generate/config/rules/sidekiq.go
Line:        23
Commit:      cd5226711335c68be1e720b318b7bc3135a30eb2
Author:      John
Email:       john@users.noreply.github.com
Date:        2022-08-03T12:31:40Z
Fingerprint: cd5226711335c68be1e720b318b7bc3135a30eb2:cmd/generate/config/rules/sidekiq.go:sidekiq-secret:23

Getting Started

Gitleaks can be installed using Homebrew, Docker, or Go. Gitleaks is also available in binary form for many popular platforms and OS types on the releases page. In addition, Gitleaks can be implemented as a pre-commit hook directly in your repo or as a GitHub action using Gitleaks-Action.

Installing

# MacOS
brew install gitleaks

# Docker (DockerHub)
docker pull zricethezav/gitleaks:latest
docker run -v ${path_to_host_folder_to_scan}:/path zricethezav/gitleaks:latest [COMMAND] --source="/path" [OPTIONS]

# Docker (ghcr.io)
docker pull ghcr.io/gitleaks/gitleaks:latest
docker run -v ${path_to_host_folder_to_scan}:/path ghcr.io/gitleaks/gitleaks:latest [COMMAND] --source="/path" [OPTIONS]

# From Source (make sure `go` is installed)
git clone https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks.git
cd gitleaks
make build

GitHub Action

name: gitleaks
on: [pull_request, push, workflow_dispatch]
jobs:
  scan:
    name: gitleaks
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
      - uses: gitleaks/gitleaks-action@v2
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          GITLEAKS_LICENSE: ${{ secrets.GITLEAKS_LICENSE}} # Only required for Organizations, not personal accounts.

For more information click here.

Varshini

Varshini is a Cyber Security expert in Threat Analysis, Vulnerability Assessment, and Research. Passionate about staying ahead of emerging Threats and Technologies.

Recent Posts

Comments in Bash Scripts

What Are Bash Comments? In Bash scripting, comments are notes in your code that the…

16 hours ago

Shebang (#!) in Bash Script

When you write a Bash script in Linux, you want it to run correctly every…

2 days ago

Bash String Concatenation – Bash Scripting

Introduction If you’re new to Bash scripting, one of the first skills you’ll need is…

2 days ago

Learn Bash Scripting: How to Create and Run Shell Scripts for Beginners

What is Bash Scripting? Bash scripting allows you to save multiple Linux commands in a file and…

2 days ago

Bash if…else Statement – Bash Scripting

When it comes to automating tasks on Linux, Bash scripting is an essential skill for both beginners…

2 days ago

Bash Functions Explained: Syntax, Examples, and Best Practices

Learn how to create and use Bash functions with this complete tutorial. Includes syntax, arguments,…

5 days ago