SMTP credentials Password detected in code

Rule Details

Cortex AppSec Rule ID	APPSEC_SECRET_182
Category	Database Credentials
Severity	MEDIUM
Framework	Git

Impact

The SMTP credentials Password grants authentication to the email server.

Exposure allows an attacker to impersonate the organization to send emails, leading to widespread phishing, domain blacklisting, and severe reputation damage.

How to Fix

To remediate exposed Database credentials:

1. Log in to your database administration tool or console.
2. Identify the database user associated with the exposed connection string.
3. Rotate the password for that specific database user immediately.
4. Update the connection strings in your application configuration or secrets manager.
5. Restart your application instances if necessary to apply the new connection string.

Next, remove the secret from your codebase:

1. Locate the exposed connection string in your codebase.
2. Replace the hardcoded value with a secure variable or reference.

Finally, clean your version control history:

1. Permanently remove the sensitive data from your version control history to ensure it cannot be retrieved.