MSSQL Credentials detected in code

Rule Details

Cortex AppSec Rule ID	APPSEC_SECRET_281
Category	Secrets
Severity	LOW
Framework	Git

Impact

MSSQL Credentials (username/password) grant a Microsoft SQL Server login.

Exposure is a Critical Risk that allows an attacker to gain unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion at the database layer.

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.