Base64 High Entropy String detected in code

Rule Details

Cortex AppSec Rule ID	APPSEC_SECRET_6
Category	Environment Variables
Severity	LOW
Framework	Git

Impact

A Base64 High Entropy String (often a token or key) indicates a highly random, sensitive secret that has been trivially encoded.

Exposure is a High Risk that grants an attacker unauthenticated access to the associated system once the string is decoded and its format identified.

How to Fix

To remediate a generic or high-entropy secret:

1. Identify the service or resource protected by this secret (investigate variable names or surrounding code for context).
2. Log in to the identified service and rotate the credentials.
3. If the service cannot be identified, treat the secret as critical: check if it matches internal passwords or keys and rotate them as a precaution.
4. Update your application configuration with the new value.

Next, remove the secret from your codebase:

1. Locate the exposed string in your codebase.
2. Remove it or replace it 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.