Phishing and ransomware dominate the headlines, but another serious risk follows quietly for most companies. The risk of quietly creating shadow access in the core system
GIT is the backbone of modern software development, hosting millions of repositories and serving thousands of organizations around the world. However, amid the daily shipping code fuss, developers may inadvertently leave API keys, tokens, or passwords in their configuration and code files, effectively handing over keys to the kingdom to the attacker.
This is not just for the poor sanitation. This is a risk in a systematic and growing supply chain. So are compliance requirements as cyber threats become more refined. Security frameworks such as NIS2, SOC2, and ISO 27001 have proven that the software delivery pipeline is enhanced and third-party risks are controlled. The message is clear. Securing your GIT repository is no longer an option and essential.
Below we will look at the exposed credentials and secret risk profiles in public and private code repositories, how this attack vector has been used in the past, and what you can do to minimize exposure.
The Threat Scene of Git Repo
The threat landscape surrounding GIT repository is rapidly expanding due to many causes.
The growing complexity of DevOps practices widespread reliance on public version control platforms such as Github Human Error and all the misconceptions that accompany them.
It is not surprising that as development speed increases, the chances of attackers weaponizing exposed code repositories increase. On Github alone, we reported more than 39 million leaked secrets in 2024. This is an increase of 67% from the previous year. These included cloud credentials, API tokens, and SSH keys. Most of these exposures arise from:
Repositories where personal developer accounts have been abandoned or fork projects have been misconfigured or unaudited
For attackers, these are entry points, not just mistakes. Exposed GIT repos provide a direct, low-friction pathway to internal systems and developer environments. What starts with a small amount of surveillance can often escalate to a full-scale compromise without triggering an alert.
How will an attacker make use of exposed GIT repository?
Public tools and scanners make harvesting secrets from exposed GIT repository easy, and attackers know how to quickly pivot from exposed code to compromised infrastructure.
Once inside the repository, the attacker looks for:
Secrets and Credentials: API key, authentication token, password. It is often hidden in the obvious vision within the configuration file or commit history. Infrastructure Intel: Internal system details such as hostname, IPS, ports, and architecture diagrams. Business Logic: Source code that could reveal vulnerabilities in authentication, session processing, or API access.
These insights are weaponized to:
Initial Access: Attackers use valid credentials to use the cloud environment – for example, exposed access keys, roles of AWS IAM through Azure Service Principals databases – for example: MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL hard-coded connection strings SaaS platform – leveraging API tokens found in the configuration file and using later apis. Use the Openapi/Swagger specification to access the CI/CD pipeline using GitHub actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins leaked tokens, and the incorrect permissions to traverse internal services or cloud accounts. Remove data from workload S3 buckets, Azure Blob storage, or logging platforms such as CloudWatch and Log Analytics
One leaked AWS key could potentially expose your entire cloud footprint. Forgotten .git/config files or old commits may contain live credentials.
These exposures often bypass traditional boundary defenses completely. I’ve seen laptops pivot from developers into internal networks from exposed git repository. This threat is not theoretical, it is a kill chain tested in production environments using Pentera.
Recommended mitigation strategies
Reducing exposure risk starts with the basics. While a single control cannot eliminate GIT-based attacks, the following practices can help reduce the likelihood that secrets are leaked and limit the impact.
1. Secret Management
Store secrets outside your codebase using dedicated secret management solutions such as Hashicorp Vault (Open Source), AWS Secrets Manager, and Azure Key Vault. These tools provide secure storage, fine-grained access control, and audit logging. Avoid hardcoded secrets in source or configuration files. Instead, inject secrets at runtime via environment variables or make the API secure. Automate secret rotations to reduce exposure windows.
2. Cord Hygiene
Enforces a strict .gitignore policy to exclude files that may contain sensitive information such as .env, config.yaml, or credentials.json. Integrate scan tools such as GitLeaks, Talisman, Git-Secrets into your developer workflow and CI/CD pipeline to catch secrets before committing.
3. Access Control
Enforce the principle of least privilege across all GIT repositories. Developers, CI/CD tools, and third-party integrations require only the access you need. Whenever possible, use short-lived tokens or time-of-day credentials. Enforces multi-factor authentication (MFA) and single sign-on (SSO) on the GIT platform. Periodically audit users and machine access logs to identify excessive privileges or suspicious behavior.
Find exposed git data before the attacker does it
An exposed GIT repository is not a risk of edge cases, but a mainstream attack vector, especially in a rapidly moving DevOps environment. Secret scanners and hygiene practices are essential, but in many cases they can’t provide a big picture. The attacker isn’t just reading your code. They use it as a map to quickly put it into your infrastructure.
But even teams using best practices are blinding one important question. Can an attacker actually use this exposure to infiltrate? To protect your repository, you need more than static checks. It requires continuous verification, aggressive repairs, and enemy thinking. As compliance is mandated, attacks grow, and attacks grow, organizations need to treat code exposure as a core part of their security strategy, rather than as an afterthought.
For more information on how the team does this, please join the webinar on July 23, 2025 that will be out on Git
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