Secrets Management in CI/CD: Best Practices

Managing secrets securely in CI/CD pipelines is critical to protect sensitive data and prevent breaches.

Secrets like API keys, passwords, and cloud credentials are often mishandled, leading to vulnerabilities. Poor practices - such as hardcoding secrets or failing to rotate them - can expose organisations to significant risks, including compliance penalties under UK GDPR.

Key Takeaways:

• Avoid hardcoded secrets: Use secure storage and inject secrets at runtime.
• Apply least privilege access: Limit permissions to only what's necessary.
• Automate secret rotation: Regularly update credentials to reduce exposure.
• Separate environments: Keep secrets for development, staging, and production distinct.
• Use dedicated tools: Platforms like HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, and Azure Key Vault help centralise and secure secrets.

With automation and proper tools, you can simplify secrets management, reduce human errors, and stay compliant with UK data protection laws.

Can Your CI/CD Pipeline Keep a Secret?

Core Principles for Secure Secrets Management

To tackle the challenges linked to CI/CD pipeline security, applying a few key principles can create multiple layers of protection against unauthorised access.

Principle of Least Privilege

At the heart of securing CI/CD pipelines lies the principle of least privilege. This concept limits access to data, code repositories, and pipelines strictly to what each user, process, or system requires to do their job. By granting only the bare minimum access necessary, organisations can reduce exposure to risks. This principle is particularly relevant in CI/CD environments, where over 80% of organisations have reported security breaches tied to their pipelines [2][6].

To put this into practice, tools should support fine-grained access controls, and roles should be assigned based on specific job responsibilities [2][4]. Enforcing role-based access control (RBAC) ensures that permissions align with these responsibilities [4]. Regular audits are also critical, helping to ensure that access remains limited to what’s currently needed [3]. These steps lay a strong foundation for further security measures.

Avoiding Plain Text and Hardcoded Secrets

Another essential practice is eliminating the use of static credentials, such as hardcoded secrets. Storing secrets within code not only increases the risk of exposure but also complicates their rotation. For example, changing hardcoded secrets often requires code updates, which can delay testing and redeployment - hindering response times during security incidents [1][7].

Instead, secrets should be injected at runtime using environment variables. However, this approach comes with its own risks. Sarah Jones, a Cyberthreat Intelligence Research Analyst at Critical Start, highlights:

While \[that's\] convenient, environment variables are often included in logs by default. If a CI/CD job inadvertently prints these logs during execution, any secrets they contain - think passwords or API keys - become exposed. [8]

To address this, disable default logging of environment variables, use secure secret stores, and automate secret rotation to regularly update credentials [7].

Environment-Specific Secrets Management

Managing secrets separately for development, staging, and production environments is another critical step. This separation creates clear boundaries that prevent a breach in one environment from compromising others, reducing the overall damage a potential attack could cause.

For effective management, secrets should be rotated regularly to shrink the window of opportunity for attackers [9]. Enforcing least privilege access for sensitive assets further strengthens this approach [9]. Additionally, using dedicated tools to encrypt variables and applying strict access controls ensures that each environment operates as a distinct security domain. This strategy not only protects production systems but also allows teams to work efficiently across the software development lifecycle without compromising security.

Secure Storage and Centralised Secret Management

Centralised secret storage is a practical way to manage and protect sensitive data while adhering to principles like least privilege and avoiding hardcoded secrets. With 80% of breaches in 2024 linked to compromised credentials and the average data breach costing over £4.2 million[12], having a centralised approach is essential for maintaining business continuity.

Dedicated Secrets Management Tools

Centralised secrets management tools act as a single source of truth. They offer features like dynamic secrets, detailed access controls, secret leasing, versioning, and auditing[7]. These tools integrate seamlessly into CI/CD pipelines via APIs, CLIs, environment variables, and plugins, enabling secrets to be securely injected at runtime rather than embedded in code[10].

HashiCorp Vault is ideal for enterprises needing fine control and dynamic secret generation. Armon Dadgar, co-founder of HashiCorp, explains its broader security role:

In addition to just the keys is the cryptography itself ... Instead of implementing cryptography in our end-applications and making sure the producers and consumers all implement it the same way, we can upload the challenge to Vault and use its APIs to do encryption for us[5].

AWS Secrets Manager integrates effortlessly with other AWS services. The Amazon team highlights its benefits:

To help you manage secrets needed to access your applications, services, and IT resources, without the upfront investment and ongoing maintenance costs of operating your own infrastructure, you can use AWS Secrets Manager.[5]

Azure Key Vault works directly with Azure DevOps, making it a natural fit for teams deploying on Azure. Microsoft describes its capabilities:

Azure Key Vault enables Microsoft Azure applications and users to store and use several types of secret/key data: Cryptographic keys, Storage account keys, Data encryption keys, .PFX (Personal Information Exchange)...and Passwords.[5]

Google Secret Manager is tightly integrated with Google Cloud services, making it a strong choice for GCP-native pipelines. Google Cloud describes it as:

Secret Manager is a new Google Cloud service that provides a secure and convenient method for storing API keys, passwords, certificates, and other sensitive data. Secret Manager provides a central place and single source of truth to manage, access, and audit secrets across Google Cloud.[5]

These tools also work with Kubernetes, Terraform, and other infrastructure-as-code platforms, supporting automated secret rotation, expiration, and detailed logging[7][11]. Their integration into CI/CD pipelines simplifies managing environment variables securely.

Environment Variable Injection

Environment variables are a simple yet effective way to manage secrets without embedding them in source code. This keeps configurations isolated and allows for easy updates during deployments without modifying the codebase[5].

Most CI/CD platforms offer encrypted storage for secrets, automatically decrypting them during execution. Additionally, environment-specific secrets can override organisational or repository-level secrets during workflows, creating a flexible and layered security setup[13]. This approach provides a customisable framework, scaling from the organisational level down to individual environments and repositories.

Auditing and Compliance for UK Organisations

For UK organisations, implementing secrets management systems must align with strict regulatory requirements. A comprehensive audit trail is vital for compliance, as these systems should log all access attempts, successful authentications, and administrative actions, complete with timestamps and user details.

Key regulations include the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018, and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016[14]. Additionally, financial services must address Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) obligations, which demand transparent data handling[15].

Critical compliance steps include appointing a Data Protection Officer (DPO), conducting regular data protection audits, and ensuring breaches are reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours if they risk individuals' rights and freedoms[14][15]. Organisations should also maintain detailed records of data processing activities, specifying data types, purposes, retention periods, and security measures[15].

Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) with third-party providers must define roles, security protocols, and breach notification processes. Regular staff training ensures employees understand their data-handling responsibilities, while automated policies can help remove outdated data promptly[14][15].

For businesses aiming to streamline DevOps while staying compliant, Hokstad Consulting offers tailored services in DevOps transformation and cloud infrastructure optimisation. Their expertise can help UK organisations implement secure secrets management systems that meet both operational and regulatory needs. Up next, we’ll look at how automated secret lifecycle management improves security and efficiency even further.

Automation and Lifecycle Management of Secrets

Managing secrets manually becomes increasingly difficult as CI/CD operations grow in scale. By leveraging dedicated tools for secure storage, automation extends these practices across all phases of the secrets lifecycle. This approach ensures that security remains consistent throughout the CI/CD process. Automating tasks like builds, tests, and deployments removes the need for manual secret tracking, minimising human errors and promoting standardised security practices across environments. Automation also enforces policies such as password complexity and approved encryption algorithms, creating a security framework that operates consistently without constant manual intervention[17].

Automated Secret Rotation and Expiry

Static credentials pose significant risks, as they can be exploited by malicious actors if not rotated regularly. High-profile incidents illustrate the consequences of failing to rotate secrets. For instance, the Uber breach in December 2022 occurred when attackers used unrotated credentials found in PowerShell scripts, affecting 77,000 employees[20]. Similarly, in November 2023, Cloudflare faced a 10-day security breach due to four unrotated secrets, which led to the rotation of over 5,000 credentials and system re-imaging[20]. These examples underscore the dangers of static credentials.

Automated rotation policies address these risks by regularly updating secrets on a set schedule. Long-term workloads benefit from auto-rotated secrets, while short-term workloads often use dynamic secrets. Dynamic secrets are unique to each application instance and can be revoked independently, offering an additional layer of security[16].

Many secrets management platforms, such as HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, and Google Secret Manager, support automated secret rotation with configurable schedules[19]. However, it’s important to tailor rotation policies to your organisation's specific needs, tools, and workflows. Beyond rotation, secure disposal of secrets is essential to eliminate residual risks.

Secure Disposal and Removal of Secrets

Disposing of secrets securely involves more than just deleting active credentials. Secrets often linger in logs, pipeline outputs, configuration files, and temporary storage, creating ongoing vulnerabilities.

Automated scanning tools are invaluable for detecting unintended secret exposures across codebases and infrastructure. Research shows that integrating secret detection into CI pipelines can reduce the number of secrets committed to code by approximately 55%[18]. This highlights how automation can catch issues that manual reviews might overlook.

The disposal process must address several critical areas. For instance, CI/CD configuration files often contain embedded secrets that may be missed during updates. Similarly, log files can capture secret values during debugging or error handling, necessitating automated log scrubbing or retention policies to prevent sensitive data from being stored long-term. Additionally, pipeline artifacts and build outputs may inadvertently include configuration files or environment dumps containing secrets.

A robust secrets management system should include comprehensive logging and monitoring to track secret access and detect unusual activity[7]. This allows organisations to identify when secrets appear in unexpected locations and respond quickly to potential exposures. When secrets are no longer needed or are compromised, they must be securely revoked rather than just deactivated[17]. Proper revocation ensures that any cached or distributed copies become invalid, preventing future misuse.

These automated lifecycle practices form the foundation of a strong CI/CD secrets management strategy. For organisations navigating complex DevOps environments, implementing these practices requires careful planning and expertise. Hokstad Consulting specialises in helping businesses develop comprehensive secrets management frameworks, automating rotation, disposal, and monitoring while ensuring compliance with UK regulatory standards. Their DevOps transformation services seamlessly integrate these security measures into existing CI/CD pipelines, reducing operational burdens and enhancing security.

Conclusion

Managing secrets effectively in CI/CD pipelines requires a well-rounded strategy that blends secure storage, stringent access controls, and reliable automation. Real-world examples highlight the risks of neglecting these measures. In 2016, Uber faced a major data breach when attackers found hardcoded AWS credentials in a GitHub repository, leading to the theft of personal data from 57 million users and drivers [21]. Similarly, in 2019, a former Capital One employee exploited a misconfigured AWS S3 bucket, exposing credentials and affecting over 100 million customer records [21].

A critical step in reducing such risks is enforcing the principle of least privilege, ensuring only authorised users and services can access secrets. Encrypting secrets both at rest and in transit, coupled with automated policies for rotation and expiration, further minimises the exposure of static credentials.

For organisations in the UK, automation is a vital tool in combating increasingly advanced threats. As OX Security points out:

Automation is key to effective secrets management [21]

Supply-chain attacks are on the rise, with incidents doubling in 2024 and expected to impact nearly half of all organisations by 2025 [22]. Automation not only mitigates these risks but also reduces human errors, such as embedding secrets in code or failing to rotate passwords. This approach not only saves time but also lowers operational costs [21] - a necessity as compliance requirements grow more demanding.

UK businesses face additional challenges from regulations like UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and standards such as PCI DSS [24]. Meeting these obligations requires strong technical controls, well-defined policies, and regular audits to spot vulnerabilities.

In this complex landscape, expert guidance is invaluable. Manual secrets management is no longer feasible in modern IT environments. As Imperva aptly notes:

The more complex an IT ecosystem and the more diverse and numerous the secrets, the harder it is to store, transfer, and track secrets securely [23]

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