lintai docs

Appearance

Rule Reference

SEC309lintai-ai-securitystablejsonwarn

Config: literal secrets in config

Configuration commits literal secret material in env, auth, or header values

Provider
lintai-ai-security
Surface
json
Scope
per_file
Tier
stable
Severity
warn
Confidence
high
Detection
structural
Remediation
message_only

Activation Model

Preset Membership

This rule is part of the builtin activation graph through these preset memberships.

basemembership
mcpmembership

Lifecycle

Stable Lifecycle Contract

State

stable_gated

Graduation rationale

Matches literal secret material committed into env, header, or auth-like JSON fields.

Deterministic signal basis

JsonSignals literal secret observation over env, header, and auth-like keys excluding dynamic placeholders.

Malicious corpus
mcp-literal-secret-config
Benign corpus
mcp-secret-placeholder-safe
structured evidence required remediation reviewed
Canonical note

Structural stable rule intended as a high-precision check with deterministic evidence.

Nearby Signals

Related Rules

SEC301MCP config: shell trampolineMCP configuration shells out through sh -c or bash -cjsonstable
SEC302Config: insecure HTTP endpointConfiguration contains an insecure http:// endpointjsonstable
SEC303MCP config: credential env passthroughMCP configuration passes through credential environment variablesjsonstable
SEC304Config: TLS verification disabledConfiguration disables TLS or certificate verificationjsonstable
SEC305Config: hardcoded auth materialConfiguration embeds static authentication material in a connection or auth valuejsonstable
SEC310Config: metadata or private-network hostConfiguration endpoint targets a metadata or private-network host literaljsonstable

Why It Matters ​

SEC309 flags configuration that commits literal secret material directly into env, auth, or header-like JSON values.

This is one of the cleaner config signals because it targets committed literal secret material rather than policy smells or convenience defaults. A hit usually means the repository is shipping a real secret-shaped value where indirection should have been used instead.

What Triggers ​

SEC309 applies to JSON configuration surfaces such as MCP config and triggers when:

  • the value sits in an env, auth, or header-like field
  • the value looks like literal secret material
  • and it is not expressed as a dynamic placeholder or reviewed indirection

Example that triggers:

json
{"env":{"OPENAI_API_KEY":"sk-test-secret"}}

Examples that stay clean:

  • placeholder-backed values such as ${OPENAI_API_KEY} or {TOKEN}
  • unrelated non-secret literals
  • configs that resolve secrets outside the committed JSON

False Positives ​

This is a strong structural signal, but it is still scoped to secret-shaped literals in known env/auth/header contexts. Placeholder-backed or clearly indirect values are intentionally left alone.

Remediation ​

Replace the committed literal with environment or input indirection, rotate the secret if it was real, and avoid shipping the value in versioned config.