How passwords, API keys, and cloud access quietly spill onto GitHub every day -

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How passwords, API keys, and cloud access quietly spill onto GitHub every day

Let me start with a story 👇

A junior developer pushes code to GitHub at 2 AM.
He forgets to remove one file.
Just one.

Inside that file?
👉 AWS keys
👉 Database credentials
👉 Production secrets

Within minutes, bots find it.
Within hours, attackers exploit it.
Within days, the company is breached.

And the worst part?

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Nobody “hacked” them. The internet did.

Welcome to one of the most underrated realities of cybersecurity:

💥 The internet is leaking secrets in public repositories — every single day.

This blog is a deep dive, written hacker-to-hacker, into:

How secrets leak
Where they leak
How attackers find them
How bug bounty hunters profit from them
How companies fail again and again

If you’re into cybersecurity, bug bounty, recon, OSINT, GitHub hunting, this is your goldmine 💎

🧠 What Are “Secrets” in Cybersecurity?

In simple terms, secrets are things that should never be public.

Common leaked secrets 🔑

API keys (Stripe, Twilio, OpenAI, Google)
AWS / Azure / GCP credentials
Database usernames & passwords
OAuth tokens
Private SSH keys
JWT secrets
Firebase configs
Webhook secrets

📌 Any value that grants access = a secret

🌍 Why Public Repositories Are a Goldmine for Attackers

GitHub is:

🌐 Public by default
📈 Massive (100M+ repos)
🤝 Trusted by developers
🤖 Constantly indexed by bots

Developers often:

Push code fast
Forget .env files
Hardcode keys “temporarily”
Commit debug configs
Copy-paste from tutorials

🧠 Attackers know this.

That’s why secret hunting is now automated at scale.

🔥 Real-World Breaches Caused by Public Repo Leaks

Let’s talk facts, not theory.

💥 Uber (2016)

AWS keys leaked on GitHub
57 million users affected
Massive regulatory fines

💥 Toyota (2022)

API key leaked publicly
Customer data exposed for years

💥 Microsoft (multiple incidents)

GitHub repos leaked internal tokens
Azure resources exposed

🚨 These weren’t elite hacks.
They were copy–paste mistakes.

🔍 How Secrets Accidentally End Up on GitHub

1️⃣ Hardcoded Credentials 😬

const db_password = "admin123";

2️⃣ `.env` Files Committed

AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=AKIA...

3️⃣ Debug Logs

print("API KEY:", api_key)

4️⃣ Old Commits (Even After Deletion!)

Git history never forgets.

📊 Visualization: Secret Lifetime

Commit → Public → Indexed → Exploited

🧠 The Attacker’s Mindset: “Search, Don’t Hack”

Attackers don’t brute force.
They search.

🧠 “Why break in when the door is already open?”

This is where OSINT + recon shine.

🔎 GitHub Recon: How Hackers Find Secrets

Let’s walk through real techniques used by attackers and bug bounty hunters.

🔹 Method 1: GitHub Dorks (Classic but Deadly)

Examples:

AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
api_key=
password=
secret=

Target-specific:

org:targetcompany AWS
org:targetcompany password

📌 Works shockingly well on small companies.

🔹 Method 2: TruffleHog 🐷

TruffleHog scans repos for high-entropy secrets.

trufflehog git https://github.com/target/repo.git

🔗 https://github.com/trufflesecurity/trufflehog

Finds:

AWS keys
OAuth tokens
Slack tokens

🔹 Method 3: GitLeaks 🔥

gitleaks detect --source=https://github.com/target/repo

🔗 https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks

💡 Used by attackers and defenders.

🔹 Method 4: GitHub Search + Automation 🤖

Attackers combine:

GitHub API
Custom scripts
Regex-based searches

🧪 Case Study: $400 Bug Bounty from One API Key 💰

🎯 Target: Small SaaS
🔍 Found: Stripe API key in GitHub
🧪 Tested: Could list customers
📢 Reported responsibly

Result:

$400 bounty
Private invite
Reputation boost 📈

All without exploiting anything.

🧬 Secrets in JavaScript Files (Silent Killers)

Frontend JS is a leak factory.

Look for:

const API_KEY = "sk_live_...";

Tools:

linkfinder -i https://target.com/app.js

🔗 https://github.com/GerbenJavado/LinkFinder

📌 Many devs assume JS is “safe”. It’s not.

🌐 Cloud Credentials = Cloud Takeover ☁️

Leaked AWS keys can allow:

S3 bucket access
EC2 instance creation
Data exfiltration
Crypto mining 💸

Even read-only access is dangerous.

🧠 Bug Bounty Perspective: Why Companies Pay for This

Leaked secrets can lead to:

Data breaches
Financial loss
Regulatory fines
Brand damage

That’s why:

Even “simple” findings get rewarded
Impact > complexity

🔗 Secret Leaks + Bug Chaining = Critical Impact

Example chain:

GitHub repo leaks API key
API has IDOR
Attacker accesses other users’ data
Full data breach 💀

🧠 One leaked secret can destroy an entire system.

⚔️ Attackers vs Defenders: Repo Hygiene Comparison

🛡️ How Developers Should Protect Themselves

Best Practices ✅

Use .env files
Add .gitignore
Rotate keys regularly
Use secret managers
Scan repos before pushing

Tools for defense:

GitHub Secret Scanning
GitLeaks in CI/CD
Pre-commit hooks

🤖 AI + Secret Hunting (Modern Reality)

AI is now used to:

Detect patterns
Validate keys
Write recon scripts
Analyze massive repos fast

Attackers automate.
Defenders must too.

🧰 Tools Mentioned

TruffleHog — https://github.com/trufflesecurity/trufflehog
GitLeaks — https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks
LinkFinder — https://github.com/GerbenJavado/LinkFinder
GitHub Search — https://github.com/search
GitHub API — https://docs.github.com

🧠 Final Thoughts: The Easiest Breach Is the One Nobody Notices

No exploit.
No malware.
No zero-day.

Just:

A careless commit
A public repo
A leaked secret

💡 The internet is bleeding secrets — quietly.

Whether you’re:

A defender → scan your repos
A hacker → hunt responsibly
A bug bounty hunter → this is low-hanging fruit

📌 Connect With Us

🌐 Website: https://thehackerslog.com/
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🔗 LinkedIn: The Hackers Log
✍️ Medium: @vipulsonule71

How passwords, API keys, and cloud access quietly spill onto GitHub every day