Paths: File paths (shared/, references/, ../ln-*) are relative to skills repo root. If not found at CWD, locate this SKILL.md directory and go up one level for repo root.

Secret Scanner

Scans codebase for hardcoded secrets and credentials, returning structured findings for remediation.

Purpose & Scope

• Detect hardcoded secrets using available tools (gitleaks, trufflehog) or manual patterns
• Classify findings by severity (Critical/High/Medium/Low)
• Filter false positives via baseline and allowlists
• Provide remediation guidance per finding type
• Return normalized report to parent orchestrator (ln-760)

When to Use

• During project bootstrap (via ln-760-security-setup)
• Pre-commit hook validation
• CI/CD security pipeline
• Manual security audit

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Workflow

Phase 1: Tool Detection

Step 1: Check Available Scanners

• Check if gitleaks is installed (preferred)
• Check if trufflehog is installed (alternative)
• If neither available: use manual pattern matching as fallback

Step 2: Load Configuration

• Load project .gitleaks.toml if exists (custom rules)
• Load .gitleaksbaseline if exists (known false positives)
• If no config: use default patterns from references/detection_patterns.md

Phase 2: Scan Execution

Step 1: Run Available Scanner

• Execute scanner against project root
• Capture output in structured format (JSON/SARIF preferred)
• If tool unavailable: run manual grep patterns for high-confidence secrets

Step 2: Parse Results

• Normalize output to common format: file, line, pattern, raw_match
• Preserve original severity if provided by tool

Phase 3: Report Generation

Step 1: Severity Classification

• Map findings to severity levels per references/detection_patterns.md
• Critical: AWS keys, private keys, JWT secrets
• High: Generic passwords, connection strings
• Medium: API keys (may be test data)
• Low: Potential secrets requiring manual review

Step 2: False Positive Filtering

• Apply baseline exclusions
• Apply allowlist patterns (placeholders, test data, docs)
• Mark filtered items as "excluded" with reason

Step 3: Build Report

• Group findings by severity
• Include file path, line number, pattern matched
• Do NOT include actual secret values in report

Phase 4: Remediation Guidance

Step 1: Attach Remediation Actions

• For each finding, attach remediation steps from references/remediation_guide.md
• For Critical findings: emphasize immediate rotation requirement

Step 2: Return Results

• Return structured findings list to orchestrator
• Include summary: total scanned, total found, by severity

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Critical Rules

1. Never log actual secret values - redact in all outputs
2. Treat any found secret as compromised - rotation required for Critical
3. Preserve baseline - do not remove existing baseline entries
4. Pre-commit priority - recommend pre-commit hook if not configured
5. Git history awareness - warn if secret may exist in history (requires git-filter-repo)

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Definition of Done

• Scan completed using available tool or manual patterns
• Findings classified by severity
• False positives filtered via baseline/allowlist
• Remediation guidance attached to each finding
• Report returned in normalized format (no raw secret values)
• Critical findings flagged with rotation requirement

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Reference Files

File	Purpose
references/detection_patterns.md	Secret patterns by confidence level
references/gitleaks_config_template.toml	Template for project gitleaks config
references/remediation_guide.md	Rotation procedures by secret type

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Version: 2.0.0 Last Updated: 2026-01-10