sensitive-in-variable
Explanation
Sensitive attributes such as passwords and API tokens should not be available in your templates, especially in a plaintext form. You can declare variables to hold the secrets, assuming you can provide values for those variables in a secure fashion. Alternatively, you can store these secrets in a secure secret store, such as AWS KMS.
NOTE: It is also recommended to store your Terraform state in an encrypted form.
Possible Impact
Default values could be exposing sensitive data
Suggested Resolution
Don't include sensitive data in variable defaults
Insecure Example
The following example will fail the general-secrets-sensitive-in-variable check.
variable "password" {
description = "The root password for our VM"
type = string
default = "p4ssw0rd"
}
resource "evil_corp" "virtual_machine" {
root_password = var.password
}
Secure Example
The following example will pass the general-secrets-sensitive-in-variable check.
variable "password" {
description = "The root password for our VM"
type = string
}
resource "evil_corp" "virtual_machine" {
root_password = var.password
}