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Cover image for The Secret Management Standard: Automating AI Agent Protection
Ofri Peretz
Ofri Peretz

Posted on • Edited on • Originally published at ofriperetz.dev

The Secret Management Standard: Automating AI Agent Protection

Hardcoded secrets in AI prompts are a catastrophic governance failure. Here is the automated static analysis standard for detecting and auto-fixing credentials inside your AI-native codebases.

Every week, secrets leak. API keys committed to GitHub. Database passwords in config files. AWS credentials in environment variable defaults.

The fix is trivial. The detection is not.

Until now.

The Problem

// ❌ This ships to production more than you'd think
const db = new Pool({
  host: 'prod-db.example.com',
  user: 'admin',
  password: 'super_secret_password_123', // CWE-798
});

const stripe = new Stripe('sk_live_abc123xyz789'); // Hardcoded API key
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These patterns are obvious in isolation. In a 50,000-line codebase? They hide in plain sight.

Why Traditional Tools Fail

Tool Problem
grep for "password" Too many false positives
Secret scanners Only catch committed secrets
Code review Humans miss things

The ESLint Solution

// eslint.config.js
import secureCoding from 'eslint-plugin-secure-coding';

export default [secureCoding.configs.recommended];
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Now run npx eslint . and get:

src/db.ts
  5:3  error  🔒 CWE-798 OWASP:A02 CVSS:7.5 | Hardcoded credential detected
              Fix: Use environment variable: process.env.DATABASE_PASSWORD
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The Fixed Code

// ✅ Secure pattern
const db = new Pool({
  host: process.env.DATABASE_HOST,
  user: process.env.DATABASE_USER,
  password: process.env.DATABASE_PASSWORD,
});

const stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
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Why AI Agents Love This Rule

The error message is structured for AI consumption:

  • CWE-798: Machine-readable vulnerability ID
  • Fix instruction: Exact pattern to apply
  • Location: Precise line and column

Cursor, Copilot, and Claude can read this and auto-fix without human intervention.

Quick Install


bash
npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-secure-coding — 89 security rules. Zero hardcoded secrets.

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📦 [npm: eslint-plugin-secure-coding](https://www.npmjs.com/package/eslint-plugin-secure-coding)
📖 [Rule docs: no-hardcoded-credentials](https://github.com/ofri-peretz/eslint/blob/main/packages/eslint-plugin-secure-coding/docs/rules/no-hardcoded-credentials.md)

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**The Interlace ESLint Ecosystem**
Interlace is a high-fidelity suite of static code analyzers designed to automate security, performance, and reliability for the modern Node.js stack. With over 330 rules across 18 specialized plugins, it provides 100% coverage for OWASP Top 10, LLM Security, and Database Hardening.

[Explore the full Documentation](https://eslint.interlace.tools)
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© 2026 Ofri Peretz. All rights reserved.

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**Build Securely.**
I'm Ofri Peretz, a Security Engineering Leader and the architect of the Interlace Ecosystem. I build static analysis standards that automate security and performance for Node.js fleets at scale.

[ofriperetz.dev](https://ofriperetz.dev) | [LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/ofri-peretz) | [GitHub](https://github.com/ofri-peretz)
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