In most cases, trust boundaries are violated when a secret is exposed in a source code repository or an uncontrolled deployment environment.
Unintended people who don’t need to know the secret might get access to it. They might then be able to use it to gain unwanted access to associated
services or resources.
The trust issue can be more or less severe depending on the people’s role and entitlement.
If attackers gain access to your WakaTime OAuth token or secret, they can potentially use it to make unauthorized requests to the WakaTime API on
your behalf.
What is the potential impact?
Attackers exploiting leaked WakaTime OAuth tokens or secrets can potentially access sensitive information, modify data, or perform actions on
behalf of the user without their consent. The exact capabilities of the attackers will depend on the authorizations the corresponding application has
been granted.
Below are some real-world scenarios that illustrate some impacts of an attacker exploiting the secret.
Compromise of sensitive data
If the affected service is used to store or process personally identifiable information or other sensitive data, attackers knowing an
authentication secret could be able to access it. Depending on the type of data that is compromised, it could lead to privacy violations, identity
theft, financial loss, or other negative outcomes.
In most cases, a company suffering a sensitive data compromise will face a reputational loss when the security issue is publicly disclosed.
Compromise of sensitive personal data
This kind of service is often used to exchange information that could include personal information, chat logs, and other private data that users
have shared on the platform. This is called Personally Identifiable Information.
The leaked app key could provide a gateway for unauthorized individuals to access and misuse this data, compromising the privacy and safety of the
application users.
In many industries and locations, there are legal and compliance requirements to protect sensitive data. If this kind of sensitive personal data
gets leaked, companies face legal consequences, penalties, or violations of privacy laws.
