Skills Insecure Source Code Management Detection

Insecure Source Code Management Detection

v20260506
insecure-source-code-management
This skill guides the detection and recovery of exposed version-control system (VCS) metadata, including paths for Git, SVN, and Mercurial, as well as common backup and configuration files. It is essential for authorized penetration testing when assessing an application's security posture against information leaks. Techniques include probing specific directories (e.g., /.git/HEAD) and analyzing status codes (e.g., 403 vs 404) to confirm exposure.
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Overview

SKILL: Insecure Source Code Management

AI LOAD INSTRUCTION: This skill covers detection and recovery of exposed version-control metadata, common backup artifacts, and related misconfigurations. Use only in authorized assessments. Treat recovered credentials and URLs as sensitive; do not exfiltrate real data beyond scope. For broad discovery workflow, cross-load recon-for-sec and recon-and-methodology when those skills exist in the workspace.

0. QUICK START

High-value paths to probe first (GET or HEAD, respect rate limits):

/.git/HEAD
/.git/config
/.svn/entries
/.svn/wc.db
/.hg/requires
/.bzr/README
/.DS_Store
/.env

Routing note: quickly probe these paths first; for full recon workflow, load methodology from recon-for-sec and recon-and-methodology before deeper testing.


1. GIT EXPOSURE

Detection

  • /.git/HEAD — valid repo often returns plain text like:
ref: refs/heads/main
  • /.git/config — may expose remote.origin.url, user identity, or embedded credentials.
  • /.git/index, /.git/objects/ — partial object store access enables reconstruction with the right tools.

403 vs 404

  • 404 — path likely absent or fully blocked at the edge.
  • 403 on /.git/ — directory may exist but listing is denied; still try direct file URLs:
/.git/HEAD
/.git/config
/.git/logs/HEAD
/.git/refs/heads/main

A 403 on the directory plus 200 on HEAD strongly indicates exposure.

Recovery tools (open source)

  • arthaud/git-dumper — dumps reachable .git tree when individual files are fetchable.
  • internetwache/GitTools — Dumper, Extractor, Finder modules for partial/corrupt dumps.
  • WangYihang/GitHacker — alternative recovery when standard dumpers miss edge cases.

Key files to prioritize

Path Why it matters
.git/config Remotes, credentials, hooks paths
.git/logs/HEAD Commit history, reflog-style leakage
.git/refs/heads/* Branch tips, commit SHAs
.git/packed-refs Packed branch/tag refs
.git/objects/** Object blobs for reconstruction

2. SVN EXPOSURE

Detection

  • SVN before 1.7: /.svn/entries — XML or text metadata listing paths and revisions.
  • SVN ≥ 1.7: /.svn/wc.db — SQLite working copy database (PRAGMA table_info after download).

Example probe:

GET /.svn/entries HTTP/1.1
GET /.svn/wc.db HTTP/1.1

Recovery

  • anantshri/svn-extractor — automated extraction from exposed .svn.
  • Manual: download wc.db, query with sqlite3 for file paths and checksums, then request /.svn/pristine/ blobs if exposed.

3. MERCURIAL EXPOSURE

Detection

  • /.hg/requires — small text file listing repository features; confirms Mercurial metadata.
GET /.hg/requires HTTP/1.1
GET /.hg/store/ HTTP/1.1

Recovery

  • sahildhar/mercurial_source_code_dumper — dumps repository when store paths are reachable.

4. OTHER LEAKS

Bazaar (Bzr)

  • Probe /.bzr/README and /.bzr/branch-format for Bazaar metadata.

macOS .DS_Store

  • /.DS_Store can encode directory and filename listings.
  • Tools: gehaxelt/ds-store, lijiejie/ds_store_exp — parse .DS_Store offline.

Backup and config artifacts

Probe (adjust for app root and naming conventions):

/.env
/backup.zip
/backup.tar.gz
/wwwroot.rar
/backup.sql
/config.php.bak
/.config.php.swp

Web server misconfiguration signal (example: NGINX)

  • location /.git { deny all; } — may return 403 for /.git/ while still allowing or denying specific subpaths depending on rules.
  • 403 on a protected location can confirm the route exists; always distinguish from 404 on non-existent paths.

5. DECISION TREE

  1. Probe /.git/HEADref: refs/heads/ pattern? → run git-dumper / GitTools / GitHacker; review config and logs/HEAD for secrets.
  2. Else probe /.svn/wc.db or entries → success? → svn-extractor or manual wc.db + pristine recovery.
  3. Else probe /.hg/requires → success? → mercurial dumper.
  4. Else probe /.bzr/README → Bazaar tooling or manual path walk.
  5. Parallel: fetch /.DS_Store, /.env, common backup extensions on app root and parent paths.
  6. Interpret status codes: 403 on directory + 200 on specific files → treat as high priority for file-by-file extraction.

6. RELATED ROUTING

  • From recon-for-sec — scope-safe discovery, crawling, and fingerprinting before deep VCS tests.
  • From recon-and-methodology — structured methodology and evidence handling.

Note: coordinate with recon skills—set scope and request rate first, then run targeted VCS/backup validation.

Info
Category Uncategorized
Name insecure-source-code-management
Version v20260506
Size 5.16KB
Updated At 2026-05-08
Language