Boundary-Mutation Testing for Pattern-Based Secret Detection: A Rule-Level Method and Cross-Scanner Evaluation
New mutation-testing method stress-tests secret scanners by varying the text context around credentials, exposing detection blind spots that fixed-fixture tests miss — directly actionable for CI/CD pipeline hardening.
Summary written by editorial AI · Source link below
arXiv:2609.02983v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Pattern-based secret scanners are commonly validated with example-based fixtures that fix one variable: the text surrounding a credential. We introduce boundary-mutation testing to vary that context, generating credentials from each rule's own regular expression, embedding them in realistic source contexts, and classifying outcomes at the rule level rather than the tool level, yielding three detection metrics. Applied to three scanners - a 43-rule
Editorial Analysis
Secret scanners are a key DevSecOps control; if regex-based rules miss credentials in atypical contexts, leaked secrets can reach production repositories undetected.
Integrate boundary-mutation testing into your secret-scanner evaluation process and re-validate existing rules against context-varied credential samples.
Forward-looking interpretation drafted by editorial AI under human review — not a reproduction of the source. See methodology.
External link — opens at arXiv Crypto & Security in a new tab.
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