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Mistral AI API Key

A Mistral AI API Key is a credential used to authenticate requests to Mistral AI's services, which may include machine learning models, data processing, and analytics platforms. These keys are critical for accessing the API endpoints and can grant varying levels of access depending on their configuration. Exposure of a Mistral AI API Key can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, misuse of resources, and potential financial implications for the organization.

How Does It Look​

Mistral AI API Keys can appear in various contexts, such as:

  • Environment variables:

    export MISTRAL_API_KEY="abcd1234efgh5678ijkl"

  • Configuration files (JSON, YAML, .env):

    {
      "apiKey": "abcd1234efgh5678ijkl"
    }
    api_key: abcd1234efgh5678ijkl

  • Code snippets:

    api_key = "abcd1234efgh5678ijkl"

  • Connection strings:

    mistral://apikey:abcd1234efgh5678ijkl@api.mistral.ai

Severity​

  • 🟠 High

The severity of a Mistral AI API Key exposure is high because it can provide access to sensitive data and services within the Mistral AI platform. Depending on the permissions associated with the key, an attacker could perform actions such as data extraction, model manipulation, or resource consumption, leading to significant operational and financial impacts.

What Can an Attacker Do?​

With immediate access to a Mistral AI API Key, an attacker can interact with the Mistral AI services as if they were an authorized user.

Key actions an attacker can perform:

  • Extract sensitive data (if the API key has read permissions)
  • Manipulate machine learning models (if the key allows write access)
  • Consume computational resources (if the key permits resource allocation)
  • Access billing information (if the account has billing scope enabled)

An attacker could potentially escalate their access by exploiting other vulnerabilities within the system or using the compromised key to gain further insights into the organization's infrastructure.

Real-World Impact​

The exposure of a Mistral AI API Key poses significant business risks, including:

Potential consequences include:

  • Data Exposure: Access to proprietary models and datasets (if the credential has read access to sensitive data)
  • Financial Loss: Increased costs due to unauthorized resource usage (if billing/resource creation is permitted)
  • Operational Disruption: Interruption of AI services and workflows (if the attacker has modify permissions)
  • Reputational Damage: Loss of trust from clients and partners

In a worst-case scenario, the exposure could lead to cascading effects, such as further breaches of related systems or prolonged service outages.

Prerequisites for Exploitation​

To exploit a Mistral AI API Key, an attacker needs:

  • Network access to the Mistral AI API endpoints
  • Knowledge of the API structure and endpoints
  • No IP restrictions or MFA enforcement on the API key

How to Verify If It's Active​

To verify if a Mistral AI API Key is active, use the following command:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer [API_KEY]" https://api.mistral.ai/v1/status

Valid credential response: A successful response will include a status message indicating the API is operational.

Invalid/expired credential response: An error message indicating unauthorized access or invalid credentials.

Detection Patterns​

Common Variable Names:

  • MISTRAL_API_KEY
  • API_KEY
  • MISTRAL_KEY
  • AI_API_KEY
  • MISTRAL_SECRET
  • API_SECRET

File Locations:

  • .env
  • config.json
  • settings.yaml
  • credentials.py
  • app.config

Regex Pattern:

(?i)(mistral|api)_?key['"]?\s*[:=]\s*['"]?[a-z0-9]{16,32}['"]?

Remediation Steps​

  1. Revoke immediately - Go to Mistral AI Dashboard > Security > API Keys and delete the compromised key.
  2. Audit access logs - Review Mistral AI access logs for unauthorized requests or data exports during the exposure window.
  3. Assess blast radius - Identify all systems, applications, and environments that used the exposed credential.
  4. Rotate credential - Generate a new API key in the Mistral AI Dashboard with least-privilege permissions.
  5. Update dependent systems - Deploy the new credential to all applications and update CI/CD pipelines securely.
  6. Harden access controls - Enable IP allowlisting in Mistral AI and require TLS connections.
  7. Implement secrets management - Migrate credentials to a secrets manager (HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager) to prevent hardcoding.
  8. Add detection controls - Set up pre-commit hooks and repository scanning to catch credential leaks before they reach production.

Credential exposures often go undetected for extended periods, increasing the window for exploitation. As a long-term strategy, plan to establish an internal process or engage an external vendor for continuous external exposure monitoring. This helps identify leaked secrets across public repositories, paste sites, dark web forums, and other external sources before attackers can leverage them. Proactive detection and rapid response are essential to minimizing the impact of credential leaks.

References​