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Sidekiq API Key

The Sidekiq API Key is a credential used to authenticate requests to the Sidekiq job processing system. Sidekiq is a background job processing library for Ruby, commonly used to handle asynchronous tasks in web applications. Exposure of this API key can lead to unauthorized access to the job queue, allowing attackers to manipulate job processing, access sensitive data, or disrupt application functionality.

How Does It Look​

Sidekiq API keys can appear in various contexts, such as:

  • Environment variables:

    export SIDEKIQ_API_KEY="sk_live_1234567890abcdef"

  • Configuration files (YAML):

    sidekiq:
      api_key: "sk_live_1234567890abcdef"

  • Code snippets:

    Sidekiq.configure_server do |config|
      config.api_key = "sk_live_1234567890abcdef"
    end

  • Connection strings:

    sidekiq://sk_live_1234567890abcdef@sidekiq.example.com

Severity​

  • 🟠 High

The Sidekiq API key provides access to the job processing system, allowing an attacker to manipulate job queues, potentially leading to data exposure or service disruption. The blast radius includes any application functionality dependent on background processing, which could be compromised or halted.

What Can an Attacker Do?​

With immediate access to the Sidekiq API key, an attacker can control job processing within the application.

Key actions an attacker can perform:

  • Delete or modify jobs (if the credential has write permissions), disrupting application workflows.
  • Access sensitive job data (if the jobs contain sensitive information), leading to data breaches.
  • Inject malicious jobs (if job creation permissions are granted), potentially executing unauthorized code.
  • Monitor job processing (if read access is enabled), gaining insights into application operations.

An attacker could escalate their access by leveraging job data to move laterally within the application or network, potentially compromising additional systems.

Real-World Impact​

Exposure of the Sidekiq API key poses significant business risks, primarily affecting application reliability and data security.

Potential consequences include:

  • Data Exposure: Sensitive information processed in jobs (if the credential has read access to job data).
  • Financial Loss: Costs associated with service downtime or unauthorized resource usage (if job processing is disrupted).
  • Operational Disruption: Application functionality could be impaired (if the attacker deletes or modifies critical jobs).
  • Reputational Damage: Loss of customer trust due to service unreliability or data breaches.

In worst-case scenarios, attackers could use the compromised access to further infiltrate the network, leading to broader organizational impacts.

Prerequisites for Exploitation​

  • Network access requirements: Access to the network where Sidekiq is hosted.
  • Additional context needed: Knowledge of the Sidekiq endpoint and job structure.
  • Rate limits or restrictions: Potential rate limits on API requests, depending on configuration.

How to Verify If It's Active​

To verify if a Sidekiq API key is active, use the following command:

curl -X GET "https://sidekiq.example.com/api/jobs" -H "Authorization: Bearer [API_KEY]"

Valid credential response: A list of jobs or job details indicating successful authentication.

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

Detection Patterns​

Common Variable Names:

  • SIDEKIQ_API_KEY
  • SIDEKIQ_KEY
  • SIDEKIQ_SECRET
  • API_KEY
  • JOB_API_KEY
  • BACKGROUND_JOB_KEY

File Locations:

  • config/sidekiq.yml
  • .env
  • config/application.rb
  • config/initializers/sidekiq.rb
  • secrets.yml

Regex Pattern:

sk_live_[0-9a-fA-F]{16,32}

Remediation Steps​

  1. Revoke immediately - Go to Sidekiq's configuration and remove the compromised API key.
  2. Audit access logs - Review Sidekiq logs for unauthorized job manipulations or access 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 Sidekiq 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 - Restrict API access to specific IP addresses and require authentication for all requests.
  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​