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Supabase Management Token

Supabase Management Tokens are credentials used to authenticate and manage resources within the Supabase platform, a popular backend-as-a-service provider. These tokens grant access to Supabase's management API, allowing users to perform administrative tasks such as configuring databases, managing authentication, and deploying functions. Exposure of these tokens is a significant security concern as it can lead to unauthorized access and manipulation of critical backend services.

How Does It Look​

Supabase Management Tokens can appear in various contexts, including environment variables, configuration files, and code snippets. Here are some examples:

  • Environment variables:

    export SUPABASE_MANAGEMENT_TOKEN="sbp_1234567890abcdef"

  • Configuration files (JSON):

    {
      "supabase": {
        "managementToken": "sbp_1234567890abcdef"
      }
    }

  • Code snippets:

    const supabase = require('@supabase/supabase-js');
    const managementToken = "sbp_1234567890abcdef";

  • Connection strings:

    supabase://sbp_1234567890abcdef@supabase.io

Severity​

  • 🔴 Critical

The severity of exposing a Supabase Management Token is critical because it provides full administrative access to the Supabase project. An attacker with this token can manipulate databases, access sensitive data, and disrupt services. The blast radius is extensive, potentially affecting all applications and users relying on the compromised Supabase instance.

What Can an Attacker Do?​

With immediate access to a Supabase Management Token, an attacker can perform a wide range of malicious activities:

An attacker can instantly gain control over the Supabase project, allowing them to execute administrative commands and access sensitive data.

Key actions an attacker can perform:

  • Delete or modify data: Alter or remove database records (if the token has write permissions).
  • Access sensitive information: Retrieve user data and application secrets (if the token has read access).
  • Spin up resources: Deploy additional services or functions for malicious purposes (if compute permissions are granted).
  • Disrupt services: Disable or alter authentication settings, causing service outages.

Furthermore, an attacker could use the compromised token to escalate privileges or move laterally within the infrastructure, potentially targeting other connected systems or services.

Real-World Impact​

The exposure of a Supabase Management Token poses significant business risks, including data breaches and operational disruptions.

Potential consequences include:

  • Data Exposure: User credentials and personal information (if the token has read access to sensitive data).
  • Financial Loss: Increased costs from unauthorized resource usage (if billing/resource creation is permitted).
  • Operational Disruption: Service downtime or degraded performance (if the attacker has delete/modify permissions).
  • Reputational Damage: Loss of customer trust and brand credibility.

In the worst-case scenario, the attacker could cause cascading effects, such as data corruption or loss, leading to long-term operational and financial repercussions.

Prerequisites for Exploitation​

To exploit a Supabase Management Token, an attacker needs:

  • Network access: Ability to send requests to the Supabase API.
  • Additional context: Knowledge of the Supabase project ID or endpoint.
  • No rate limits: Exploitation is easier if there are no API rate limits or IP restrictions in place.

How to Verify If It's Active​

To verify if a Supabase Management Token is active, use the following command:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer [TOKEN]" https://api.supabase.io/v1/projects

Valid credential response: A successful response will return a list of projects associated with the token.

Invalid/expired credential response: An error message indicating unauthorized access or token expiration.

Detection Patterns​

Common Variable Names:

  • SUPABASE_MANAGEMENT_TOKEN
  • SUPABASE_ADMIN_TOKEN
  • SUPABASE_API_KEY
  • MANAGEMENT_TOKEN
  • ADMIN_TOKEN
  • SUPABASE_SECRET

File Locations:

  • .env
  • config.json
  • settings.yaml
  • supabase.js
  • app.config

Regex Pattern:

sbp_[A-Za-z0-9]{16,}

Remediation Steps​

  1. Revoke immediately - Go to Supabase Dashboard > Settings > API and delete the compromised management token.
  2. Audit access logs - Review Supabase audit logs for unauthorized access or changes 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 management token in Supabase 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 Supabase and require TLS connections for API access.
  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​