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Use of HTTP Request Method With Sensitive Query Strings

PY007
sensitive_query_strings
CWE-598
⛔️ Error

The inclusion of sensitive information, such as a username, password, or API key, directly within a URL is considered a security risk because URLs can be logged in various places, such as web server logs, browser history, and network monitoring tools, making the sensitive information vulnerable to unauthorized access.

Example


Error
import http.client


host = "example.com"
conn = http.client.HTTPSConnection(host)
conn.request("GET", "/path?apiKey=value&otherParam=123", headers={})
response = conn.getresponse()

Remediation


Fix Iconfix

To avoid this vulnerability, put sensitive information in the request as headers, rather than a parameter of the URL.

import http.client


host = "example.com"
headers = {
"X-FullContact-APIKey": "value"
}
conn = http.client.HTTPSConnection(host)
conn.request("GET", "/path?otherParam=123", headers=headers)
response = conn.getresponse()

False Positives


In the case of a false positive the rule can be suppressed. Simply add a trailing or preceding comment line with either the rule ID (PY007) or rule category name (sensitive_query_strings).

Fix Iconfix
import http.client


host = "example.com"
conn = http.client.HTTPSConnection(host)
# suppress: PY007
conn.request("GET", "/path?apiKey=value&otherParam=123", headers={})
response = conn.getresponse()

See also