---
title: Secrets used as environment variables
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > Secrets used as environment variables
---

# Secrets used as environment variables

{% callout %}
# Important note for users on the following Datadog sites: app.ddog-gov.com

{% alert level="danger" %}
This product is not supported for your selected [Datadog site](https://docs.datadoghq.com/getting_started/site). ().
{% /alert %}

{% /callout %}

## Metadata{% #metadata %}

**Id:** `3d658f8b-d988-41a0-a841-40043121de1e`

**Cloud Provider:** Kubernetes

**Platform:** Kubernetes

**Severity:** Low

**Category:** Secret Management

#### Learn More{% #learn-more %}

- [Provider Reference](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/secret/#using-secrets-as-environment-variables)

### Description{% #description %}

Containers and initContainers must not use secrets as environment variables. This rule flags environment variables that reference secrets via env[].valueFrom.secretKeyRef and envFrom[].secretRef in container specs. It reports an IncorrectValue issue including the resource name, spec path, and the specific key that is defined.

## Compliant Code Examples{% #compliant-code-examples %}

```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: secret-env-pod
spec:
  containers:
  - name: mycontainer
    image: redis
  restartPolicy: Never
```

## Non-Compliant Code Examples{% #non-compliant-code-examples %}

```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: secret-env-pod
spec:
  containers:
  - name: mycontainer
    image: redis
    env:
      - name: SECRET_USERNAME
        valueFrom:
          secretKeyRef:
            name: mysecret
            key: username
      - name: SECRET_PASSWORD
        valueFrom:
          secretKeyRef:
            name: mysecret
            key: password
  restartPolicy: Never
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: envfrom-secret
spec:
  containers:
  - name: envars-test-container
    image: nginx
    envFrom:
    - secretRef:
        name: test-secret
```