Sensitive Data Exposure in Files in Plaintext

Issue

Sensitive data stored in files in plaintext

Impacted Frameworks and Reasons

GDPR (Articles 5 and 32)

• Article 5 requires data minimization, purpose limitation, and integrity. Storing personal data in plaintext files increases the risk of unauthorized access and violates data protection principles.

• Article 32 requires appropriate technical and organizational security measures, including encryption at rest. Plaintext file storage shows insufficient protection.

CCPA and CPRA

• Organizations must safeguard personal data and provide accurate disclosures about its handling.

• Storing data in plaintext files increases the likelihood of unauthorized access and may result in undisclosed sharing or exposure.

HIPAA

• PHI must be protected with appropriate administrative and technical controls.

• PHI stored in plaintext files is considered an inadequate safeguard and may constitute an unauthorized disclosure.

PCI

• Cardholder data must never be stored unencrypted.

• Storing cardholder data in plaintext directly violates PCI storage and encryption requirements.

GLBA

• Financial institutions must maintain controls to protect customer financial information.

• Plaintext file storage indicates a failure to enforce required safeguards.

PIPEDA

• Requires meaningful consent and secure handling of personal data.

• Storing sensitive data in plaintext prevents demonstrating secure protection and responsible use.

APPI

• Requires clear purpose limitation and appropriate data protection controls.

• Plaintext file storage undermines confidentiality safeguards.

NIST 800 53

• Emphasizes encryption at rest, access control, and secure storage.

• Plaintext files violate expected security baselines for sensitive information.

ISO IEC 29100

• Requires accountability, transparency, and proper data protection controls.

• Storing sensitive data in plaintext provides insufficient protection and weakens accountability.

KSA PDPL

• Requires lawful processing and safeguards to prevent unauthorized disclosure.

• Plaintext file storage increases exposure risk and may violate required security controls.

UAE PDPL

• Processing must remain aligned with declared purpose and protected appropriately.

• Insufficient protection of stored personal data undermines compliance.

Qatar PDPPL

• Requires strong safeguards to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure.

• Plaintext file storage increases the likelihood of data leakage.

CWE and OWASP

This risk maps to CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information and OWASP Top 10 A04:2021 – Insecure Design. See also CWE-313 for cleartext storage in a file or on disk.

Note

The bundled default rules mark the Files data sink as safe (is_safe: true), so writes to the local filesystem are reported as Info severity safe dataflows rather than risky ones. Set is_safe to false on the Files data sink under Scanner Rules to have them raised as risky dataflows.

Recommended Remediation

The scanner’s own remediation message for this sink is Ensure that the data is safe to store in Files. Beyond that: identify and remove any storage of sensitive data in plaintext files. Encrypt sensitive data at rest using strong, industry accepted encryption standards. Use secrets managers, vaults, or secure configuration stores rather than file based storage wherever possible. Review code and platform defaults to ensure temporary files, debug outputs, and cache files do not contain sensitive information. Document and enforce data handling standards that prohibit plaintext storage.