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Find Exposed Credentials Before Attackers Exploit Them

Automated discovery of credentials exposed in SMB file shares with access context, exposure dashboards, and extensible detection patterns. Know exactly where credentials are exposed and who can access them.

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Core Features

  • SMB Share Analysis
  • Exposure Dashboard
  • Detected Secrets Inventory
  • Custom Detection Engine

Credentials Hide Where You Least Expect Them

The Challenge

Credentials left in file shares are among the easiest exposures for attackers to find. Scripts with embedded passwords, configuration files with service account credentials, and documentation with stored secrets create invisible risk that traditional scanners never detect.

Our Solution

Forestall analyzes SMB shares to detect exposed credentials, provides an access matrix showing exactly who can read them, and delivers real-time monitoring for credential exposure across your environment. An extensible regex-based engine lets teams define custom detection patterns for organization-specific formats.

Find Hidden Credentials

Understand Access Scope

Monitor Continuously

Extend Detection Coverage

Prioritize by Risk

Reduce Credential Sprawl

Core Capabilities

Targeted credential exposure detection that combines content analysis with access context for actionable results.

SMB Share Analysis

Systematically analyze file shares to detect credentials embedded in scripts, configurations, and documentation.

  • Analyze SMB shares to detect exposed credentials
  • Scan scripts, configuration files, and documentation for embedded passwords and secrets
  • Identify credentials across multiple file types and formats
SMB Share Analysis

Exposure Dashboard

Monitor credential exposure across your environment with a centralized dashboard designed for immediate visibility and rapid response.

  • Offer a dashboard to monitor credential exposure and deliver immediate insights
  • Track exposure metrics over time for trend analysis
  • Surface newly discovered credentials for prioritized investigation
Exposure Dashboard

Detected Secrets Inventory

Get a comprehensive inventory of all discovered secrets and credentials, categorized by type, location, and risk severity for streamlined remediation.

  • Catalog every detected secret including passwords, API keys, tokens, and connection strings
  • Classify findings by credential type, file location, and exposure severity
  • Prioritize remediation with contextual risk scoring based on who can access each secret
Detected Secrets Inventory

Custom Detection Engine

Extend credential detection beyond built-in patterns with a regex-based engine that adapts to your environment.

  • Include an extensible regex-based crawling engine
  • Detect custom data types at risk beyond standard credential formats
  • Define organization-specific patterns for proprietary credential formats
Custom Detection Engine

Real-World Use Cases

Post-Breach Credential Assessment

Scenario: After a security incident, the response team needs to determine whether attackers could have accessed credentials stored in file shares from the compromised account.

How Forestall helps:

  • Scan all accessible file shares from the compromised account context
  • Identify all exposed credentials the attacker could have reached
  • Show the access matrix for each discovered credential
  • Prioritize credential rotation based on exposure scope
Outcome: The response team identifies which credentials need immediate rotation based on what the attacker could have accessed, not just what was directly compromised.

Proactive Credential Hygiene Program

Scenario: The security team wants to establish ongoing visibility into credential exposure across file shares as part of a broader identity hygiene initiative.

How Forestall helps:

  • Deploy continuous share scanning to detect new credential exposures
  • Track exposure metrics and removal progress on the dashboard
  • Alert on newly exposed credentials for immediate investigation
  • Measure credential sprawl reduction over time
Outcome: Credential exposure becomes a tracked, measurable metric that improves over time rather than an unknown risk.

Everyone-Readable Credential Triage

Scenario: An audit finding flagged that file shares contain credentials readable by the Everyone group, but the scope and severity are unknown.

How Forestall helps:

  • Use the access matrix to identify all credentials readable by Everyone
  • Classify exposed credentials by type and potential impact
  • Prioritize remediation based on credential privilege level
  • Generate a report showing exposure scope and remediation progress
Outcome: The team moves from an unknown audit finding to a quantified, prioritized remediation plan within hours.

Migration Credential Cleanup

Scenario: Before migrating file shares to the cloud, the IT team needs to ensure no embedded credentials are carried over into the new environment.

How Forestall helps:

  • Scan all file shares scheduled for migration to identify embedded credentials
  • Map each credential to its access scope and owning team for coordinated remediation
  • Track cleanup progress per share to gate migration readiness
  • Verify post-cleanup scans confirm credential removal before migration proceeds
Outcome: The migration team prevents credential exposure from being replicated into the cloud environment by ensuring shares are clean before they move.

Latest Resources

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Frequently Asked Questions

What types of credentials can Forestall detect?

The built-in detection engine identifies common credential formats including embedded passwords, service account credentials, API keys, and connection strings. The extensible regex-based engine allows teams to add custom patterns for organization-specific credential formats and sensitive data types.

Does the scan impact file share performance?

Forestall uses read-only access to analyze file shares. The scanning process is designed to minimize I/O impact and can be configured to run during maintenance windows if needed.

What does the access matrix show?

The access matrix shows effective permissions for each exposed credential—who can read the file, including specific users, groups, and broad groups like Everyone and Authenticated Users. This lets teams prioritize remediation based on exposure scope.

Can I define custom detection patterns?

Yes. The extensible regex-based crawling engine allows teams to define custom patterns for detecting organization-specific credential formats, proprietary secrets, and other sensitive data types beyond the built-in detections.

Eliminate Hidden Credential Exposure

Deploy Forestall to find every exposed credential in your file shares, understand who can access them, and systematically reduce credential sprawl.

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Credential Discovery | Solutions | Forestall