HashiCorp-Vault-Demo
A practical demonstration of how to dramatically improve application security by managing database credentials dynamically with HashiCorp Vault. This project showcases a simple Django application that, instead of using static, long-lived credentials, requests them on-demand from Vault.
🧩 Features
- Dynamic Credential Generation: Eliminates the need for static, long-lived database credentials that can be leaked or compromised.
- Credential-less Application Configuration: The Django application does not need to store sensitive database secrets in configuration files or environment variables.
- Automatic Credential Rotation: Vault handles the rotation of credentials automatically after their short Time-To-Live (TTL) expires, minimizing the window of opportunity for attackers.
- Centralized Access Control: Database access can be easily managed and instantly revoked from a central point (Vault), regardless of the number of applications or database instances.
- Practical Django Integration: Provides a clear, working example of how to implement this modern security pattern into a real-world Python web framework.
💡 Technologies Used
- HashiCorp Vault: For secret management and dynamic credential generation.
- Django: As the sample web application requesting credentials.
- PostgreSQL: The database for which credentials are being managed.
- Docker: To easily run the PostgreSQL database instance.
🎯 Objective
The primary goal of this project is to showcase a modern, secure pattern for managing database access. In traditional applications, database credentials are often static and stored in config files, making them a prime target. If leaked, they provide long-term access to sensitive data.
This demo illustrates a Zero Trust approach, where the application is never explicitly trusted with a permanent secret. Instead, it authenticates with Vault and receives temporary, short-lived credentials just in time to perform its database operations. This significantly reduces the attack surface and enhances the overall security posture of any application.
🌐 Repository
You can find the full source code and setup instructions for this demo in the official GitHub repository.