Git Leak Recovery

Overview

This skill covers two related but distinct operations: (1) recovering secrets or data that may exist in orphaned commits, reflog entries, or unreachable git objects, and (2) thoroughly cleaning repositories to ensure sensitive data cannot be recovered. Both operations require understanding git's internal storage mechanisms beyond standard high-level commands.

Workflow Decision Tree

Is the goal to RECOVER or CLEAN UP a secret?
│
├─► RECOVER secret from git history
│   └─► Follow "Recovery Workflow" section
│
└─► CLEAN UP / ensure secret is removed
    └─► Follow "Cleanup Workflow" section
    └─► CRITICAL: Follow "Verification Workflow" - superficial checks are insufficient

Recovery Workflow

Step 1: Identify Potential Secret Locations

Search these locations in order of likelihood:

1. Reflog - Records all ref updates, even after commits are "deleted"

   git reflog --all
   git reflog show HEAD
   

2. Unreachable/Orphaned commits - Commits not referenced by any branch

   git fsck --unreachable --no-reflogs
   git fsck --lost-found  # Creates refs in .git/lost-found/
   

3. Dangling objects - Objects not referenced by anything

   git fsck --dangling
   

4. Stashes - Often forgotten storage location

   git stash list
   git stash show -p stash@{N}
   

5. Git notes - Metadata attached to commits

   git notes list
   

Step 2: Examine Suspicious Objects

Once object hashes are identified:

# View commit content
git show <commit-hash>

# View any object type
git cat-file -p <object-hash>

# Determine object type
git cat-file -t <object-hash>

Step 3: Extract and Save

After locating the secret:

# Save specific file from a commit
git show <commit>:<path/to/file> > recovered_file.txt

# Or checkout the entire commit temporarily
git checkout <commit> -- <path/to/file>

Cleanup Workflow

Step 1: Remove References

Remove all references that point to commits containing the secret:

# Delete reflog entries
git reflog expire --expire=now --all

# Remove backup refs (created by filter-branch, etc.)
rm -rf .git/refs/original/

# Remove stashes if they contain secrets
git stash drop stash@{N}

# Remove notes if applicable
git notes remove <commit>

Step 2: Garbage Collection

Force immediate garbage collection:

git gc --prune=now --aggressive

Step 3: Handle Pack Files

Pack files may retain objects even after gc:

# Repack aggressively
git repack -a -d -f --depth=250 --window=250

# Or for thorough cleanup, unpack and repack
mv .git/objects/pack/*.pack .
git unpack-objects < *.pack
rm *.pack
git gc --prune=now

Verification Workflow

CRITICAL: Standard verification commands are often insufficient. Follow this thorough approach.

Common Pitfall: Superficial Verification

These commands are NOT sufficient for security-sensitive cleanup:

# INSUFFICIENT: Only searches working directory, not git objects
grep -r "secret" .

# INSUFFICIENT: Greps fsck output (SHA hashes), not object content
git fsck --unreachable | grep "secret"

Thorough Verification Steps

1. Search all reachable commit content:

   git log --all -p -S "secret_pattern" --
   

2. Search unreachable objects content (see

   references/verification_commands.md

   ):

   # List all objects and search their content
   git rev-list --all --objects | cut -d' ' -f1 | while read obj; do
     git cat-file -p "$obj" 2>/dev/null | grep -l "secret_pattern" && echo "Found in: $obj"
   done
   

3. Search loose objects directly:

   find .git/objects -type f -name '[0-9a-f]*' | while read f; do
     dir=$(dirname "$f" | xargs basename)
     file=$(basename "$f")
     hash="${dir}${file}"
     git cat-file -p "$hash" 2>/dev/null | grep "secret_pattern" && echo "Found in loose object: $hash"
   done
   

4. Search pack files:

   for pack in .git/objects/pack/*.idx; do
     git verify-pack -v "$pack" 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $1}' | while read obj; do
       git cat-file -p "$obj" 2>/dev/null | grep "secret_pattern" && echo "Found in pack: $obj"
     done
   done
   

5. Verify no backup refs exist:

   ls -la .git/refs/original/ 2>/dev/null
   find .git -name "*.orig" -o -name "*_BACKUP_*"
   

6. Check for any remaining refs:

   git for-each-ref --format='%(refname)'
   

Common Pitfalls

git fsck

git cat-file -p

git reflog expire --expire=now --all

.git/refs/original/

git stash list

git notes list

Resources

references/

• verification_commands.md

  - Comprehensive verification scripts for thorough cleanup verification

These references provide ready-to-use command sequences for the verification workflow, which is the most error-prone part of git leak recovery tasks.