OSINT Exposure Audit
Digital dumpster diving — systematically cataloguing what an organization leaks
publicly that enables attacks. Everything an adversary can learn without ever
sending a packet to your infrastructure.
When to Use
- External attack surface assessment
- Pre-pentest reconnaissance review
- Data leakage auditing
- Breach impact assessment
- Supply chain exposure analysis
- Merger/acquisition security due diligence
- Continuous monitoring of organizational exposure drift
Exposure Taxonomy
Code Repositories
- Leaked secrets in git history (keys, tokens, passwords in old commits)
.env files, docker-compose.yml with credentials committed to public repos
- API keys and service account credentials in source
- Internal URLs, hostnames, and IP ranges in IaC (Terraform, CloudFormation)
- CI/CD pipeline configs exposing infrastructure details
Document Metadata
- Author names and usernames in PDF/Office document properties
- Software versions (Adobe, Office builds) revealing patch levels
- Internal file paths (
C:\Users\jsmith\Documents\...) in document metadata
- EXIF data in images: GPS coordinates, device info, timestamps
- Printer/scanner metadata in published documents
DNS and Infrastructure
- Subdomain enumeration via brute-force, zone transfers, passive DNS
- Certificate transparency logs revealing internal service names
- Historical DNS records exposing migrations and old infrastructure
- Cloud storage buckets (S3, GCS, Azure Blob) with predictable names
- ASN mapping to identify full IP space ownership
- Reverse DNS revealing naming conventions
Credential Exposure
- Breach database correlation (email domains in known breaches)
- Paste sites (Pastebin, GitHub Gists) containing credentials
- Credential stuffing lists with organization email addresses
- Leaked password patterns revealing policy (length, complexity, rotation)
- Exposed
.htpasswd, web.config, or similar auth files
Social Media Intelligence
- Employee names, roles, reporting structure from LinkedIn
- Technology stack hints from employee profiles and endorsements
- Org chart reconstruction from public profiles
- Job postings revealing specific technologies, versions, and vendors
- Conference talks and slides disclosing architecture details
- Geolocation of facilities from employee posts
Web Archives
- Wayback Machine snapshots of removed pages, old API documentation
- Deprecated endpoints still responding in production
- Removed job postings revealing past security concerns
- Old sitemaps and
robots.txt exposing hidden paths
- Cached versions of pages taken down after incidents
Supply Chain
- Third-party vendor exposure (shared credentials, connected services)
- Dependency confusion potential in public package registries
- Internal package names leaked in
package.json, requirements.txt
- Vendor security posture reflecting on the organization
- Open-source contributions revealing internal tooling
Audit Methodology
Phase 1: Passive Reconnaissance
- Domain and infrastructure enumeration (subdomains, IPs, ASNs, cloud resources)
- Certificate transparency log analysis for all owned domains
- Passive DNS collection and historical record review
- Search engine dorking for exposed files and directories
Phase 2: Code and Document Analysis
- Git repository scanning — secrets in full commit history
- Exposed
.git directory detection on web-facing servers
- Document metadata extraction from all public-facing files (PDFs, DOCX, XLSX)
- Source map and debug artifact discovery
Phase 3: Credential and Identity Exposure
- Credential breach correlation (HaveIBeenPwned, breach compilations)
- Paste site monitoring for organization-related dumps
- Email address harvesting and employee enumeration
Phase 4: Active Surface Mapping
- Cloud storage discovery and permission testing
- Job posting and social media intelligence gathering
- Web archive analysis for leaked or removed content
- Third-party service enumeration (SaaS, APIs, webhooks)
Tool Reference
| Category |
Tools |
| Infrastructure |
amass, subfinder, dnsx, httpx, nuclei, Shodan, Censys |
| Git/Code |
truffleHog, gitleaks, git-secrets, GitHub/GitLab search dorks |
| Documents |
exiftool, FOCA, metagoofil |
| Credentials |
h8mail, Dehashed API, PWNDB |
| Web |
gau (getallurls), waybackurls, katana |
| Cloud |
cloud_enum, S3Scanner, GCPBucketBrute |
| OSINT Frameworks |
spiderfoot, recon-ng, theHarvester |
Code Review Patterns
What leaks from codebases — check for these in any public repository:
- Hardcoded credentials: API keys, tokens, passwords in source files
- Internal hostnames/IPs: configuration files referencing
10.x.x.x, *.internal
- Sensitive comments:
TODO: remove password, HACK: using admin creds
- Debug endpoints:
/debug, /actuator, /elmah.axd left enabled in production
- Verbose error messages: stack traces exposing file paths, library versions
- Exposed
.git directory: full repository history accessible via web server
- Source maps in production:
.js.map files reconstructing original source
- Environment detection logic: code revealing staging/prod URL patterns
- Dependency manifests:
package-lock.json, Pipfile.lock pinning vulnerable versions
Output Format
Structure findings as follows:
## Finding: [Title]
- **Exposure Type**: Code Repository | Document Metadata | Infrastructure | Credential | Social Media | Web Archive | Supply Chain
- **Source**: Where the exposure was discovered (URL, repo, document name)
- **Data Exposed**: Specific sensitive data found
- **Risk Level**: Critical | High | Medium | Low | Informational
- **Attack Scenario**: How an adversary would leverage this exposure
- **Remediation**:
- Immediate: Rotate credential / Remove document / Revoke access
- Preventive: Configure access control / Implement secret scanning / Deploy metadata scrubbing
- **Evidence**: Screenshot, hash, or sanitized excerpt (never include raw credentials in reports)
Aggregate findings into an exposure heat map by category to identify systemic issues
versus one-off leaks.
Related Skills
social-engineering-audit — leveraging OSINT findings for social engineering assessments
entry-point-analyzer — mapping exposed services into exploitable attack paths
static-security-analyzer — deep code review for vulnerabilities beyond leaked secrets
webapp-testing — active testing of discovered web applications and APIs
Converted and distributed by TomeVault — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.
1---2name: plurigrid-asi-osint-exposure-audit3description: OSINT Exposure Audit4---56# OSINT Exposure Audit78Digital dumpster diving — systematically cataloguing what an organization leaks9publicly that enables attacks. Everything an adversary can learn without ever10sending a packet to your infrastructure.1112## When to Use1314- External attack surface assessment15- Pre-pentest reconnaissance review16- Data leakage auditing17- Breach impact assessment18- Supply chain exposure analysis19- Merger/acquisition security due diligence20- Continuous monitoring of organizational exposure drift2122## Exposure Taxonomy2324### Code Repositories25- Leaked secrets in git history (keys, tokens, passwords in old commits)26- `.env` files, `docker-compose.yml` with credentials committed to public repos27- API keys and service account credentials in source28- Internal URLs, hostnames, and IP ranges in IaC (Terraform, CloudFormation)29- CI/CD pipeline configs exposing infrastructure details3031### Document Metadata32- Author names and usernames in PDF/Office document properties33- Software versions (Adobe, Office builds) revealing patch levels34- Internal file paths (`C:\Users\jsmith\Documents\...`) in document metadata35- EXIF data in images: GPS coordinates, device info, timestamps36- Printer/scanner metadata in published documents3738### DNS and Infrastructure39- Subdomain enumeration via brute-force, zone transfers, passive DNS40- Certificate transparency logs revealing internal service names41- Historical DNS records exposing migrations and old infrastructure42- Cloud storage buckets (S3, GCS, Azure Blob) with predictable names43- ASN mapping to identify full IP space ownership44- Reverse DNS revealing naming conventions4546### Credential Exposure47- Breach database correlation (email domains in known breaches)48- Paste sites (Pastebin, GitHub Gists) containing credentials49- Credential stuffing lists with organization email addresses50- Leaked password patterns revealing policy (length, complexity, rotation)51- Exposed `.htpasswd`, `web.config`, or similar auth files5253### Social Media Intelligence54- Employee names, roles, reporting structure from LinkedIn55- Technology stack hints from employee profiles and endorsements56- Org chart reconstruction from public profiles57- Job postings revealing specific technologies, versions, and vendors58- Conference talks and slides disclosing architecture details59- Geolocation of facilities from employee posts6061### Web Archives62- Wayback Machine snapshots of removed pages, old API documentation63- Deprecated endpoints still responding in production64- Removed job postings revealing past security concerns65- Old sitemaps and `robots.txt` exposing hidden paths66- Cached versions of pages taken down after incidents6768### Supply Chain69- Third-party vendor exposure (shared credentials, connected services)70- Dependency confusion potential in public package registries71- Internal package names leaked in `package.json`, `requirements.txt`72- Vendor security posture reflecting on the organization73- Open-source contributions revealing internal tooling7475## Audit Methodology7677### Phase 1: Passive Reconnaissance781. Domain and infrastructure enumeration (subdomains, IPs, ASNs, cloud resources)792. Certificate transparency log analysis for all owned domains803. Passive DNS collection and historical record review814. Search engine dorking for exposed files and directories8283### Phase 2: Code and Document Analysis845. Git repository scanning — secrets in full commit history856. Exposed `.git` directory detection on web-facing servers867. Document metadata extraction from all public-facing files (PDFs, DOCX, XLSX)878. Source map and debug artifact discovery8889### Phase 3: Credential and Identity Exposure909. Credential breach correlation (HaveIBeenPwned, breach compilations)9110. Paste site monitoring for organization-related dumps9211. Email address harvesting and employee enumeration9394### Phase 4: Active Surface Mapping9512. Cloud storage discovery and permission testing9613. Job posting and social media intelligence gathering9714. Web archive analysis for leaked or removed content9815. Third-party service enumeration (SaaS, APIs, webhooks)99100## Tool Reference101102| Category | Tools |103|---------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|104| Infrastructure | `amass`, `subfinder`, `dnsx`, `httpx`, `nuclei`, Shodan, Censys |105| Git/Code | `truffleHog`, `gitleaks`, `git-secrets`, GitHub/GitLab search dorks |106| Documents | `exiftool`, FOCA, `metagoofil` |107| Credentials | `h8mail`, Dehashed API, PWNDB |108| Web | `gau` (getallurls), `waybackurls`, `katana` |109| Cloud | `cloud_enum`, `S3Scanner`, `GCPBucketBrute` |110| OSINT Frameworks | `spiderfoot`, `recon-ng`, `theHarvester` |111112## Code Review Patterns113114What leaks from codebases — check for these in any public repository:115116- **Hardcoded credentials**: API keys, tokens, passwords in source files117- **Internal hostnames/IPs**: configuration files referencing `10.x.x.x`, `*.internal`118- **Sensitive comments**: `TODO: remove password`, `HACK: using admin creds`119- **Debug endpoints**: `/debug`, `/actuator`, `/elmah.axd` left enabled in production120- **Verbose error messages**: stack traces exposing file paths, library versions121- **Exposed `.git` directory**: full repository history accessible via web server122- **Source maps in production**: `.js.map` files reconstructing original source123- **Environment detection logic**: code revealing staging/prod URL patterns124- **Dependency manifests**: `package-lock.json`, `Pipfile.lock` pinning vulnerable versions125126## Output Format127128Structure findings as follows:129130```131## Finding: [Title]132- **Exposure Type**: Code Repository | Document Metadata | Infrastructure | Credential | Social Media | Web Archive | Supply Chain133- **Source**: Where the exposure was discovered (URL, repo, document name)134- **Data Exposed**: Specific sensitive data found135- **Risk Level**: Critical | High | Medium | Low | Informational136- **Attack Scenario**: How an adversary would leverage this exposure137- **Remediation**:138 - Immediate: Rotate credential / Remove document / Revoke access139 - Preventive: Configure access control / Implement secret scanning / Deploy metadata scrubbing140- **Evidence**: Screenshot, hash, or sanitized excerpt (never include raw credentials in reports)141```142143Aggregate findings into an exposure heat map by category to identify systemic issues144versus one-off leaks.145146## Related Skills147148- `social-engineering-audit` — leveraging OSINT findings for social engineering assessments149- `entry-point-analyzer` — mapping exposed services into exploitable attack paths150- `static-security-analyzer` — deep code review for vulnerabilities beyond leaked secrets151- `webapp-testing` — active testing of discovered web applications and APIs152153---154> Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/plurigrid) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.155<!-- tomevault:4.0:skill_md:2026-04-11 -->