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AWS Secrets Manager Skill for Cursor

Store and rotate secrets in AWS Secrets Manager. Configure automatic rotation, access policies, and application integration. Use when managing secrets in AWS environments or requiring automatic credential rotation.

4k tokens
context cost
the whole folder, loaded on every use
2
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instructions only
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how many repositories repackaged it
511
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on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills --skill aws-secrets-manager

What comes with it

2 463 bytes besides the instruction
references/secrets-patterns.md

The instruction itself

16 sections, as written by the author

AWS Secrets Manager

Securely store, manage, and rotate secrets in AWS.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

  • Storing database credentials, API keys, or tokens in AWS
  • Implementing automatic credential rotation for RDS or other services
  • Replacing hardcoded secrets in application code or config files
  • Integrating secrets into ECS, EKS, or Lambda workloads
  • Meeting compliance requirements for secret management and rotation

Prerequisites

  • AWS account with appropriate IAM permissions
  • AWS CLI v2 installed and configured
  • IAM policy allowing secretsmanager:* actions (or scoped permissions)
  • For rotation: Lambda execution role and VPC access to target services
  • Python 3.9+ with boto3 for SDK examples

Secret Creation and Management

# Create a secret with JSON structure
aws secretsmanager create-secret \
  --name myapp/production/database \
  --description "Production database credentials" \
  --secret-string '{"username":"dbadmin","password":"S3cur3P@ssw0rd!","engine":"postgres","host":"db.internal.example.com","port":5432,"dbname":"myapp"}' \
  --tags '[{"Key":"Environment","Value":"production"},{"Key":"Team","Value":"platform"}]'

# Create a secret with KMS encryption (custom key)
aws secretsmanager create-secret \
  --name myapp/production/api-key \
  --description "Third-party API key" \
  --secret-string "ak_live_xxxxxxxxxxxx" \
  --kms-key-id alias/secrets-key

# Create a binary secret (certificates, keys)
aws secretsmanager create-secret \
  --name myapp/production/tls-cert \
  --secret-binary fileb://server.pfx

# Get secret value
aws secretsmanager get-secret-value \
  --secret-id myapp/production/database \
  --query 'SecretString' --output text | jq .

# Get a specific version
aws secretsmanager get-secret-value \
  --secret-id myapp/production/database \
  --version-stage AWSPREVIOUS

# Update secret value
aws secretsmanager put-secret-value \
  --secret-id myapp/production/database \
  --secret-string '{"username":"dbadmin","password":"N3wS3cur3P@ss!","engine":"postgres","host":"db.internal.example.com","port":5432,"dbname":"myapp"}'

# List all secrets
aws secretsmanager list-secrets \
  --filters Key=name,Values=myapp/production

# Delete secret (with recovery window)
aws secretsmanager delete-secret \
  --secret-id myapp/production/old-key \
  --recovery-window-in-days 7

# Restore a deleted secret
aws secretsmanager restore-secret \
  --secret-id myapp/production/old-key

# Tag a secret
aws secretsmanager tag-resource \
  --secret-id myapp/production/database \
  --tags '[{"Key":"RotationEnabled","Value":"true"}]'

Automatic Rotation

Enable Rotation

# Enable rotation with an existing Lambda function
aws secretsmanager rotate-secret \
  --secret-id myapp/production/database \
  --rotation-lambda-arn arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:SecretsManagerRDSPostgreSQLRotation \
  --rotation-rules '{"AutomaticallyAfterDays":30,"ScheduleExpression":"rate(30 days)"}'

# Trigger immediate rotation
aws secretsmanager rotate-secret \
  --secret-id myapp/production/database

# Check rotation status
aws secretsmanager describe-secret \
  --secret-id myapp/production/database \
  --query '{RotationEnabled:RotationEnabled,RotationLambdaARN:RotationLambdaARN,RotationRules:RotationRules,LastRotatedDate:LastRotatedDate}'

Lambda Rotation Function

"""rotation_function.py - Custom rotation Lambda for database credentials."""

import boto3
import json
import logging
import psycopg2

logger = logging.getLogger()
logger.setLevel(logging.INFO)

def lambda_handler(event, context):
    """Secrets Manager rotation handler.

    The rotation process has four steps:
    1. createSecret - Generate new secret value
    2. setSecret - Apply the new secret to the target service
    3. testSecret - Verify the new secret works
    4. finishSecret - Mark rotation complete
    """
    secret_arn = event['SecretId']
    token = event['ClientRequestToken']
    step = event['Step']

    client = boto3.client('secretsmanager')

    metadata = client.describe_secret(SecretId=secret_arn)
    if not metadata.get('RotationEnabled'):
        raise ValueError(f"Secret {secret_arn} does not have rotation enabled")

    versions = metadata.get('VersionIdsToStages', {})
    if token not in versions:
        raise ValueError(f"Secret version {token} has no stage for rotation")

    if step == "createSecret":
        create_secret(client, secret_arn, token)
    elif step == "setSecret":
        set_secret(client, secret_arn, token)
    elif step == "testSecret":
        test_secret(client, secret_arn, token)
    elif step == "finishSecret":
        finish_secret(client, secret_arn, token)
    else:
        raise ValueError(f"Invalid step: {step}")


def create_secret(client, secret_arn, token):
    """Generate a new secret value."""
    current = client.get_secret_value(
        SecretId=secret_arn, VersionStage="AWSCURRENT"
    )
    current_dict = json.loads(current['SecretString'])

    new_password = client.get_random_password(
        PasswordLength=32,
        ExcludeCharacters='/@"\\',
        RequireEachIncludedType=True,
    )['RandomPassword']

    current_dict['password'] = new_password
    client.put_secret_value(
        SecretId=secret_arn,
        ClientRequestToken=token,
        SecretString=json.dumps(current_dict),
        VersionStages=['AWSPENDING'],
    )
    logger.info(f"createSecret: New secret version created for {secret_arn}")


def set_secret(client, secret_arn, token):
    """Apply the new secret to the target database."""
    pending = client.get_secret_value(
        SecretId=secret_arn, VersionId=token, VersionStage="AWSPENDING"
    )
    pending_dict = json.loads(pending['SecretString'])

    current = client.get_secret_value(
        SecretId=secret_arn, VersionStage="AWSCURRENT"
    )
    current_dict = json.loads(current['SecretString'])

    conn = psycopg2.connect(
        host=current_dict['host'],
        port=current_dict.get('port', 5432),
        user=current_dict['username'],
        password=current_dict['password'],
        dbname=current_dict.get('dbname', 'postgres'),
    )
    conn.autocommit = True
    with conn.cursor() as cur:
        cur.execute(
            "ALTER USER %s WITH PASSWORD %s",
            (pending_dict['username'], pending_dict['password']),
        )
    conn.close()
    logger.info(f"setSecret: Password updated in database for {secret_arn}")


def test_secret(client, secret_arn, token):
    """Verify the new secret works."""
    pending = client.get_secret_value(
        SecretId=secret_arn, VersionId=token, VersionStage="AWSPENDING"
    )
    pending_dict = json.loads(pending['SecretString'])

    conn = psycopg2.connect(
        host=pending_dict['host'],
        port=pending_dict.get('port', 5432),
        user=pending_dict['username'],
        password=pending_dict['password'],
        dbname=pending_dict.get('dbname', 'postgres'),
    )
    conn.close()
    logger.info(f"testSecret: New credentials verified for {secret_arn}")


def finish_secret(client, secret_arn, token):
    """Finalize the rotation by updating version stages."""
    metadata = client.describe_secret(SecretId=secret_arn)
    versions = metadata.get('VersionIdsToStages', {})

    current_version = None
    for version_id, stages in versions.items():
        if "AWSCURRENT" in stages:
            if version_id == token:
                logger.info("finishSecret: Version already marked AWSCURRENT")
                return
            current_version = version_id
            break

    client.update_secret_version_stage(
        SecretId=secret_arn,
        VersionStage="AWSCURRENT",
        MoveToVersionId=token,
        RemoveFromVersionId=current_version,
    )
    logger.info(f"finishSecret: Rotation complete for {secret_arn}")

Rotation Lambda Terraform

resource "aws_lambda_function" "rotation" {
  filename         = "rotation_function.zip"
  function_name    = "secrets-rotation-postgresql"
  role             = aws_iam_role.rotation.arn
  handler          = "rotation_function.lambda_handler"
  runtime          = "python3.11"
  timeout          = 60

  vpc_config {
    subnet_ids         = var.private_subnet_ids
    security_group_ids = [aws_security_group.rotation.id]
  }

  environment {
    variables = {
      SECRETS_MANAGER_ENDPOINT = "https://secretsmanager.${var.region}.amazonaws.com"
    }
  }
}

resource "aws_lambda_permission" "secrets_manager" {
  action        = "lambda:InvokeFunction"
  function_name = aws_lambda_function.rotation.function_name
  principal     = "secretsmanager.amazonaws.com"
  statement_id  = "AllowSecretsManager"
}

resource "aws_secretsmanager_secret_rotation" "db" {
  secret_id           = aws_secretsmanager_secret.db.id
  rotation_lambda_arn = aws_lambda_function.rotation.arn
  rotation_rules {
    automatically_after_days = 30
  }
}

Application Integration

Python SDK

import boto3
import json
from functools import lru_cache

def get_secret(secret_name: str, region: str = "us-east-1") -> dict:
    """Retrieve and parse a secret from AWS Secrets Manager."""
    client = boto3.client("secretsmanager", region_name=region)
    response = client.get_secret_value(SecretId=secret_name)
    if "SecretString" in response:
        return json.loads(response["SecretString"])
    else:
        import base64
        return base64.b64decode(response["SecretBinary"])

@lru_cache(maxsize=32)
def get_cached_secret(secret_name: str) -> dict:
    """Cached secret retrieval. Clear cache on rotation events."""
    return get_secret(secret_name)

# Usage
creds = get_secret("myapp/production/database")
connection_string = (
    f"postgresql://{creds['username']}:{creds['password']}"
    f"@{creds['host']}:{creds['port']}/{creds['dbname']}"
)

ECS Task Definition

{
  "containerDefinitions": [
    {
      "name": "myapp",
      "image": "ghcr.io/acme/myapp:v1.0.0",
      "secrets": [
        {
          "name": "DB_USERNAME",
          "valueFrom": "arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-east-1:123456789:secret:myapp/production/database:username::"
        },
        {
          "name": "DB_PASSWORD",
          "valueFrom": "arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-east-1:123456789:secret:myapp/production/database:password::"
        },
        {
          "name": "API_KEY",
          "valueFrom": "arn:aws:secretsmanager:us-east-1:123456789:secret:myapp/production/api-key"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "executionRoleArn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789:role/ecsTaskExecutionRole"
}

EKS with External Secrets Operator

apiVersion: external-secrets.io/v1beta1
kind: SecretStore
metadata:
  name: aws-secrets-manager
  namespace: production
spec:
  provider:
    aws:
      service: SecretsManager
      region: us-east-1
      auth:
        jwt:
          serviceAccountRef:
            name: external-secrets-sa
---
apiVersion: external-secrets.io/v1beta1
kind: ExternalSecret
metadata:
  name: db-credentials
  namespace: production
spec:
  refreshInterval: 1h
  secretStoreRef:
    name: aws-secrets-manager
    kind: SecretStore
  target:
    name: db-credentials
    creationPolicy: Owner
  data:
    - secretKey: username
      remoteRef:
        key: myapp/production/database
        property: username
    - secretKey: password
      remoteRef:
        key: myapp/production/database
        property: password

Resource-Based Policy

# Restrict secret access to specific roles
aws secretsmanager put-resource-policy \
  --secret-id myapp/production/database \
  --resource-policy '{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
      {
        "Effect": "Allow",
        "Principal": {
          "AWS": [
            "arn:aws:iam::123456789:role/myapp-ecs-task-role",
            "arn:aws:iam::123456789:role/myapp-lambda-role"
          ]
        },
        "Action": [
          "secretsmanager:GetSecretValue"
        ],
        "Resource": "*",
        "Condition": {
          "StringEquals": {
            "aws:RequestedRegion": "us-east-1"
          }
        }
      },
      {
        "Effect": "Deny",
        "Principal": "*",
        "Action": "secretsmanager:GetSecretValue",
        "Resource": "*",
        "Condition": {
          "StringNotEquals": {
            "aws:PrincipalAccount": "123456789012"
          }
        }
      }
    ]
  }'

Troubleshooting

| Problem | Cause | Solution |

|---------|-------|----------|

| AccessDeniedException on GetSecretValue | IAM policy missing permission | Add secretsmanager:GetSecretValue to the role; check resource-based policy |

| Rotation fails with Lambda timeout | Lambda cannot reach database | Ensure Lambda is in same VPC with route to DB; check security groups |

| Secret value is empty after rotation | createSecret step failed | Check Lambda CloudWatch logs; verify random password generation works |

| ECS container fails to start | Secret ARN format incorrect | Use full ARN with :: for JSON key extraction; verify secret exists |

| Application uses old credentials after rotation | Client caching stale values | Implement cache invalidation on rotation; reduce cache TTL |

| Rotation Lambda permission error | Missing lambda:InvokeFunction permission | Add aws_lambda_permission for secretsmanager.amazonaws.com principal |

| KMS decrypt fails | Secret KMS key policy missing role | Add the accessing role to the KMS key policy's kms:Decrypt principals |

Best Practices

  • Enable automatic rotation with 30-day intervals minimum
  • Use resource-based policies in addition to IAM policies (defense in depth)
  • Encrypt secrets with customer-managed KMS keys (not default)
  • Implement least-privilege access (only the roles that need each secret)
  • Use secret versioning for safe rollback during rotation issues
  • Monitor secret access with CloudTrail and alert on unusual patterns
  • Structure secret names hierarchically: {app}/{env}/{secret-type}
  • Never log secret values; log only secret ARNs and access metadata
  • Test rotation in staging before enabling in production
  • Set up CloudWatch alarms for rotation failures
  • hashicorp-vault - Multi-cloud secrets
  • aws-iam - IAM policies
  • azure-keyvault - Azure secret management
  • gcp-secret-manager - GCP secret management

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