Possible private Key detected in start.sh

[begininvoke]

Came across something in start.sh around line 95 that looked worth flagging.

This script hard‑codes an EC private key. Embedding private keys in source code exposes cryptographic material to anyone with repository access, enabling attackers to impersonate the service, decrypt data, or sign malicious transactions. The issue maps to CWE‑798 (Use of Hard‑coded Credentials) and is classified as High severity because the key provides full cryptographic authority and is stored in clear‑text within version‑controlled files.

The code in question

-----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----
MHcCAQEEIM4792SEtPqIt1ywqTd/0bYidBqpYV/+siNnfBYsdUYsAoGCCqGSM49

Something like this might fix it:

diff --git a/start.sh b/start.sh
--- a/start.sh
+++ b/start.sh
@@
------BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----
-MHcCAQEEIM4792SEtPqIt1ywqTd/0bYidBqpYV/+siNnfBYsdUYsAoGCCqGSM49
-... (rest of key) ...
------END EC PRIVATE KEY-----
+# Load the EC private key from a protected file instead of hard‑coding it.
+PRIVATE_KEY_PATH="${HOME}/.keys/ec_private_key.pem"
+if [[ -f "$PRIVATE_KEY_PATH" ]]; then
+    PRIVATE_KEY=$(cat "$PRIVATE_KEY_PATH")
+else
+    echo "Error: Private key not found at $PRIVATE_KEY_PATH" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi

For reference: rule generic.secrets.security.detected-private-key.detected-private-key, CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials). Rated high.

The suggested change is untested against this project, so please read it before applying it.

---

Found with automated scanning (RedGem) and reviewed before opening. If it is not useful, closing it is completely fine.