Ensure the Expiration Date is set for Key Vault Secrets

Overview

Ensure that all Secrets in Azure Key Vaults have an expiration date set.

Rationale

The Azure Key Vault enables users to store and keep secrets within the Microsoft Azure environment. Secrets in the Azure Key Vault are octet sequences with a maximum size of 25k bytes each. The exp (expiration date) attribute identifies the expiration time on or after which the secret MUST NOT be used. By default, secrets never expire. It is thus recommended that secrets be rotated in the key vault and an explicit expiration time for all secrets be set. This ensures that the secrets cannot be used beyond their assigned lifetimes.

Impact

Secrets cannot be used beyond their assigned expiry times. Therefore, they need to be rotated periodically wherever they are used.

Default Value

By default, secrets do not expire.

References

Remediation guidance

From Azure Console

Open the secret using the Open in Azure button.
For each Secret, select Yes for Enabled
For each Secret, check Set expiration date and set an appropriate expiration date
Select Apply

Using Azure Command Line Interface

Use the command below to set the expiration date for secrets.

az keyvault secret set-attributes --name <secretName> --vault-name <vaultName> --expires

Using Azure PowerShell

Set-AzKeyVaultSecretAttribute -VaultName <vaultName> -Name <secretName> -Expires <dateTime>

Multiple Remediation Paths

Azure

SERVICE-WIDE (RECOMMENDED when many resources are affected): Assign Azure Policy initiatives at management group/subscription scope and trigger remediation tasks.

az policy assignment create --name <assignment-name> --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id> --policy-set-definition <initiative-id>
az policy remediation create --name <remediation-name> --policy-assignment <assignment-id>

ASSET-LEVEL: Apply the resource-specific remediation steps above to the listed non-compliant resources.

PREVENTIVE: Embed Azure Policy checks into landing zones and IaC workflows to block or auto-remediate drift.

References for Service-Wide Patterns

Azure Policy overview: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/governance/policy/overview
Azure Policy remediation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/governance/policy/how-to/remediate-resources
Azure Policy initiative structure: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/governance/policy/concepts/initiative-definition-structure

Operational Rollout Workflow

Use this sequence to reduce risk and avoid repeated drift.

1. Contain at Service-Wide Scope First (Recommended)

Azure: assign policy initiatives at management group/subscription scope and run remediation tasks.

az policy assignment create --name <assignment-name> --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id> --policy-set-definition <initiative-id>
az policy remediation create --name <remediation-name> --policy-assignment <assignment-id>

2. Remediate Existing Affected Assets

Execute the control-specific Console/CLI steps documented above for each flagged resource.
Prioritize internet-exposed and production assets first.

3. Validate and Prevent Recurrence

Re-scan after each remediation batch.
Track exceptions with owner and expiry date.
Add preventive checks in IaC/CI pipelines.

Query logic

These are the stored checks tied to this control.

Azure Key Vault secrets without expiration date

Connectors

Microsoft Azure

Covered asset types

KMSSecret

Expected check: eq []

{
  kmsSecrets(where: { expires: "0000-01-01T00:00:00.000Z" }) {
    ...AssetFragment
  }
}