CyberArk Secrets Manager
CyberArk Secrets Manager gets secrets out of code — apps retrieve DB passwords, API keys and cloud credentials at runtime from a vault, auto-rotated and audited.
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How it’s rated
Full scoreboard ↓Quick answer
The CyberArk platform family
This page covers Secrets Manager — application & machine secrets. The rest of the platform:
Quick facts
30-second orientation- Product
- CyberArk Secrets Manager — application secrets
- Vendor
- CyberArk — a Palo Alto Networks company (since Feb 2026)
- The problem
- Hard-coded secrets in code, config & pipelines
- Secures
- DB passwords, API keys, cloud & app credentials
- The fix
- Retrieve at runtime, rotate & audit — never in code
- Spans
- Hybrid, cloud-native, containers, CI/CD, RPA
- Secrets Hub
- Centrally manage cloud-native secrets (AWS/Azure)
- Lineage
- CyberArk vault + open-source Conjur
- Licensing
- Per app / subscription
- In India via
- TechBag — quotes, PoCs, GST invoicing, Tier-1 support
Understand identity & access management before you buy it
Most product pages skip this. We start here — so you buy a capability, not a buzzword.
What is secrets management?
Securing the credentials applications and machines use — DB passwords, API keys, cloud credentials — so they are vaulted and retrieved at runtime, never hard-coded.
PAM rigour for non-human identities.
Fragmented logins vs unified identity — the honest table
What consolidation actually replaces, dimension by dimension.
| Dimension | Unprotected / signature email | Secrets Manager (CyberArk) |
|---|---|---|
| Secrets | Hard-coded in code/config | Vaulted, retrieved at runtime |
| Git history | Secrets persist forever | Nothing to leak |
| Rotation | Static, never changed | Automatic |
| Containers/K8s | Secrets in images | Delivered securely at runtime |
| CI/CD | Credentials in pipeline config | Injected securely |
| Cloud-native stores | Ungoverned per-cloud | Governed via Secrets Hub |
| Access | Uncontrolled, unaudited | Policy-based, audited |
| The discipline | Machine identity ignored | PAM rigour for machines |
Hard-coded secrets are a leading breach cause — vault them, retrieve at runtime, rotate. Human + machine identity on one platform.
The five pieces of the platform
Vendors love diagrams; buyers need to know what they’re actually operating. Here’s the whole platform, demystified.
Central Secret Vault
A central, access-controlled store for application secrets — database passwords, API keys, cloud credentials — so they live in the vault, not hard-coded in source or config.
Runtime Retrieval
Applications retrieve secrets securely at runtime through APIs and integrations — the app gets the credential when it needs it, without ever storing it.
Automatic Rotation
Rotates application and machine secrets automatically — a leaked secret becomes useless fast, and static hard-coded credentials are eliminated.
Secrets Hub
Centrally manages secrets while letting apps consume them through AWS/Azure-native secret-store interfaces — governance without changing developer workflows.
Identity Security Platform
Extends CyberArk's privileged-access rigour to non-human identities — part of the Identity Security Platform, one discipline for human and machine secrets.
Secrets pulled out of code and config into one vault — applications authenticated, not hard-coded.
Twelve capabilities. Vault, deliver, govern.
CyberArk Secrets Manager secures machine identities — secrets vaulted, retrieved at runtime, never in code, part of the CyberArk portfolio.
Centralised Secret Storage
Stores application secrets in a central, access-controlled vault — out of code, config and pipelines where they leak.
Secret Discovery
Finds hard-coded and scattered secrets across code, config, images and pipelines — you cannot secure what you cannot see.
Automatic Rotation
Rotates application and machine secrets automatically — a leaked credential quickly becomes worthless.
Runtime Secret Retrieval
Apps fetch secrets at runtime via API — the credential is delivered when needed, never stored in the app.
Kubernetes & Containers
Delivers secrets to containerised and Kubernetes workloads securely — cloud-native secrets management at scale.
CI/CD Pipeline Secrets
Injects secrets into build and deploy pipelines securely — no more credentials hard-coded in pipeline config.
RPA & Automation
Secures the credentials robotic-process-automation bots and automation use — non-human identities, governed.
Secrets Hub
Centrally manages secrets while apps consume them via AWS/Azure-native interfaces — governance without changing dev workflows.
Policy-Based Access
Fine-grained policy controls which apps and machines can access which secrets — least privilege for non-human identities.
Full Audit Trail
Records every secret access — which app or machine retrieved which secret, when — for compliance and investigation.
Developer-Friendly
Integrates with the tools developers already use — secrets security that fits the workflow rather than fighting it.
Identity Security Platform
Brings CyberArk's privileged-access rigour to machine identities — human and non-human secrets, one platform.
Watch CyberArk Secrets Manager in action
The overview, getting started, and the core workflows.
CyberArk Conjur CI/CD Demo
Delivering secrets into a CI/CD pipeline.
Securing the Software Supply Chain with CyberArk Conjur
Secrets management for the software supply chain.
What is Identity Security?
Where machine-identity secrets fit in identity security.
Want a live, India-context walkthrough for your environment?
Book a guided demo →Passwords are the breach. Own the identity layer.
Here’s what genuinely sets CyberArk Secrets Manager apart.
Machine identities outnumber humans — and leak
Applications, scripts, containers, CI/CD jobs and bots all need credentials, and these machine secrets vastly outnumber human passwords. They are often handled carelessly, so a hard-coded database password or cloud API key in code gives attackers a direct path to data, with no phishing required.
Hard-coded secrets are a leading breach cause
Developers put credentials where they’re convenient: source code, config files, pipeline definitions and container images. Those leak into Git history, logs and shipped images, and exposed secrets are a leading breach cause. Secrets Manager lets apps fetch secrets from the vault at runtime instead, so nothing leaks.
Retrieve at runtime, rotate automatically
Applications never store credentials; they fetch them from the central vault at runtime through APIs and integrations, with access controlled and audited. Secrets are rotated automatically, so anything exposed is short-lived, and apps keep working seamlessly.
Works across cloud, containers and pipelines
Secrets Manager serves hybrid data centres, public clouds, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines and RPA bots. Secrets Hub governs and rotates secrets centrally while developers keep using the AWS or Azure-native secret stores they know, so security is adopted rather than bypassed.
Enterprise vault rigour for machine identities
Secrets Manager is built on CyberArk’s hardened vault and the open-source Conjur lineage, bringing the rigour of its PAM to non-human identities. On CyberArk’s Identity Security Platform, human and machine secrets share one discipline: central control, least privilege, rotation and audit.
The honest scope
CyberArk Secrets Manager suits PAM customers and complex hybrid estates. HashiCorp Vault is the best-known rival, popular with cloud-native and DevOps teams; AWS Secrets Manager and Azure Key Vault are convenient for single-cloud, and Secrets Hub can govern them rather than replace them.
The numbers behind the platform
What your secrets-management journey looks like
Secrets-sprawl scoping
Find hard-coded secrets in code, config, CI/CD and images, map cloud and containers, and any CyberArk PAM. TechBag scopes it free.
Discover & vault
Hard-coded secrets discovered; the highest-risk moved into the vault; runtime-retrieval integrations wired for key apps and pipelines.
Rotate & govern
Automatic rotation applied; Secrets Hub governing cloud-native stores; policy-based access and audit enforced across environments.
Machine identity governed
Secrets out of code, rotated, audited; cloud-native secrets governed; human + machine on one platform. TechBag models the mix in INR/GST.
The review scoreboard
Modelled on Gartner Peer Insights structure. *Counts and breakdowns are illustrative pending verified review collection.
Quick poll — what’s driving your evaluation?
Talk to an advisor“We had database passwords hard-coded across dozens of repos. Now they sit in the vault and arrive at runtime. Nothing to leak in Git.”
“With Secrets Hub, developers keep using AWS Secrets Manager and Azure Key Vault while we govern and rotate centrally.”
“Delivering secrets to Kubernetes workloads securely, at scale, was our requirement. It handled our cloud-native estate cleanly.”
“On the same CyberArk platform as our PAM, human and machine identities are governed and audited together.”
“Automatic rotation for application credentials closed a gap our PAM covered for humans but not for apps. Machine secrets are short-lived now.”
“We weighed HashiCorp Vault, hugely popular in DevOps, but chose CyberArk for enterprise rigour and the unified platform.”
“Discovery surfaced hard-coded credentials in CI/CD config we had forgotten. You really cannot secure what you cannot see.”
“Integrating with the tools our developers already use meant adoption actually happened — secrets security that fits the workflow.”
Where everyone sits — the grids
Analyst firms bury this view behind paywalls, and review-site grids score satisfaction, not fit for your estate. So here’s TechBag’s synthesis of the identity & access market — tap any vendor to see why it sits where it does.
TechBag Identity & Access Grid
Execution strength vs product vision — the classic market map, minus the paywall.
Vault-grade secrets + human/machine on one platform. This page's product.
Secrets Depth × Platform Unification
The grid nobody publishes — secrets-management depth vs identity-platform unification.
Enterprise rigour + platform unification — the corner it owns.
Positions are TechBag’s illustrative synthesis of public review-platform data and vendor documentation — not a reproduction of any analyst graphic. Verify before relying on it.
Secrets Manager vs the field
The DevOps favourite and the native cloud stores — honest lanes; the edge is vault-grade rigour plus human/machine on one platform.
| Dimension | CyberArk Secrets Manager | HashiCorp Vault | AWS/Azure native stores | Delinea / others | Hard-coded secrets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approach | Enterprise + identity platform | DevOps favourite | Per-cloud native | Competes | The gap |
| Runtime retrieval & rotation | Both, mature | Both | Store + some rotation | Available | None |
| Hybrid & multi-cloud | Broad | Broad | Single-cloud | Moderate | None |
| Govern (not replace) cloud stores | Secrets Hub | Some | N/A | Limited | None |
| Best fit | Enterprises wanting vault-grade secrets + human/machine on one platform | DevOps-first, cloud-native shops | Single-cloud, basic needs | Delinea-PAM-led shops | Nobody with apps and APIs |
Which identity & access management approach fits you?
Honest fit signals — because the fastest way to lose your trust is to pretend one product wins every scenario.
Choose CyberArk Secrets Manager if…
- You want enterprise-grade secrets across a hybrid/multi-cloud estate
- Human and machine identity on one platform matters (you run CyberArk PAM)
- You want to govern cloud-native secrets centrally (Secrets Hub)
- Rotation, audit and vault rigour for machine identities are priorities
Choose HashiCorp Vault if…
- You are DevOps-first and cloud-native, and want the community favourite
Use AWS/Azure native if…
- You are single-cloud with basic needs (govern via Secrets Hub)
Choose Delinea if…
- You are Delinea-PAM-led and want matched secrets
Hard-coded secrets if…
- Never — exposed secrets are a leading cause of breaches
CyberArk Secrets Manager is one of 30 privileged access management products TechBag carries. The Privileged Access Management guide narrows them to a shortlist and shows the reasoning. →
What could this save you?
Drag the sliders (count users; IT-hour cost as loaded incident rate). Estimates assume ~1.5 hours per user per year of manual effort this tool automates away, with ~70% of that effort removed — the avoided-risk value is the larger, unpriced win. Illustrative.
Loaded cost = salary + overheads per productive hour. Illustrative only — your TechBag quote models your actual environment and modules.
Three ways to consume it
CyberArk Secrets Manager prices per app/subscription. TechBag scopes it (and unification with CyberArk PAM) for your app estate in one GST quote.
Secrets Manager
Best for application secrets
- Vault + runtime retrieval, not in code
- Auto-rotation across cloud/containers/CI-CD
- Secrets Hub governs cloud-native stores
+ Platform add-ons
Best for a broader rollout
- Scoped to your estate
- Add-on modules as needed
- Phased, right-sized deployment
+ Identity platform
Best for human + machine
- Unify with CyberArk PAM
- One discipline: people & machines
- TechBag scopes the mix
Buy it for less — TechBag pricing beats list
Whatever the list prices above, TechBag negotiates a significantly better deal — with GST-compliant INR invoicing and local support. Ask us for your discounted quote.
Get an India-ready quote
Tell us your requirements and current tools — we’ll model it against what you spend today.
The 8 questions to ask every vendor
Take this into your next vendor call — including ours.
Confirm it discovers hard-coded secrets across YOUR code, config, CI/CD and images — the sprawl you cannot see.
Test an app fetching a secret at runtime instead of storing it — nothing hard-coded to leak.
Verify automatic rotation of application/machine secrets — a leaked credential made short-lived.
Confirm secure secret delivery to YOUR environments — Kubernetes, cloud, CI/CD, RPA.
If multi-cloud, test governing AWS/Azure-native stores centrally while devs consume natively.
Verify it integrates with the tools your developers already use — adoption depends on it.
Decide whether to unify with CyberArk PAM (human + machine); else compare HashiCorp Vault.
Right-size per app/subscription — TechBag scopes and quotes in INR/GST.
Questions buyers ask
Ready to get secrets out of code?
Scope a secrets PoC (discover hard-coded credentials, then prove runtime retrieval and rotation), govern your cloud-native stores with Secrets Hub, or let a TechBag advisor plan machine-identity security.
Stats, ratings, review counts and pricing are illustrative and sourced from public materials; verify before purchase.