What type of secret management allows for the temporary issuance of credentials in Vault?

Dynamic secret management is a feature of HashiCorp Vault that allows for the temporary issuance of credentials. This approach is especially useful in environments where security is paramount, as it minimizes the risk associated with long-term credentials. Instead of storing static credentials that remain unchanged over time, dynamic secrets are generated on-demand and can be time-limited.

When a client requests a dynamic secret, Vault generates new credentials such as database usernames and passwords, API keys, or tokens that are valid only for a specific duration. After that duration expires, the credentials are automatically revoked, reducing the surface area for potential exposure or misuse.

This mechanism not only enhances security but also aligns with best practices for access management, ensuring that users and applications have only the permissions they need for the duration necessary. In contrast, static secret storage refers to the storage of unchanging secrets, integrated security tokens may refer to mechanisms for authentication rather than the issuance of temporary credentials, and long-lived credentials pose risks due to their perpetual validity. Therefore, dynamic secret management represents a more secure and efficient alternative in managing access credentials.