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    Render Security Guide

    Complete guide to securing Render deployments for AI-generated applications. Learn how to properly configure private services, environment variables, and blueprint files to protect your Render-hosted apps.

    Render Blueprint Files Can Leak Secrets

    AI-generated render.yaml files often contain hardcoded API keys, database passwords, and environment variables. These blueprint files get committed to git, exposing all production secrets to anyone with repository access. Always use environment variable references instead of literal values.

    Render Security Checklist

    Follow these 12 steps to secure your Render deployment. Critical items prevent public exposure of internal services and secrets.

    Step 1

    Secure environment variables

    Critical

    Use Render's environment variable groups and ensure sensitive values are not exposed in build logs or source code.

    Step 2

    Enable auto-deploy from protected branches

    Critical

    Configure auto-deploy only from protected branches like main/production to prevent unauthorized deployments.

    Step 3

    Use private services for internal APIs

    Critical

    Deploy internal services as private services accessible only within your Render account, not publicly on the internet.

    Step 4

    Configure custom domains with SSL

    Critical

    Set up custom domains with automatic SSL certificates instead of using default onrender.com domains in production.

    Step 5

    Review team member permissions

    Critical

    Audit who has access to production services and secrets, following principle of least privilege.

    Step 6

    Enable DDoS protection

    Use Render's DDoS protection and rate limiting features to protect against traffic-based attacks.

    Step 7

    Configure health check endpoints

    Set up health checks to automatically detect and restart failing services without manual intervention.

    Step 8

    Set up deployment notifications

    Enable Slack or email notifications for deployments, failures, and service health to detect issues quickly.

    Step 9

    Review disk persistence settings

    Ensure sensitive data on disk is properly backed up and not lost during redeployments.

    Step 10

    Configure managed database security

    Use Render-managed databases with encryption at rest and restrict access to specific services only.

    Step 11

    Enable suspend on inactivity carefully

    Review auto-suspend settings for free tier services to prevent production apps from sleeping unexpectedly.

    Step 12

    Audit blueprint configurations

    Review render.yaml files for hardcoded secrets, overly permissive settings, and insecure configurations.

    Common Render Misconfigurations

    Public Internal Services

    Critical

    Admin panels and internal APIs deployed as public web services instead of private services, exposing them to the internet.

    Secrets in render.yaml

    Critical

    API keys and passwords hardcoded in render.yaml blueprint files committed to git repositories.

    No Branch Protection

    High

    Auto-deploy enabled from all branches including feature branches, allowing unreviewed code to reach production.

    Shared Database Credentials

    High

    Same database credentials used across dev, staging, and production environments on Render.

    Related Resources

    Environment Variables Security

    Secure secrets management for Render deployments

    Railway Security Guide

    Similar platform security for Railway deployments

    Docker Security Basics

    Container security for Render deployments

    Penetration Testing Guide

    Test your Render deployment for vulnerabilities

    Audit Your Render Configuration

    VibeEval analyzes your render.yaml blueprint files and service configurations to detect hardcoded secrets, public internal services, and insecure settings. Secure your deployment before going live.

    Start Free Security Scan