From Plain Text Passwords to PowerShell SecretStore: Securing Your AD Test Environment

Because even test environments deserve better than passwords in text files.

The Plain Text Problem That Kept Me Up at Night

In my previous post, I built an Active Directory test environment that generated realistic service accounts and test data. It solved the "garbage test data" problem beautifully, but introduced a new one: service account passwords sitting in plain text files like it's 1995.

Yeah, it's just a test environment. But every time I ran the script, a little voice in my head whispered, "This isn't how we should be handling credentials."

Time to fix that.

PowerShell SecretStore: Your Local Credential Vault

Microsoft's SecretStore and SecretManagement modules are essentially a local password manager built into PowerShell. No more excuses for plain text passwords.

The 60-second breakdown:

SecretStore: Encrypted container for your secrets
SecretVault: Password-protected compartments within the store
Native PowerShell: Built-in cmdlets, no third-party dependencies
Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS

It's exactly what my AD test environment needed.

One Flag Changes Everything

The integration is dead simple. Add one parameter to your existing command:

New-ADTestEnvironment -UseSecretStore

That's it. Same test environment, same service accounts, but now your credentials are encrypted and properly managed.

What happens behind the scenes:

Creates a passwordless SecretStore (perfect for test automation)
Sets up an ADTestEnvironment vault with a default password
Stores all service account credentials with rich metadata
Gives you clean retrieval functions

Want more control? Customize everything:

New-ADTestEnvironment -UseSecretStore -VaultName "MyTestVault" -VaultPassword "SuperSecure123" -GlobalVault

Getting Your Passwords Back (The Right Way)

I've added Get-ADTestPasswordFromVault with a couple modes of operation:

1. Get the Full Secret Details

Get-ADTestPasswordFromVault -ServiceAccountName "svc-webapp"

Returns structured metadata about the secret:

SecretName     : svc-webapp-20250805-151516
ServiceAccount : svc-webapp
CreatedDate    : 2025-08-05 15:15:13
StoredDate     : 2025-08-05 15:15:17
Description    : Service account for corporate web applications and API services
CorrelationId  : 99ff0ebe-78d2-4741-96e7-6b6a7bcfda5a
Source         : ADTestEnvironment
IsExpired      : False

2. Get a SecureString (The Preferred Way)

$password = Get-ADTestPasswordFromVault -ServiceAccountName "svc-erpapp"
# Returns: System.Security.SecureString

3. Get Plain Text (When You Must)

Get-ADTestPasswordFromVault -ServiceAccountName "svc-erpapp" -AsPlainText
# WARNING: Returning password as plain text - ensure secure handling
# P]E]*WzCg0z!t7X,

Pro tip: You can also retrieve by the full secret name if you prefer that workflow.

The Security Sweet Spot for Test Environments

I've made some pragmatic choices that balance security with usability:

✅ What's Secure:

All passwords encrypted at rest using AES-GCM
Vault-level password protection
No credentials in log files or command history
Structured metadata for audit trails

⚡ What's Practical:

Passwordless SecretStore (eliminates automation friction)
Default vault password ADTestEnvironmentPassword (change it!)
Plain text retrieval option (for legacy integrations)

🔧 What's Customizable:

Vault names and passwords
Global vs. user-scoped storage
All security defaults can be overridden

This isn't production-grade security, but it's infinitely better than text files and teaches good patterns.

Why This Actually Matters

"It's just a test environment" is how bad security habits start. Here's why doing this right pays off:

Muscle Memory: Developers who practice secure patterns in test environments write more secure production code.

Easy Promotion: Test scripts that already use secure credential management transition to production without rewrites.

Compliance: Many organizations require encrypted credential storage even in test environments.

Debugging: When your test environment mirrors production security patterns, you catch integration issues early.

Team Training: New developers learn the right way to handle credentials from day one.

Try It Right Now

Ready to ditch those plain text password files? Update the module and run:

New-ADTestEnvironment -UseSecretStore

Your service accounts get created, test data gets populated, and credentials get stored securely. Same great test environment, zero plain text passwords.

Want to see what's in your vault?

Get-ADTestPasswordFromVault -ServiceAccountName "svc-webapp"

That's it. You're now using encrypted credential storage like a responsible human being.

Clean Up Made Easy

I didn't forget about cleanup! The Remove-ADTestEnvironment function now handles SecretStore destruction automatically.

The Smart Cleanup Flow:

Detects SecretStore usage - Checks if the current environment has the default vault, or was supplied via -VaultName
Destroys the vault - Completely removes the vault from the SecretStore
Confirms completion - "SecretVault 'ADTestEnvironment' successfully removed"

Example:

Remove-ADTestEnvironment
# Removes AD objects, test data, AND the associated SecretVault
# No orphaned credentials left behind

With Switches:

Remove-ADTestEnvironment -VaultName "YourCustomVault" -GlobalVault -Force
# Nukes everything it did originally + the global vault you've named with no prompts

No more orphaned vaults cluttering up your SecretStore. When you're done testing, everything gets cleaned up properly.

What's Coming Next

I'm already thinking about the next improvements:

Azure Key Vault integration for cloud-native test environments
Credman Key Vault integration when a password just isn't good enough
Vault export/import for sharing configurations across teams
Integration with popular CI/CD platforms

Got ideas? Drop them in the comments.

The updated module is available on GitHub and the PowerShell Gallery. Try it out and let me know if SecretStore integration makes your AD testing workflow better.