Before sharing a scan report with an AI assistant, remove credentials, internal hostnames and IP ranges, file paths, customer data in evidence snippets, and unpatched exploit detail. Share the smallest set of findings that answers your question, and only into an account your team has approved.
Why scan reports are riskier than they look
A report is a map of where you are weak. Beyond the finding text, tools often embed evidence: request and response bodies, code excerpts, environment details and full URLs. OWASP names security credentials, confidential business data and personal data as categories at risk of exposure through LLM use, and recommends sanitization.
The strip list
| Item | Why it matters | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Tokens, keys, cookies in evidence | Direct access | Remove, rotate if shared |
| Internal hostnames and IPs | Reveals network layout | Replace with placeholders |
| Absolute file paths | Reveals build and tenancy details | Trim to relative |
| Customer identifiers in responses | Personal data | Remove |
| Exploit payloads for open issues | Roadmap for attackers | Describe, do not paste |
| Container image names and registries | Reveals private infrastructure | Generalize |
| Author emails in blame data | Personal data | Remove |
Steps
- Export only the findings you need, not the whole project.
- Drop the evidence fields unless the question depends on them.
- Run a secret pattern check on the text.
- Replace remaining identifiers with consistent placeholders so the model can still follow relationships.
- Use an approved account and check its retention settings.
- Save the redacted version next to the ticket so you can reproduce what was shared.
Better questions to ask once it is clean
- Explain this finding class to a developer who has not seen it.
- Group these findings by root cause.
- Draft a remediation plan in order of effort.
- Write a plain summary for a manager.
Avoid asking it to confirm that a finding is real. That needs a person reading the code or a reproduction.
When the report should not leave your boundary
If the report concerns an unfixed, serious flaw in a customer system, or contractual terms restrict sharing, keep it inside tools you control. The cost of waiting for an internal route is smaller than the cost of leaking an open weakness.
Related: what not to paste into a consumer AI chat, checklist.
Try it yourself
Click through it at your own pace, or open it full screen.
Click through a scan result and mark every field you would remove before sharing.
Where Safeguard fits
Safeguard scans containers, code and dependencies and keeps evidence inside your workspace, so reports can be reviewed without being copied elsewhere. Free scan: https://gold.safeguard.sh/scan.
Quick check
Is a screenshot safer than text?
No. Screenshots still contain the same data, and they are harder to redact thoroughly. Check them as carefully as text.
What if I already shared an unredacted report?
Tell your security contact, rotate any credentials that appeared, and check the account's deletion options.
Sources
- OWASP GenAI, LLM02:2025 Sensitive Information Disclosure: https://genai.owasp.org/llmrisk/llm022025-sensitive-information-disclosure/
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
