PR #1632: feat(security): block secret writes into persistent workspace memory

• Repository: NVIDIA/NemoClaw
• Author: prekshivyas
• State: closed | merged: True
• Link: https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/1632

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Summary

• Registers a before_tool_call plugin hook that blocks write/edit/apply_patch/notebook_edit tool calls to persistent memory paths when secrets are detected
• 14 high-confidence secret patterns: NVIDIA, OpenAI, Anthropic, GitHub, AWS, Slack, Discord, npm, Telegram, Google, HuggingFace tokens, private keys (PEM), authorization headers
• Protected paths: .openclaw-data/memory/, workspace/, agents/, skills/, hooks/, MEMORY.md
• Hook registration wrapped in try/catch so scanner failures cannot break plugin startup
• Non-memory paths and clean content pass through unchanged

Closes #1233

Test plan

• 21 unit tests for secret patterns (true positives, false positives, redaction, path matching)
• 9 integration tests for hook wiring (blocks secrets in memory, allows clean content, allows non-memory paths, handles missing events)
• TypeScript build passes
• All 272 plugin tests pass
• All 954 CLI tests pass
• gitleaks + detect-private-key hooks pass (test fixtures use runtime-assembled strings)
• Manual test: verify blocked write shows actionable error in agent session

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

<!-- This is an auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai -->

Summary by CodeRabbit

• New Features

  • Automatic secret scanner that blocks write-like operations to persistent memory/workspace paths when high-confidence credentials are detected, returns an actionable block reason, and logs a security warning. Matches are redacted in reports.

• Documentation

  • Added guidance describing the scanner, covered locations, and observable blocking behavior.

• Tests

  • Added tests for secret detection, memory-path checks, blocking behavior, and warning logs.

<!-- end of auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai -->

Changed files

• .agents/skills/nemoclaw-user-configure-security/references/best-practices.md (modified, +21/-0)
• .agents/skills/nemoclaw-user-overview/SKILL.md (modified, +5/-5)
• .agents/skills/nemoclaw-user-overview/references/ecosystem.md (modified, +1/-1)
• .agents/skills/nemoclaw-user-overview/references/overview.md (modified, +3/-3)
• docs/about/ecosystem.md (modified, +1/-1)
• docs/about/overview.md (modified, +5/-5)
• docs/index.md (modified, +5/-5)
• docs/security/best-practices.md (modified, +21/-0)
• nemoclaw/src/index.ts (modified, +66/-1)
• nemoclaw/src/register.test.ts (modified, +142/-0)
• nemoclaw/src/security/secret-scanner.test.ts (added, +264/-0)
• nemoclaw/src/security/secret-scanner.ts (added, +136/-0)
• scripts/nemoclaw-start.sh (modified, +12/-0)