diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 34c673f..0f1f1d6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,14 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Security
+- `EXPOSED_SECRETS` no longer echoes detected secrets in its own output. The
+  rule's `evidence` previously included the matched credential verbatim (only
+  truncated past 60 chars), so a scan report — stdout/JSON, and any artifact or
+  CI log derived from it — re-exposed the very secrets it was flagging. Findings
+  now report each match by type and length only (e.g. `OpenAI API key (29 chars,
+  redacted)`), never the value.
+
 ### Fixed
 - URL/endpoint mode no longer produces false findings (#27). Scanning a URL
   previously ran every config rule against an effectively empty config, so any
diff --git a/src/__tests__/scanner.test.ts b/src/__tests__/scanner.test.ts
index dd8e44a..12f6334 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/scanner.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/scanner.test.ts
@@ -535,6 +535,59 @@ describe('DEBUG_MODE_ENABLED rule', () => {
   });
 });
 
+// ─── EXPOSED_SECRETS rule ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe('EXPOSED_SECRETS rule', () => {
+  const SECRETS = {
+    openai: 'sk-abcdefghijklmnop1234567890',
+    aws: 'AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE',
+    github: 'ghp_abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789',
+  };
+
+  it('fires when a config string contains a recognizable secret', () => {
+    const config: ParsedMcpConfig = { rawStrings: [SECRETS.openai] };
+    const findings = runRuntimeRule(RuleId.EXPOSED_SECRETS, config);
+    expect(findings).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(findings[0].ruleId).toBe(RuleId.EXPOSED_SECRETS);
+    expect(findings[0].severity).toBe(Severity.CRITICAL);
+  });
+
+  it('never echoes the detected secret value in the finding (redacted evidence)', () => {
+    const config: ParsedMcpConfig = {
+      rawStrings: [SECRETS.openai, SECRETS.aws, SECRETS.github],
+    };
+    const findings = runRuntimeRule(RuleId.EXPOSED_SECRETS, config);
+    expect(findings).toHaveLength(1);
+
+    // The whole finding — every field — must be free of the raw credentials,
+    // since it flows into stdout/JSON/SARIF/CI logs where it would be re-exposed.
+    const serialized = JSON.stringify(findings[0]);
+    for (const secret of Object.values(SECRETS)) {
+      expect(serialized).not.toContain(secret);
+    }
+
+    // Evidence should still identify what was found: type, count, and length.
+    expect(findings[0].evidence).toContain('OpenAI API key');
+    expect(findings[0].evidence).toContain('AWS access key ID');
+    expect(findings[0].evidence).toContain('GitHub token');
+    expect(findings[0].evidence).toMatch(/redacted/i);
+  });
+
+  it('does not fire when no strings match a secret pattern', () => {
+    const config: ParsedMcpConfig = {
+      rawStrings: ['https://example.com', 'bearer', 'a normal description'],
+    };
+    const findings = runRuntimeRule(RuleId.EXPOSED_SECRETS, config);
+    expect(findings).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it('does not fire when rawStrings is absent', () => {
+    const config: ParsedMcpConfig = {};
+    const findings = runRuntimeRule(RuleId.EXPOSED_SECRETS, config);
+    expect(findings).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+});
+
 // ─── INSECURE_TRANSPORT rule ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 describe('INSECURE_TRANSPORT rule', () => {
diff --git a/src/rules/runtime-rules.ts b/src/rules/runtime-rules.ts
index 0d0c3fd..cbd6ec2 100644
--- a/src/rules/runtime-rules.ts
+++ b/src/rules/runtime-rules.ts
@@ -2,11 +2,15 @@ import { Finding, RuleId, Severity } from '../types.js';
 import { ParsedMcpConfig } from '../parser.js';
 import { Rule } from './index.js';
 
-const SECRET_PATTERNS: RegExp[] = [
-  /sk-[a-zA-Z0-9]{20,}/i,           // OpenAI API key
-  /ghp_[a-zA-Z0-9]{36}/i,            // GitHub PAT
-  /AKIA[0-9A-Z]{16}/i,               // AWS access key
-  /[Pp]assword\s*[=:]\s*\S{8,}/,     // Password assignment
+/**
+ * Named secret detectors. Each carries a human-readable `name` so a match can
+ * be reported by *type* rather than by echoing the credential itself.
+ */
+const SECRET_PATTERNS: Array<{ name: string; pattern: RegExp }> = [
+  { name: 'OpenAI API key', pattern: /sk-[a-zA-Z0-9]{20,}/i },
+  { name: 'GitHub token', pattern: /ghp_[a-zA-Z0-9]{36}/i },
+  { name: 'AWS access key ID', pattern: /AKIA[0-9A-Z]{16}/i },
+  { name: 'hardcoded password', pattern: /[Pp]assword\s*[=:]\s*\S{8,}/ },
 ];
 
 export const runtimeRules: Rule[] = [
@@ -96,12 +100,16 @@ export const runtimeRules: Rule[] = [
     title: 'Potential Secret Exposed in Configuration',
     check(config: ParsedMcpConfig): Finding[] {
       const rawStrings = config.rawStrings ?? [];
+      // Report matches by *type and length only*. This scanner exists to keep
+      // secrets out of plaintext config, so it must never echo a detected
+      // credential back into its own report (stdout, JSON, SARIF, CI logs),
+      // where it would be re-exposed and potentially stored or indexed.
       const matched: string[] = [];
 
       for (const s of rawStrings) {
-        for (const pattern of SECRET_PATTERNS) {
+        for (const { name, pattern } of SECRET_PATTERNS) {
           if (pattern.test(s)) {
-            matched.push(s.length > 60 ? s.slice(0, 57) + '...' : s);
+            matched.push(`${name} (${s.length} chars, redacted)`);
             break;
           }
         }
@@ -117,7 +125,10 @@ export const runtimeRules: Rule[] = [
               'The configuration file appears to contain one or more hardcoded secrets ' +
               '(API keys, tokens, or passwords). Secrets committed to config files can be ' +
               'extracted by anyone with access to the file.',
-            evidence: `Matched value(s): ${matched.slice(0, 3).join('; ')}`,
+            evidence:
+              `Detected ${matched.length} secret(s) — values redacted: ` +
+              matched.slice(0, 3).join('; ') +
+              (matched.length > 3 ? `; +${matched.length - 3} more` : ''),
             remediation:
               'Remove secrets from configuration files. Use environment variables, a secrets manager ' +
               '(e.g., AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault), or a .env file excluded from version control.',