Credential Pools

Credential pools are a privileged access security mechanism that allow organizations to centrally store and manage groups of shared credentials, and to assign them dynamically when access is required. Rather than issuing permanent credentials to individuals, credential pools draw from a secure repository, often implemented as a secret tokens vault, to provide temporary access when needed. This approach supports core privileged access management principles by reducing credential sprawl, limiting exposure of high-risk accounts, and ensuring credentials are never directly known or handled by end users. Credential pools are commonly used in environments where multiple users or systems must access the same privileged endpoint without sharing static usernames and passwords.

Within privileged access security (PAS), credential pools play an important role in enforcing secure credential workflows and reducing the operational burden of managing privileged accounts. Credentials are vaulted, rotated, and centrally monitored, aligning with established identity and access management practices, such as those outlined by universities and enterprises seeking to protect sensitive data and service accounts. When a user or automated process initiates a session, the system retrieves an available credential from the pool, injects it into the session, and returns it to the vault afterward. This model enables access controls for third parties, internal administrators, and service accounts, while maintaining strict oversight and auditability.

Credential pools are particularly valuable in scenarios that require concurrent access to the same system, such as vendor support, managed service providers, or shared infrastructure administration. By enabling secure credential assignment on demand, organizations avoid the risks associated with shared passwords while still supporting operational efficiency. Because credentials are issued only for the duration of a session and scoped to specific systems or functions, credential pools naturally reinforce a least privileged access model. This ensures users receive only the level of access required, for only as long as it is needed, significantly reducing the blast radius of a potential compromise.

Imprivata addresses these requirements with Imprivata Vendor Privileged Access Management (VPAM) capabilities, which include credential pools built into the PAS Secrets Vault. Originally developed as a SecureLink feature, credential pools were rebuilt to support modern privileged access workflows, allowing multiple users to connect to an endpoint simultaneously without exposing credentials. By extracting an available secret from the pool at launch time and returning it after use, Imprivata VPAM enables secure credential workflows that scale to complex third-party access scenarios. This approach helps organizations protect privileged credentials, simplify vendor access, and maintain strong security controls without disrupting productivity.