diff --git a/Documentation/config/fetch.txt b/Documentation/config/fetch.txt
index 63748c02b7..e425ac0128 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/fetch.txt
+++ b/Documentation/config/fetch.txt
@@ -95,3 +95,17 @@ fetch.writeCommitGraph::
 	merge and the write may take longer. Having an updated commit-graph
 	file helps performance of many Git commands, including `git merge-base`,
 	`git push -f`, and `git log --graph`. Defaults to false.
+
+fetch.credentialsInUrl::
+	A URL can contain plaintext credentials in the form
+	`<protocol>://<user>:<password>@<domain>/<path>`. Using such URLs
+	is not recommended as it exposes the password in multiple ways,
+	including Git storing the URL as plaintext in the repository config.
+	The `fetch.credentialsInUrl` option provides instruction for how Git
+	should react to seeing such a URL, with these values:
++
+* `allow` (default): Git will proceed with its activity without warning.
+* `warn`: Git will write a warning message to `stderr` when parsing a URL
+  with a plaintext credential.
+* `die`: Git will write a failure message to `stderr` when parsing a URL
+  with a plaintext credential.
diff --git a/remote.c b/remote.c
index a6d8ec6c1a..6247fd4fae 100644
--- a/remote.c
+++ b/remote.c
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "config.h"
 #include "remote.h"
+#include "urlmatch.h"
 #include "refs.h"
 #include "refspec.h"
 #include "object-store.h"
@@ -613,6 +614,50 @@ const char *remote_ref_for_branch(struct branch *branch, int for_push)
 	return NULL;
 }
 
+static void validate_remote_url(struct remote *remote)
+{
+	int i;
+	const char *value;
+	struct strbuf redacted = STRBUF_INIT;
+	int warn_not_die;
+
+	if (git_config_get_string_tmp("fetch.credentialsinurl", &value))
+		return;
+
+	if (!strcmp("warn", value))
+		warn_not_die = 1;
+	else if (!strcmp("die", value))
+		warn_not_die = 0;
+	else if (!strcmp("allow", value))
+		return;
+	else
+		die(_("unrecognized value fetch.credentialsInURL: '%s'"), value);
+
+	for (i = 0; i < remote->url_nr; i++) {
+		struct url_info url_info = { 0 };
+
+		if (!url_normalize(remote->url[i], &url_info) ||
+		    !url_info.passwd_off)
+			goto loop_cleanup;
+
+		strbuf_reset(&redacted);
+		strbuf_add(&redacted, url_info.url, url_info.passwd_off);
+		strbuf_addstr(&redacted, "<redacted>");
+		strbuf_addstr(&redacted,
+			      url_info.url + url_info.passwd_off + url_info.passwd_len);
+
+		if (warn_not_die)
+			warning(_("URL '%s' uses plaintext credentials"), redacted.buf);
+		else
+			die(_("URL '%s' uses plaintext credentials"), redacted.buf);
+
+loop_cleanup:
+		free(url_info.url);
+	}
+
+	strbuf_release(&redacted);
+}
+
 static struct remote *
 remotes_remote_get_1(struct remote_state *remote_state, const char *name,
 		     const char *(*get_default)(struct remote_state *,
@@ -638,6 +683,9 @@ remotes_remote_get_1(struct remote_state *remote_state, const char *name,
 		add_url_alias(remote_state, ret, name);
 	if (!valid_remote(ret))
 		return NULL;
+
+	validate_remote_url(ret);
+
 	return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/t/t5516-fetch-push.sh b/t/t5516-fetch-push.sh
index 2f04cf9a1c..a67acc3263 100755
--- a/t/t5516-fetch-push.sh
+++ b/t/t5516-fetch-push.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ This test checks the following functionality:
 * --porcelain output format
 * hiderefs
 * reflogs
+* URL validation
 '
 
 GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME=main
@@ -1809,4 +1810,35 @@ test_expect_success 'refuse fetch to current branch of bare repository worktree'
 	git -C bare.git fetch -u .. HEAD:wt
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'fetch warns or fails when using username:password' '
+	message="URL '\''https://username:<redacted>@localhost/'\'' uses plaintext credentials" &&
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=allow fetch https://username:password@localhost 2>err &&
+	! grep "$message" err &&
+
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=warn fetch https://username:password@localhost 2>err &&
+	grep "warning: $message" err >warnings &&
+	test_line_count = 3 warnings &&
+
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=die fetch https://username:password@localhost 2>err &&
+	grep "fatal: $message" err >warnings &&
+	test_line_count = 1 warnings &&
+
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=die fetch https://username:@localhost 2>err &&
+	grep "fatal: $message" err >warnings &&
+	test_line_count = 1 warnings
+'
+
+
+test_expect_success 'push warns or fails when using username:password' '
+	message="URL '\''https://username:<redacted>@localhost/'\'' uses plaintext credentials" &&
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=allow push https://username:password@localhost 2>err &&
+	! grep "$message" err &&
+
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=warn push https://username:password@localhost 2>err &&
+	grep "warning: $message" err >warnings &&
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=die push https://username:password@localhost 2>err &&
+	grep "fatal: $message" err >warnings &&
+	test_line_count = 1 warnings
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t5601-clone.sh b/t/t5601-clone.sh
index 83c24fc97a..cf0a3ef3f4 100755
--- a/t/t5601-clone.sh
+++ b/t/t5601-clone.sh
@@ -71,6 +71,29 @@ test_expect_success 'clone respects GIT_WORK_TREE' '
 
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'clone warns or fails when using username:password' '
+	message="URL '\''https://username:<redacted>@localhost/'\'' uses plaintext credentials" &&
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=allow clone https://username:password@localhost attempt1 2>err &&
+	! grep "$message" err &&
+
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=warn clone https://username:password@localhost attempt2 2>err &&
+	grep "warning: $message" err >warnings &&
+	test_line_count = 2 warnings &&
+
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=die clone https://username:password@localhost attempt3 2>err &&
+	grep "fatal: $message" err >warnings &&
+	test_line_count = 1 warnings &&
+
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=die clone https://username:@localhost attempt3 2>err &&
+	grep "fatal: $message" err >warnings &&
+	test_line_count = 1 warnings
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'clone does not detect username:password when it is https://username@domain:port/' '
+	test_must_fail git -c fetch.credentialsInUrl=warn clone https://username@localhost:8080 attempt3 2>err &&
+	! grep "uses plaintext credentials" err
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'clone from hooks' '
 
 	test_create_repo r0 &&