Security Review

When reviewing code for security issues, check each category below. Reference the detailed checklist in

references/security-checklist.md

Injection Vulnerabilities

• SQL injection: Look for string concatenation in database queries
• Command injection: Check for unsanitized input passed to shell commands (

  exec

  ,

  spawn

  )
• XSS: Look for unsanitized user input rendered in HTML/templates
• Path traversal: Check for user input in file paths without sanitization

Authentication & Authorization

• Verify authentication checks on protected routes/endpoints
• Ensure authorization checks match the required access level
• Look for privilege escalation paths (e.g., user can modify other users' data)
• Check that password/token comparison uses constant-time comparison

Secrets & Credentials

• Hardcoded API keys, passwords, tokens, or connection strings
• Secrets in configuration files that might be committed
• Sensitive data in logs or error messages
• Credentials passed via URL query parameters

Input Validation

• Validate and sanitize all external input (user input, API responses, file contents)
• Check for missing or weak input validation on API endpoints
• Verify type coercion doesn't bypass validation
• Look for overly permissive CORS or CSP configurations

Data Exposure

• Sensitive data returned in API responses unnecessarily
• PII or secrets in application logs
• Information leakage in error messages (stack traces, internal paths)
• Missing data encryption for sensitive fields

Severity Levels

• 🔴 CRITICAL: Exploitable vulnerability (injection, auth bypass, exposed secrets)
• 🟠 HIGH: Potential vulnerability that needs investigation
• 🟡 MEDIUM: Security weakness or missing best practice
• 🔵 LOW: Minor security improvement suggestion