OWASP Top 10 Security

Prevent common security vulnerabilities in web applications.

Guardrails

• Tie each security recommendation to a concrete asset, entry point, trust boundary, or OWASP risk.
• Do not add broad frameworks or policy layers when a focused validation, authorization, or configuration fix is enough.
• Keep changes surgical. Mention unrelated vulnerabilities separately instead of fixing them opportunistically.
• Verify with a test, exploit repro, config inspection, or source reference.

OWASP Top 10 (2021)

A01: Broken Access Control

Prevention Patterns

// ❌ BAD: No authorization check
app.get('/api/users/:id', async (req, res) => {
  const user = await db.users.findById(req.params.id);
  res.json(user);
});

// ✅ GOOD: Verify ownership
app.get('/api/users/:id', authenticate, async (req, res) => {
  const userId = req.params.id;
  
  // Users can only access their own data
  if (req.user.id !== userId && req.user.role !== 'admin') {
    return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Forbidden' });
  }
  
  const user = await db.users.findById(userId);
  res.json(user);
});

// ✅ GOOD: Role-based access control (RBAC)
const requireRole = (...roles: string[]) => {
  return (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
    if (!roles.includes(req.user?.role)) {
      return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Insufficient permissions' });
    }
    next();
  };
};

app.delete('/api/posts/:id', authenticate, requireRole('admin', 'moderator'), deletePost);

Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR)

// ❌ BAD: Predictable IDs exposed
GET /api/invoices/1001
GET /api/invoices/1002  // Can enumerate others' invoices

// ✅ GOOD: Use UUIDs + ownership check
app.get('/api/invoices/:id', authenticate, async (req, res) => {
  const invoice = await db.invoices.findOne({
    id: req.params.id,
    userId: req.user.id,  // Enforce ownership
  });
  
  if (!invoice) {
    return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Not found' });
  }
  
  res.json(invoice);
});

A02: Cryptographic Failures

Password Hashing

import bcrypt from 'bcrypt';
import crypto from 'crypto';

// ✅ Hash passwords with bcrypt
const SALT_ROUNDS = 12;

async function hashPassword(password: string): Promise<string> {
  return bcrypt.hash(password, SALT_ROUNDS);
}

async function verifyPassword(password: string, hash: string): Promise<boolean> {
  return bcrypt.compare(password, hash);
}

// ✅ Secure token generation
function generateSecureToken(length = 32): string {
  return crypto.randomBytes(length).toString('hex');
}

// ✅ Encrypt sensitive data
const ALGORITHM = 'aes-256-gcm';
const KEY = crypto.scryptSync(process.env.ENCRYPTION_KEY!, 'salt', 32);

function encrypt(text: string): { encrypted: string; iv: string; tag: string } {
  const iv = crypto.randomBytes(16);
  const cipher = crypto.createCipheriv(ALGORITHM, KEY, iv);
  
  let encrypted = cipher.update(text, 'utf8', 'hex');
  encrypted += cipher.final('hex');
  
  return {
    encrypted,
    iv: iv.toString('hex'),
    tag: cipher.getAuthTag().toString('hex'),
  };
}

function decrypt(encrypted: string, iv: string, tag: string): string {
  const decipher = crypto.createDecipheriv(ALGORITHM, KEY, Buffer.from(iv, 'hex'));
  decipher.setAuthTag(Buffer.from(tag, 'hex'));
  
  let decrypted = decipher.update(encrypted, 'hex', 'utf8');
  decrypted += decipher.final('utf8');
  
  return decrypted;
}

Secure Headers

import helmet from 'helmet';

app.use(helmet());
app.use(helmet.hsts({ maxAge: 31536000, includeSubDomains: true }));
app.use(helmet.contentSecurityPolicy({
  directives: {
    defaultSrc: ["'self'"],
    scriptSrc: ["'self'", "'strict-dynamic'"],
    styleSrc: ["'self'", "'unsafe-inline'"],
    imgSrc: ["'self'", 'data:', 'https:'],
    connectSrc: ["'self'"],
    fontSrc: ["'self'"],
    objectSrc: ["'none'"],
    frameAncestors: ["'none'"],
  },
}));

A03: Injection

SQL Injection Prevention

// ❌ BAD: String concatenation
const query = `SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '${email}'`;

// ✅ GOOD: Parameterized queries
// With Prisma
const user = await prisma.user.findUnique({ where: { email } });

// With raw SQL (parameterized)
const user = await db.query('SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = $1', [email]);

// With Knex
const user = await knex('users').where({ email }).first();

NoSQL Injection Prevention

// ❌ BAD: Direct user input in query
const user = await User.findOne({ username: req.body.username });
// Attack: { "username": { "$gt": "" } } returns first user

// ✅ GOOD: Validate input type
import { z } from 'zod';

const loginSchema = z.object({
  username: z.string().min(3).max(50),
  password: z.string().min(8),
});

app.post('/login', async (req, res) => {
  const { username, password } = loginSchema.parse(req.body);
  const user = await User.findOne({ username: String(username) });
  // ...
});

Command Injection Prevention

import { execFile } from 'child_process';

// ❌ BAD: Shell injection
exec(`convert ${userInput} output.png`);  // userInput: "; rm -rf /"

// ✅ GOOD: Use execFile with array args
execFile('convert', [userInput, 'output.png'], (error, stdout) => {
  // Safe - arguments are not shell-interpreted
});

// ✅ GOOD: Validate and sanitize
const allowedFormats = ['png', 'jpg', 'gif'];
if (!allowedFormats.includes(format)) {
  throw new Error('Invalid format');
}

A04: Insecure Design

Rate Limiting

import rateLimit from 'express-rate-limit';

// General rate limit
const limiter = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
  max: 100, // 100 requests per window
  standardHeaders: true,
  legacyHeaders: false,
});

// Strict limit for auth endpoints
const authLimiter = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 60 * 60 * 1000, // 1 hour
  max: 5, // 5 failed attempts
  skipSuccessfulRequests: true,
});

app.use('/api/', limiter);
app.use('/api/auth/', authLimiter);

Input Validation

import { z } from 'zod';

const userSchema = z.object({
  email: z.string().email(),
  password: z.string()
    .min(8)
    .regex(/[A-Z]/, 'Must contain uppercase')
    .regex(/[a-z]/, 'Must contain lowercase')
    .regex(/[0-9]/, 'Must contain number')
    .regex(/[^A-Za-z0-9]/, 'Must contain special character'),
  age: z.number().int().min(13).max(120),
  role: z.enum(['user', 'admin']).default('user'),
});

app.post('/api/users', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const data = userSchema.parse(req.body);
    // Validated data is safe to use
  } catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof z.ZodError) {
      return res.status(400).json({ errors: error.errors });
    }
    throw error;
  }
});

A05: Security Misconfiguration

Environment Configuration

// ✅ Never expose stack traces in production
app.use((err: Error, req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
  console.error(err.stack); // Log for debugging
  
  res.status(500).json({
    error: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' 
      ? 'Internal server error' 
      : err.message,
  });
});

// ✅ Disable sensitive headers
app.disable('x-powered-by');

// ✅ Secure cookie configuration
app.use(session({
  secret: process.env.SESSION_SECRET!,
  cookie: {
    secure: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production',
    httpOnly: true,
    sameSite: 'strict',
    maxAge: 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000, // 24 hours
  },
  resave: false,
  saveUninitialized: false,
}));

A06: Vulnerable Components

Dependency Scanning

# Check for vulnerabilities
npm audit
npm audit fix

# Use Snyk for deeper scanning
npx snyk test
npx snyk monitor

# Keep dependencies updated
npx npm-check-updates -u

// package.json - Use exact versions or ranges
{
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.18.0",  // Minor updates OK
    "lodash": "4.17.21"    // Exact version
  },
  "overrides": {
    "vulnerable-package": "^2.0.0"  // Force safe version
  }
}

A07: Authentication Failures

Secure Session Management

import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';

// ✅ JWT with short expiry + refresh tokens
function generateTokens(userId: string) {
  const accessToken = jwt.sign(
    { userId },
    process.env.JWT_SECRET!,
    { expiresIn: '15m' }  // Short-lived
  );
  
  const refreshToken = jwt.sign(
    { userId, type: 'refresh' },
    process.env.JWT_REFRESH_SECRET!,
    { expiresIn: '7d' }
  );
  
  return { accessToken, refreshToken };
}

// ✅ Secure password reset
async function initiatePasswordReset(email: string) {
  const user = await db.users.findByEmail(email);
  if (!user) return; // Don't reveal if email exists
  
  const token = crypto.randomBytes(32).toString('hex');
  const hashedToken = crypto.createHash('sha256').update(token).digest('hex');
  
  await db.passwordResets.create({
    userId: user.id,
    token: hashedToken,
    expiresAt: new Date(Date.now() + 60 * 60 * 1000), // 1 hour
  });
  
  await sendEmail(email, `Reset link: /reset?token=${token}`);
}

Multi-Factor Authentication

import { authenticator } from 'otplib';
import QRCode from 'qrcode';

// Setup TOTP
async function setupMFA(userId: string) {
  const secret = authenticator.generateSecret();
  const otpauth = authenticator.keyuri(userId, 'MyApp', secret);
  const qrCode = await QRCode.toDataURL(otpauth);
  
  await db.users.update(userId, { mfaSecret: encrypt(secret) });
  
  return { qrCode, secret };
}

// Verify TOTP
function verifyMFA(token: string, secret: string): boolean {
  return authenticator.verify({ token, secret });
}

A08: XSS Prevention

// ✅ React auto-escapes by default
const UserProfile = ({ user }) => (
  <div>{user.name}</div>  // Safe - auto-escaped
);

// ⚠️ Dangerous - avoid if possible
<div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: sanitizedHtml }} />

// ✅ Sanitize HTML if needed
import DOMPurify from 'dompurify';

const sanitizedHtml = DOMPurify.sanitize(userHtml, {
  ALLOWED_TAGS: ['b', 'i', 'em', 'strong', 'a'],
  ALLOWED_ATTR: ['href'],
});

// ✅ Content Security Policy
app.use(helmet.contentSecurityPolicy({
  directives: {
    scriptSrc: ["'self'"],  // No inline scripts
    styleSrc: ["'self'", "'unsafe-inline'"],
  },
}));

A09: Logging & Monitoring

import winston from 'winston';

const logger = winston.createLogger({
  level: 'info',
  format: winston.format.combine(
    winston.format.timestamp(),
    winston.format.json()
  ),
  transports: [
    new winston.transports.File({ filename: 'error.log', level: 'error' }),
    new winston.transports.File({ filename: 'combined.log' }),
  ],
});

// ✅ Log security events
function logSecurityEvent(event: string, details: object) {
  logger.warn({
    type: 'security',
    event,
    ...details,
    timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
  });
}

// Usage
logSecurityEvent('failed_login', { email, ip: req.ip, userAgent: req.headers['user-agent'] });
logSecurityEvent('access_denied', { userId, resource, action });
logSecurityEvent('suspicious_activity', { userId, pattern: 'rapid_requests' });

A10: SSRF Prevention

import { URL } from 'url';

// ✅ Validate URLs against allowlist
const ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['API_HOST', 'CDN_HOST'];

function isAllowedUrl(urlString: string): boolean {
  try {
    const url = new URL(urlString);
    
    // Block private IPs
    const privatePatterns = [
      /^localhost$/i,
      /^127\./,
      /^10\./,
      /^172\.(1[6-9]|2[0-9]|3[01])\./,
      /^192\.168\./,
      /^0\./,
      /^169\.254\./,  // Link-local
    ];
    
    if (privatePatterns.some(p => p.test(url.hostname))) {
      return false;
    }
    
    // Check allowlist
    return ALLOWED_HOSTS.includes(url.hostname);
  } catch {
    return false;
  }
}

app.post('/api/fetch-url', async (req, res) => {
  const { url } = req.body;
  
  if (!isAllowedUrl(url)) {
    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'URL not allowed' });
  }
  
  const response = await fetch(url);
  // ...
});

Security Checklist

## Pre-Deployment Checklist

### Authentication
- [ ] Passwords hashed with bcrypt (cost ≥ 12)
- [ ] JWT tokens have short expiry
- [ ] Session cookies are httpOnly, secure, sameSite
- [ ] Rate limiting on auth endpoints

### Authorization
- [ ] All endpoints have auth checks
- [ ] RBAC implemented correctly
- [ ] No IDOR vulnerabilities

### Input/Output
- [ ] All input validated with Zod/Joi
- [ ] SQL queries parameterized
- [ ] XSS prevented (CSP, escaping)
- [ ] File uploads validated and sandboxed

### Infrastructure
- [ ] HTTPS enforced
- [ ] Security headers configured
- [ ] Dependencies audited
- [ ] Secrets in environment variables

### Monitoring
- [ ] Security events logged
- [ ] Error monitoring enabled
- [ ] Alerts configured

Resources

• OWASP Top 10:
• OWASP Cheat Sheets:
• Node.js Security:
• Snyk:

Install: npx skills add ChristopherAlphonse/calphonse-skills --skill owasp-security