Security Testing

Security Testing

Quick Security Checks:

• Access control → Test horizontal/vertical privilege escalation
• Crypto → Verify password hashing, HTTPS, no sensitive data exposed
• Injection → Test SQL injection, XSS, command injection
• Auth → Test weak passwords, session fixation, MFA enforcement
• Config → Check error messages don't leak info

Critical Success Factors:

• Think like an attacker, build like a defender
• Security is built in, not added at the end
• Test continuously in CI/CD, not just before release

Quick Reference Card

When to Use

• Security audits and penetration testing
• Testing authentication/authorization
• Validating input sanitization
• Reviewing security configuration

OWASP Top 10 (2021)

Tools

Agent Coordination

• qe-security-scanner: Multi-layer SAST/DAST scanning
• qe-api-contract-validator: API security testing
• qe-quality-analyzer: Security code review

Key Vulnerability Tests

1. Broken Access Control

// Horizontal escalation - User A accessing User B's data
test('user cannot access another user's order', async () => {
  const userAToken = await login('userA');
  const userBOrder = await createOrder('userB');

  const response = await api.get(`/orders/${userBOrder.id}`, {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${userAToken}` }
  });
  expect(response.status).toBe(403);
});

// Vertical escalation - Regular user accessing admin
test('regular user cannot access admin', async () => {
  const userToken = await login('regularUser');
  expect((await api.get('/admin/users', {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${userToken}` }
  })).status).toBe(403);
});

2. Injection Attacks

// SQL Injection
test('prevents SQL injection', async () => {
  const malicious = "' OR '1'='1";
  const response = await api.get(`/products?search=${malicious}`);
  expect(response.body.length).toBeLessThan(100); // Not all products
});

// XSS
test('sanitizes HTML output', async () => {
  const xss = '<script>alert("XSS")</script>';
  await api.post('/comments', { text: xss });

  const html = (await api.get('/comments')).body;
  expect(html).toContain('&lt;script&gt;');
  expect(html).not.toContain('<script>');
});

3. Cryptographic Failures

test('passwords are hashed', async () => {
  await db.users.create({ email: 'test@example.com', password: 'MyPassword123' });
  const user = await db.users.findByEmail('test@example.com');

  expect(user.password).not.toBe('MyPassword123');
  expect(user.password).toMatch(/^\$2[aby]\$\d{2}\$/); // bcrypt
});

test('no sensitive data in API response', async () => {
  const response = await api.get('/users/me');
  expect(response.body).not.toHaveProperty('password');
  expect(response.body).not.toHaveProperty('ssn');
});

4. Security Misconfiguration

test('errors don't leak sensitive info', async () => {
  const response = await api.post('/login', { email: 'nonexistent@test.com', password: 'wrong' });
  expect(response.body.error).toBe('Invalid credentials'); // Generic message
});

test('sensitive endpoints not exposed', async () => {
  const endpoints = ['/debug', '/.env', '/.git', '/admin'];
  for (let ep of endpoints) {
    expect((await fetch(`https://example.com${ep}`)).status).not.toBe(200);
  }
});

5. Rate Limiting

test('rate limiting prevents brute force', async () => {
  const responses = [];
  for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
    responses.push(await api.post('/login', { email: 'test@example.com', password: 'wrong' }));
  }
  expect(responses.filter(r => r.status === 429).length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
});

Security Checklist

Authentication

• Strong password requirements (12+ chars)
• Password hashing (bcrypt, scrypt, Argon2)
• MFA for sensitive operations
• Account lockout after failed attempts
• Session ID changes after login
• Session timeout

Authorization

• Check authorization on every request
• Least privilege principle
• No horizontal escalation
• No vertical escalation

Data Protection

• HTTPS everywhere
• Encrypted at rest
• Secrets not in code/logs
• PII compliance (GDPR)

Input Validation

• Server-side validation
• Parameterized queries (no SQL injection)
• Output encoding (no XSS)
• Rate limiting

CI/CD Integration

# GitHub Actions
security-checks:
  steps:
    - name: Dependency audit
      run: npm audit --audit-level=high

    - name: SAST scan
      run: npm run sast

    - name: Secret scan
      uses: trufflesecurity/trufflehog@main

    - name: DAST scan
      if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
      run: docker run owasp/zap2docker-stable zap-baseline.py -t https://staging.example.com

Pre-commit hooks:

#!/bin/sh
git-secrets --scan
npm run lint:security

Agent-Assisted Security Testing

// Comprehensive multi-layer scan
await Task("Security Scan", {
  target: 'src/',
  layers: { sast: true, dast: true, dependencies: true, secrets: true },
  severity: ['critical', 'high', 'medium']
}, "qe-security-scanner");

// OWASP Top 10 testing
await Task("OWASP Scan", {
  categories: ['broken-access-control', 'injection', 'cryptographic-failures'],
  depth: 'comprehensive'
}, "qe-security-scanner");

// Validate fix
await Task("Validate Fix", {
  vulnerability: 'CVE-2024-12345',
  expectedResolution: 'upgrade package to v2.0.0',
  retestAfterFix: true
}, "qe-security-scanner");

Agent Coordination Hints

Memory Namespace

aqe/security/
├── scans/*           - Scan results
├── vulnerabilities/* - Found vulnerabilities
├── fixes/*           - Remediation tracking
└── compliance/*      - Compliance status

Fleet Coordination

const securityFleet = await FleetManager.coordinate({
  strategy: 'security-testing',
  agents: [
    'qe-security-scanner',
    'qe-api-contract-validator',
    'qe-quality-analyzer',
    'qe-deployment-readiness'
  ],
  topology: 'parallel'
});

Common Mistakes

❌ Security by Obscurity

Hiding admin at /super-secret-admin → Use proper auth

❌ Client-Side Validation Only

JavaScript validation can be bypassed → Always validate server-side

❌ Trusting User Input

Assuming input is safe → Sanitize, validate, escape all input

❌ Hardcoded Secrets

API keys in code → Environment variables, secret management

Related Skills

• agentic-quality-engineering - Security with agents
• api-testing-patterns - API security testing
• compliance-testing - GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2

Remember

Think like an attacker: What would you try to break? Test that. Build like a defender: Assume input is malicious until proven otherwise. Test continuously: Security testing is ongoing, not one-time.

With Agents: Agents automate vulnerability scanning, track remediation, and validate fixes. Use agents to maintain security posture at scale.