Security Audit

Security Audit

Identify security vulnerabilities in the codebase. This skill finds problems; for remediation, use the /security-hardening skill.

Instructions

Perform a systematic security audit following these steps:

1. Automated Dependency Scan Run the appropriate audit command for the detected ecosystem as the first step:

   • Node.js: npm audit or yarn audit
   • Python: pip-audit or safety check
   • Go: govulncheck ./...
   • Rust: cargo audit
   • Ruby: bundle audit check
   • Java: mvn dependency-check:check or gradle dependencyCheckAnalyze

   Record all findings with their CVE IDs before proceeding.

2. Environment and Stack Assessment

   • Identify the technology stack, framework, and runtime
   • Check for existing security tools and configurations (linters, SAST, WAF)
   • Review deployment and infrastructure setup

3. Authentication and Authorization

   • Review authentication mechanisms (OAuth, JWT, sessions, API keys)
   • Check session management: expiry, rotation, invalidation
   • Verify authorization controls: role checks, resource-level permissions
   • Examine password policies and storage (bcrypt, argon2 vs. plaintext/MD5)

4. Input Validation and Injection

   • Check all user input paths for validation and sanitization
   • Look for SQL injection: raw queries, string concatenation with user input
   • Identify XSS vectors: unescaped output, unsafe innerHTML usage, template injection
   • Review file upload handling: type validation, size limits, storage location

5. Data Protection

   • Identify sensitive data (PII, credentials, financial data) and how it flows through the system
   • Check encryption at rest (database, file storage) and in transit (TLS configuration)
   • Review data masking in logs, error messages, and API responses
   • Verify secure protocols: TLS 1.2+, no mixed content

6. Secrets Management

   • Scan for hardcoded secrets, API keys, and passwords in source code
   • Check .env files, config files, and CI/CD variables for exposed secrets
   • Verify secrets are loaded from a vault or environment, not committed to the repo
   • Check .gitignore for proper exclusion of sensitive files

7. Error Handling and Logging

   • Review error messages for information disclosure (stack traces, DB schemas, internal paths)
   • Check that sensitive data is never logged (tokens, passwords, PII)
   • Verify security events are logged (failed logins, permission denials, input validation failures)

8. Infrastructure Security

   • Review container security: base image, running as non-root, no secrets in layers
   • Check CI/CD pipeline: secret injection, artifact signing, dependency pinning
   • Examine cloud permissions: least-privilege IAM, public bucket/storage exposure
   • Review network configuration: open ports, security groups, firewall rules

9. Security Headers and CORS

   • Check HTTP security headers: Strict-Transport-Security, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy
   • Review CORS configuration: overly permissive origins, credential handling
   • Verify CSP (Content Security Policy) is present and restrictive
   • Examine cookie attributes: Secure, HttpOnly, SameSite

10. Report Findings Document all findings using the severity format below. Include specific file paths and line numbers.

Output Format

Rate each finding using CVSS-aligned severity:

### [CRITICAL] Hardcoded database password in source code
**File:** `src/config/database.ts:14`
**CWE:** CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials)
**Description:** Production database password is committed in plaintext.
**Impact:** Full database access if source code is exposed.
**Remediation:** Move to environment variable or secrets manager.

### [HIGH] SQL injection in user search endpoint
**File:** `src/routes/users.ts:67`
**CWE:** CWE-89 (SQL Injection)
**Description:** User-supplied `query` parameter is concatenated directly into SQL string.
**Impact:** Attacker can read, modify, or delete arbitrary database records.
**Remediation:** Use parameterized queries or ORM query builder.

### [MEDIUM] Missing rate limiting on login endpoint
**File:** `src/routes/auth.ts:23`
**CWE:** CWE-307 (Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts)
**Description:** No rate limiting or account lockout on `/api/login`.
**Impact:** Enables brute-force password attacks.
**Remediation:** Add rate limiting middleware (e.g., express-rate-limit).

### [LOW] Verbose error messages in production
**File:** `src/middleware/error-handler.ts:8`
**CWE:** CWE-209 (Information Exposure Through Error Messages)
**Description:** Stack traces are returned in API error responses when NODE_ENV is not set.
**Impact:** Leaks internal file paths and dependency versions.
**Remediation:** Default to production mode; return generic error messages.

Severity levels:

• CRITICAL - Exploitable now with severe impact (data breach, RCE, full system compromise)
• HIGH - Exploitable with significant impact or requires minimal prerequisites
• MEDIUM - Requires specific conditions to exploit or has limited blast radius
• LOW - Informational or defense-in-depth improvement

Follow-Up

For fixing the vulnerabilities found in this audit, use the /security-hardening skill to generate remediation steps and hardened code.