---

name: security-review description: Security-focused code review guidelines

Security Review Guidelines

Objective

Identify security vulnerabilities in code changes before they reach production.

OWASP Top 10 Checklist

1. Injection

• SQL injection in database queries
• Command injection in system calls
• LDAP injection in directory queries
• XPath injection in XML processing

Detection:

• String concatenation in queries
• User input in command execution
• Dynamic query construction

2. Broken Authentication

• Weak password policies
• Missing session management
• Insecure credential storage
• Missing MFA where required

Detection:

• Password handling code
• Session token management
• Remember-me functionality

3. Sensitive Data Exposure

• Unencrypted sensitive data
• Weak cryptographic algorithms
• Missing TLS for data in transit
• Logging sensitive information

Detection:

• Encryption usage patterns
• Data classification handling
• Log statements with user data

4. XML External Entities (XXE)

• Unsafe XML parser configuration
• External entity processing enabled

Detection:

• XML parsing code
• SOAP/SAML handling

5. Broken Access Control

• Missing authorization checks
• IDOR vulnerabilities
• Path traversal risks
• CORS misconfigurations

Detection:

• API endpoint handlers
• File access operations
• Resource identifiers from user input

6. Security Misconfiguration

• Debug mode in production
• Default credentials
• Unnecessary features enabled
• Missing security headers

Detection:

• Configuration files
• Framework settings
• HTTP response headers

7. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

• Reflected XSS
• Stored XSS
• DOM-based XSS

Detection:

• User input rendering
• Template variable usage
• JavaScript string construction

8. Insecure Deserialization

• Untrusted data deserialization
• Missing integrity checks

Detection:

• Pickle/Marshal usage
• JSON/XML deserialization
• Object serialization

9. Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities

• Outdated dependencies
• Unpatched libraries

Detection:

• Dependency changes
• Version specifications

10. Insufficient Logging & Monitoring

• Missing security event logging
• Sensitive data in logs
• Missing audit trails

Detection:

• Authentication event handling
• Error logging patterns

Security Review Output

Copy### Security Findings

#### Critical
- [VULN-001] [Type]: [Description]
  - Location: [file:line]
  - Impact: [potential damage]
  - Remediation: [how to fix]

#### High
- [VULN-002] ...

### Security Score: [0-100]

### Recommendations
1. [Priority action]
2. [Secondary action]

Secure Coding Patterns

Input Validation

• Whitelist validation preferred
• Validate on server side
• Sanitize before use

Output Encoding

• Context-aware encoding
• Use framework functions
• Avoid raw output

Authentication

• Use established frameworks
• Implement rate limiting
• Log authentication events

Cryptography

• Use standard algorithms
• Proper key management
• Avoid custom crypto