Secure development

Secure Development

A security playbook for building things correctly the first time. The goal is secure by design: bake the right defaults into code as it's written, not bolt security on after a pentest. This file is the index — it routes you to a focused reference for whatever you're touching. Pull the specific reference(s) below into context; each is self-contained (Threats → Secure defaults → ❌/✅ code patterns → Checklist → Red flags to grep for → Tooling & CI checks).

Two questions that catch most vulnerabilities

Research across 20 categories of real-world breaches shows the same handful of root causes recur. Before writing or approving any code that touches a trust boundary, ask:

1. Is data being treated as code? Injection (SQL/NoSQL/OS/LDAP), SSTI, XSS, insecure deserialization, log injection, and LLM prompt injection are all one mistake: untrusted input concatenated into a string some interpreter later executes. Fix structurally — parameterize/bind, argv arrays (no shell), render data-only, keep untrusted text out of the instruction channel. Never "sanitize" by string-munging.
2. Am I trusting something the attacker controls? Authorization done in the UI, prices/roles read from the request body, JWT alg taken from the token, CORS Origin reflected, an LLM's output used as a security decision, "internal" DB values, archive entry names — all attacker-influenced. Re-derive every security-relevant value server-side from a verified principal, and check per-object / per-tenant / per-field authorization in the query itself.

If the answer to (1) is "yes" or to (2) is "I'm trusting it," stop and fix that first — then consult the specific reference below.

How to use this skill

1. Before building (design time): skim threat-modeling-and-secure-design.md. Ask: what's the trust boundary, what's the worst thing that happens here, who is the attacker? Pick the relevant references from the routing table below.
2. While coding: apply the Golden rules and the secure defaults from the matching reference. Treat every input crossing a trust boundary as hostile — including data from your own database, third-party APIs, and LLM output.
3. Before shipping: run the Checklist at the bottom of each reference you touched, and grep the codebase for that reference's Red flags.
4. When reviewing code or a diff: load the references matching what the change touches and audit against their checklists.
5. Building a whole project start-to-finish? Follow LIFECYCLE.md — it walks the 9 build phases (plan → publish → operate), and for each phase gives what to do, how to prevent the failure (mapped to NIST SSDF / Microsoft SDL / SLSA / OWASP), which references to open, and the exit gate before you proceed. Includes sector-specific steps (mobile signing, ML provenance, IoT secure-boot, OSS SLSA).

If a request involves handling untrusted data, identity, secrets, or money and you are unsure which reference applies — default to loading threat-modeling-and-secure-design.md and input-validation-and-output-encoding.md first.

Golden rules (always on)

1. Never trust input — validate on the server with allowlists; never rely on client-side validation. Data from your DB, partners, and LLMs is input too.
2. Parameterize, don't concatenate — prepared statements for SQL, argv arrays (no shell) for commands, never string-build queries/commands/HTML.
3. Encode on output, per context — HTML, attribute, JS, URL, SQL each need their own encoding. Let the framework auto-escape; never bypass it.
4. Enforce authorization on the server, for every request, deny-by-default — check object ownership (stops IDOR/BOLA), not just authentication.
5. Hash passwords with Argon2id/bcrypt/scrypt; encrypt with vetted AEAD libs — never MD5/SHA-1 for passwords, never roll your own crypto, use a CSPRNG.
6. No secrets in code or git — use env/secret managers, short-lived scoped tokens; rotate on leak.
7. Fail closed — on error, deny access and don't leak stack traces, queries, or internal paths to users.
8. Least privilege everywhere — DB users, IAM roles, API tokens, containers (non-root), and LLM tool access all get the minimum they need.
9. Validate redirects, outbound URLs, and file paths — stops open redirect, SSRF, and path traversal.
10. Keep dependencies patched and pinned — lockfiles, vuln scanning, and pin CI actions/base images by digest.
11. Log security events, never log secrets/PII/tokens.
12. Set the security headers — CSP, HSTS, secure cookies (HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite), correct CORS (never * with credentials).

Routing table — what are you building?

If you're working on…	Read these references
Any feature taking user input	input-validation-and-output-encoding.md, web-application-vulnerabilities.md
A web page / frontend	web-application-vulnerabilities.md (XSS), web-security-headers-and-browser-protections.md
A REST/GraphQL API	api-security.md, authorization-and-access-control.md, rate-limiting-and-abuse-prevention.md
Login / signup / sessions / SSO	authentication.md, authorization-and-access-control.md
Permissions / multi-tenant / roles	authorization-and-access-control.md
Encryption, hashing, tokens, PII at rest	cryptography-and-data-protection.md, data-privacy-and-compliance.md
A database / SQL / NoSQL / ORM / data store	database-security.md, input-validation-and-output-encoding.md
Config, API keys, credentials	secrets-management.md
File uploads / archives	input-validation-and-output-encoding.md, web-application-vulnerabilities.md
Outbound HTTP / fetch-by-URL / webhooks	web-application-vulnerabilities.md (SSRF), api-security.md
Chat / notifications / live updates	realtime-and-websocket-security.md
LLM / chatbot / agent / RAG features	ai-llm-application-security.md
Payments / checkout / quotas / balances	business-logic-and-abuse-security.md, authorization-and-access-control.md
Sending email	email-security.md
Mobile app (iOS/Android)	mobile-application-security.md
Cloud / Terraform / Docker / Kubernetes	infrastructure-cloud-and-container-security.md, secrets-management.md
Adding/updating dependencies	dependency-and-supply-chain-security.md
CI/CD pipelines	secure-sdlc-and-devsecops.md, dependency-and-supply-chain-security.md
Logging / error handling / monitoring	logging-monitoring-and-error-handling.md
Anti-abuse / bot defense / rate limits	rate-limiting-and-abuse-prevention.md
Picking patterns for a specific stack	language-and-framework-pitfalls.md
Reusing pasted / AI-generated code, integrating snippets	secure-code-reuse-and-implementation.md
Anything new, at design time	threat-modeling-and-secure-design.md

Full reference index

Foundations

• threat-modeling-and-secure-design.md — trust boundaries, STRIDE, least privilege, fail-closed, defense in depth.
• input-validation-and-output-encoding.md — the root cause of injection; validate-then-encode, parameterization.
• language-and-framework-pitfalls.md — per-stack insecure→secure patterns (Node, Python, Java, Go, PHP, Rails, .NET, React/Angular/Vue).
• secure-code-reuse-and-implementation.md — insecure copy-paste, AI-generated code & slopsquatting, wrong control implementations, integration/type-confusion bugs, dead/debug code shipped to prod.

Web & API

• web-application-vulnerabilities.md — OWASP Top 10: XSS, injection, SSRF, CSRF, IDOR, path traversal, upload, deserialization, SSTI, request smuggling, cache poisoning.
• api-security.md — OWASP API Top 10: BOLA/BFLA, mass assignment, rate limiting, REST vs GraphQL, webhooks.
• web-security-headers-and-browser-protections.md — CSP, CORS, cookies, HSTS, clickjacking, SRI, COOP/COEP.
• realtime-and-websocket-security.md — CSWSH, handshake + per-message authz, realtime DoS.

Identity & access

• authentication.md — password hashing, MFA/passkeys, sessions, JWT, OAuth2/OIDC, account recovery.
• authorization-and-access-control.md — server-side enforcement, RBAC/ABAC/ReBAC, IDOR, multi-tenancy, deny-by-default.

Data protection

• cryptography-and-data-protection.md — TLS, AEAD, key management/KMS, CSPRNG, constant-time compare, PII.
• secrets-management.md — no hardcoded secrets, vaults, rotation, leak response, CI secrets.
• data-privacy-and-compliance.md — data minimization, GDPR/CCPA duties, retention, pseudonymization.
• database-security.md — least-privilege DB accounts, never-public exposure, TLS-to-DB, encryption at rest, RLS/tenant isolation, query caps, backup security.

Abuse & logic

• rate-limiting-and-abuse-prevention.md — algorithms, keying behind proxies, fail-closed, anti-automation.
• business-logic-and-abuse-security.md — idempotency, replay, race conditions, price/quantity tampering.
• ai-llm-application-security.md — prompt injection (direct/indirect), excessive agency, insecure output handling.

Platform & delivery

• infrastructure-cloud-and-container-security.md — IAM least privilege, container hardening, K8s, IaC, IMDSv2, subdomain takeover.
• dependency-and-supply-chain-security.md — vuln scanning, lockfiles, SBOM, signing, typosquatting.
• mobile-application-security.md — secure storage, cert pinning, deep links, WebView hardening (OWASP MASVS).
• email-security.md — SPF/DKIM/DMARC, header/SMTP injection.

Operations

• logging-monitoring-and-error-handling.md — security logging, no secrets in logs, error hygiene, audit trails.
• secure-sdlc-and-devsecops.md — shift-left, SAST/DAST/SCA, pre-commit hooks, CI security gates.

Pre-ship security checklist (quick pass)

• All user/external/LLM input validated server-side; queries parameterized; output context-encoded.
• Every endpoint enforces authentication and object-level authorization (no IDOR).
• Passwords hashed with Argon2id/bcrypt; secrets out of code; TLS enforced; vetted crypto only.
• Security headers + secure cookies set; CORS not wildcard-with-credentials.
• Outbound URLs / redirects / file paths validated (SSRF, open redirect, traversal).
• Rate limiting + abuse controls on auth and expensive/sensitive endpoints.
• No secrets/PII in logs; errors fail closed without leaking internals.
• Dependencies scanned and pinned; CI tokens least-privilege.
• If it uses an LLM: untrusted output is sandboxed/sanitized; tools are least-privilege; high-impact actions need confirmation.
• Threat-modeled the feature; ran the relevant reference checklists above.
• Automated detection in place — wired the matching scanners / CI gates from each touched reference's Tooling & CI checks section (don't rely on manual review alone).

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Provenance: the reference set was researched, validated, and hardened against two deep-research passes: research/REAL-WORLD-SECURITY-RESEARCH.md — a 20-category study of real-world developer security failures and their cross-cutting root causes — and a separate 18-domain structured dataset whose durable defaults, controls, detection tools, and CI checks were folded into every reference file. The ## Real-world incidents examples were each fact-checked via web search and adversarially re-verified; any claim that could not be corroborated (or was exaggerated) was dropped, so only sourced, confirmed incidents remain.