Security Review

Evaluate your application's security posture against industry standards and validate findings through browser-based penetration testing. This review covers the attack surface that static analysis tools miss — runtime behavior, header configuration, authentication flows, and client-side vulnerabilities.

When to use

Use /security-review when:

• Before launching a new application or feature
• After adding authentication or authorization changes
• When handling sensitive data (user credentials, payment info, PII)
• Preparing for a security audit
• After a security incident to check for similar issues
• Reviewing third-party integrations

Standards Referenced

• OWASP Top 10 (2021) — Top web application security risks
• OWASP ASVS v4.0 — Application Security Verification Standard
• OWASP Session Management Cheat Sheet
• NIST 800-63B — Digital Identity Guidelines (authentication)
• CWE/SANS Top 25 — Most Dangerous Software Weaknesses
• Mozilla Observatory — HTTP security header best practices

Phase Overview

Phase 1: EDUCATE   → Security context and what we check
Phase 2: SCOPE     → Identify attack surface, auth mechanisms, data flows
Phase 3: ANALYZE   → Automated checks + browser-based penetration testing
Phase 4: REPORT    → Findings with evidence, CVE references, confidence scores
Phase 5: REMEDIATE → Fix guidance + YAML regression tests

Phase 1: Educate

Why this matters: The average cost of a data breach is $4.45M (IBM 2023). 83% of web applications have at least one critical vulnerability. Many security issues are only detectable at runtime — misconfigured headers, insecure token storage, broken access controls — which is exactly what browser-based testing catches.

This review checks your app against objective security criteria with browser-based validation. Every finding references a specific standard (OWASP, CWE, NIST).

Phase 2: Scope

Gather context

1. Auto-detect from codebase:

   • Authentication mechanism (JWT, sessions, OAuth, API keys)
   • Framework security features in use (CSRF tokens, CORS config, CSP)
   • Dependencies with known vulnerabilities (npm audit / pip audit)
   • API routes and endpoints
   • Environment variable handling
   • File upload capabilities
   • Third-party scripts and CDN usage

2. Ask the user (one at a time):

   • Target URL: Where is the app running?
   • Auth mechanism: How do users log in? (auto-detected, confirm)
   • Test credentials: Do you have test accounts I can use? (needed for authenticated testing)
   • Sensitive data: What sensitive data does the app handle? (PII, payments, health records)
   • Known concerns: Any specific areas you're worried about? (optional)

3. Map the attack surface:

   • List all user input points (forms, URL params, file uploads, WebSocket messages)
   • List all API endpoints with their auth requirements
   • List all third-party integrations
   • Identify data flow: where does sensitive data enter, process, store, and exit?

Phase 3: Analyze

Open a browser session with new_session using record_evidence: true. Run all applicable check categories.

Category A: HTTP Security Headers (HDR)

Browser validation: Use JavaScript via act to inspect document.querySelector('meta[http-equiv]') and fetch response headers via a same-origin request. Use get_browser_console_logs to check for mixed content warnings.

Category B: Authentication & Session Management (AUTH)

Browser validation: Log in via act, inspect cookies with JavaScript (document.cookie — HttpOnly cookies won't appear, which is correct). Check localStorage. Perform logout, replay requests. Attempt brute force (5 wrong passwords). Modify JWT tokens and test.

Category C: Input Validation & Injection (INJ)

Browser validation: Use act to fill form fields with test payloads. Capture page state after submission. Check for script execution, error messages, unexpected behavior. Use get_browser_console_logs for JavaScript errors that indicate injection vectors.

Important: These are non-destructive test payloads for detection only. Do not attempt actual exploitation. Alert-based XSS tests use alert(1) which is harmless.

Category D: Access Control (AC)

Browser validation: Navigate to protected pages without auth. Try accessing resources belonging to other users. Check JavaScript source for hardcoded secrets using act with JavaScript to scan script contents.

Category E: Client-Side Security (CLI)

Browser validation: Use JavaScript via act to enumerate localStorage keys, check script tags for SRI, list all network requests to external domains. Use get_browser_console_logs to check for leaked data.

Category F: Dependency & Supply Chain (DEP)

Validation: Run dependency audit commands. Cross-reference with codebase scan from Phase 2.

Phase 4: Report

Generate a structured report saved to shiplight/reports/security-review-{date}.md:

# Security Review Report
**Date:** {date}
**URL:** {url}
**Auth mechanism:** {type}
**Attack surface:** {summary}

## Overall Score: {X}/10 | Confidence: {X}%

## Score Breakdown
| Category | Score | Findings |
|----------|-------|----------|
| HTTP Headers (HDR) | 6/10 | 1 critical, 2 high |
| Auth & Sessions (AUTH) | 4/10 | 2 critical, 1 high |
| Input Validation (INJ) | 7/10 | 1 high, 2 medium |
| Access Control (AC) | 8/10 | 1 medium |
| Client-Side (CLI) | 5/10 | 1 critical, 1 high |
| Dependencies (DEP) | 9/10 | 1 low |

## Findings

### CRITICAL

#### AUTH-01: JWT stored in localStorage — XSS leads to full account takeover
- **Standard:** OWASP ASVS 3.3.2 / CWE-922
- **Finding:** Access token stored in `localStorage` under key `auth_token`, accessible to any XSS payload
- **Evidence:** [screenshot of Application > Storage showing JWT]
- **Attack scenario:** Any XSS vulnerability (even via third-party script) can exfiltrate all user tokens
- **CVSS estimate:** 8.1 (High)
- **Confidence:** 95%

...

Confidence Scoring

• 90-100%: Exploited and verified in browser (e.g., XSS payload executed, unauthorized access confirmed)
• 70-89%: Strong evidence from inspection (e.g., missing header confirmed, insecure cookie flags observed)
• 50-69%: Code-level evidence, not fully validated at runtime
• Below 50%: Don't report — too speculative

Phase 5: Remediate

For each finding, provide:

1. Fix guidance

#### AUTH-01: JWT stored in localStorage
**Risk:** Any XSS → full account takeover
**File:** src/lib/auth.ts:47
**Current:** `localStorage.setItem('auth_token', jwt)`
**Fix:** Move to HttpOnly cookie set by the server
- Server: `Set-Cookie: token=<jwt>; HttpOnly; Secure; SameSite=Strict; Path=/`
- Client: Remove all localStorage token operations
- API calls: Cookies sent automatically (remove Authorization header)
**Migration steps:**
1. Add cookie-setting endpoint on server
2. Update API middleware to read from cookie
3. Remove client-side token storage
4. Update CORS to allow credentials

2. YAML regression test

- name: auth-01-no-tokens-in-localstorage
  description: Verify authentication tokens are not stored in localStorage
  severity: critical
  standard: OWASP-ASVS-3.3.2
  steps:
    - URL: /login
    - intent: Enter test username
      action: fill
      locator: "getByLabel('Email')"
      value: "test@example.com"
    - intent: Enter test password
      action: fill
      locator: "getByLabel('Password')"
      value: "testpass123"
    - intent: Click login button
      action: click
      locator: "getByRole('button', { name: 'Sign in' })"
    - WAIT_UNTIL: User is logged in and dashboard is visible
      timeout_seconds: 15
    - description: Assert no auth tokens are stored in localStorage
      js: |
        const keys = Object.keys(localStorage);
        const tokenKeys = keys.filter(k =>
          /token|jwt|auth|session|access/i.test(k)
        );
        if (tokenKeys.length > 0) {
          throw new Error(
            `Auth tokens found in localStorage: ${tokenKeys.join(', ')}`
          );
        }
    - VERIFY: No authentication tokens are stored in browser localStorage

Save all YAML tests to shiplight/tests/security-review.test.yaml.

Penetration Test Depth Levels

• --quick: Headers (HDR) + Cookie flags (AUTH-02/03/04) + localStorage check (AUTH-01) + dependency audit (DEP-01). ~2 minutes.
• default: All categories, standard payloads. ~10 minutes.
• --thorough: All categories + extended injection payloads + IDOR enumeration + brute force testing + full third-party script analysis. ~20-30 minutes.

Tips

• Always use test credentials, never production credentials
• XSS test payloads are non-destructive (alert(1)) — safe for staging environments
• For authenticated testing, save the session with save_storage_state after login
• Run npm audit before the browser-based review to catch known CVEs early
• Use get_browser_console_logs — many security issues produce console warnings
• Close the session with close_session and use generate_html_report for evidence