Security Review Process

Security Gates & Quick Reference

Process Steps

Step 1: Input Validation Audit

• Identify all entry points (controllers, API endpoints, webhooks, console runners).
• Verify every parameter is explicitly allowlisted and type-coerced if necessary.
• Ensure instruction-like keys (e.g. prompt, instructions) in JSON payloads are discarded or neutralized.

Step 2: Injections Check

• Audit all database interactions:
  • Verify no raw SQL strings are built via string interpolation (#{}).
  • Confirm the database client's query parameterization features are used.
• Audit file and command executions:
  • Avoid dynamic shell commands via backticks, system(), or exec(). If necessary, pass arguments as separate array items.

Step 3: Secrets and Logs Check

• Read configuration from environment variables (ENV['SECRET']) or secure config vaults — never raw literals.
• Verify sensitive data (passwords, tokens, personal identifiers) is filtered/redacted from log output.

Step 4: Dependency and CVE Checks

• Scan project dependencies:

  bundle exec bundle-audit check --update

• If a vulnerability is reported, plan a safe version upgrade.

Checkpoint Pattern

Align with the user:

1. Security Vulnerability Assessment: Present concerns categorized by threat vector (e.g. SQL injection, secrets leak).
2. Mitigation Verification: Once fixes are made, demonstrate how the parameterized query or filter blocks the exploit vector.

Code Defenses Examples

1. Preventing SQL Injection

Vulnerable:

db.execute("SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = '#{params[:name]}'")

Secure:

db.execute("SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = ?", params[:name])

2. Preventing Shell Injection

Vulnerable:

system("rm -rf #{params[:path]}")

Secure:

system("rm", "-rf", params[:path])

Integration