Security-Focused Reviews

Security vulnerabilities can hide in plain sight. AI can help catch common security issues that even experienced developers miss.

OWASP Top 10 Awareness

When reviewing for security, ask AI to check for the OWASP Top 10:

1. Injection - SQL, NoSQL, OS command injection
2. Broken Authentication - Weak passwords, session issues
3. Sensitive Data Exposure - Unencrypted data, leaked secrets
4. XXE - XML external entities
5. Broken Access Control - Missing auth checks
6. Security Misconfiguration - Default credentials, verbose errors
7. XSS - Cross-site scripting
8. Insecure Deserialization - Untrusted data deserialization
9. Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities
10. Insufficient Logging - Missing audit trails

Security Review Prompt

Common Security Red Flags

AI is particularly good at spotting:

• String concatenation in queries - SQL injection risk
• innerHTML with user data - XSS risk
• Missing authentication middleware - Unauthorized access
• Hardcoded secrets - API keys, passwords in code
• eval() with user input - Code injection
• Disabled security headers - CORS, CSP issues

The Security Review Checklist

Ask AI to verify:

Security Checklist:
[ ] All user input is validated and sanitized
[ ] Queries use parameterized statements
[ ] Authentication is required where needed
[ ] Authorization checks prevent IDOR
[ ] Sensitive data is not logged or exposed
[ ] Error messages don't leak system info
[ ] Dependencies are up to date

Key Takeaway

Always run a security-focused review on code that handles user input, authentication, database queries, or sensitive data. AI catches common vulnerabilities that manual review might miss.