Secure Development Checklist

Ensure your applications are built with security in mind.

Input Validation and Sanitization ⓘ Always validate and sanitize user inputs to prevent injection attacks like XSS and SQL injection.
Authentication and Authorization ⓘ Implement strong authentication mechanisms and verify user permissions for every action.
Secure Session Management ⓘ Use secure, randomly generated session IDs and set appropriate timeouts and secure flags (HttpOnly, Secure).
Data Encryption ⓘ Encrypt sensitive data both in transit (e.g., HTTPS) and at rest.
Error Handling and Logging ⓘ Handle errors gracefully without revealing sensitive information. Log security-relevant events.
Dependency Management ⓘ Keep all libraries and frameworks up-to-date to patch known vulnerabilities.
Secure Configuration ⓘ Ensure server and application configurations are hardened, disabling unnecessary services and features.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Protection ⓘ Implement CSRF tokens for all state-changing requests.
Security Headers ⓘ Implement security headers like CSP, HSTS, X-Content-Type-Options, etc.
Regular Security Audits ⓘ Conduct periodic security reviews, penetration testing, and code audits.