AppSec Guideline

Tech Stack

• Rate Limiting: Upstash Redis
• Framework: Next.js
• Platform: Vercel

Non-Negotiables

• OWASP Top 10:2025 vulnerabilities must be addressed
• CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options headers must be present
• CSRF protection on state-changing requests
• No plaintext passwords in logs, returns, storage, or telemetry
• MFA required for Admin/SUPER_ADMIN roles
• Required configuration must fail-fast at build/startup if missing
• Secrets must not be hardcoded or committed

Context

Security isn't a feature — it's a foundational property. A single vulnerability can compromise everything else. The review should think like an attacker: where are the weak points? What would I exploit?

Beyond fixing vulnerabilities, consider the security architecture holistically. Is defense-in-depth implemented? Are there single points of failure? Would you trust this system with your own data?

Driving Questions

• What would an attacker target first?
• Where is rate limiting missing or insufficient?
• What attack vectors exist in authentication flows?
• How are secrets managed and what's the rotation strategy?
• What happens when a secret is compromised — is incident response exercisable?
• Where does "security by obscurity" substitute for real controls?