arch-security-review

name	arch-security-review
description	[Architecture] Use when reviewing code for security vulnerabilities, implementing authorization, or ensuring data protection. Use when this capability is needed.

[IMPORTANT] Use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting — including tasks for each file read. This prevents context loss from long files. For simple tasks, AI MUST ATTENTION ask user whether to skip.

Evidence-Based Reasoning — Speculation is FORBIDDEN. Every claim needs proof.

1. Cite file:line, grep results, or framework docs for EVERY claim
2. Declare confidence: >80% act freely, 60-80% verify first, <60% DO NOT recommend
3. Cross-service validation required for architectural changes
4. "I don't have enough evidence" is valid and expected output

BLOCKED until: - [ ] Evidence file path (file:line) - [ ] Grep search performed - [ ] 3+ similar patterns found - [ ] Confidence level stated

Forbidden without proof: "obviously", "I think", "should be", "probably", "this is because" If incomplete → output: "Insufficient evidence. Verified: [...]. Not verified: [...]."

• docs/project-reference/domain-entities-reference.md — Domain entity catalog, relationships, cross-service sync (read when task involves business entities/models) (content auto-injected by hook — check for [Injected: ...] header before reading)

Critical Purpose: Ensure quality — no flaws, no bugs, no missing updates, no stale content. Verify both code AND documentation.

Quick Summary

Goal: Review code for security vulnerabilities against OWASP Top 10 and enforce authorization, data protection, and secure coding patterns.

Workflow:

1. Pre-Flight — Identify security-sensitive areas, check OWASP relevance, review existing patterns
2. OWASP Audit — Evaluate code against all 10 categories (access control, injection, auth, etc.)
3. Project Checks — Verify authorization attributes, entity access expressions, input validation
4. Report — Document findings with severity, vulnerable vs secure code examples

Key Rules:

• Always check both backend and frontend attack surfaces
• Use project authorization attributes and entity-level access expressions, never rely on UI-only guards (see docs/project-reference/backend-patterns-reference.md)
• Validate all external data with project validation API, never trust client input (see docs/project-reference/backend-patterns-reference.md)

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

Security Review Workflow

When to Use This Skill

• Security audit of code changes
• Implementing authentication/authorization
• Data protection review
• Vulnerability assessment

Pre-Flight Checklist

• Identify security-sensitive areas
• Review OWASP Top 10 relevance
• Check for existing security patterns
• Plan remediation approach

OWASP Top 10 Checklist

1. Broken Access Control

// :x: VULNERABLE - No authorization check
[HttpGet("{id}")]
public async Task<Employee> Get(string id)
    => await repo.GetByIdAsync(id);

// :white_check_mark: SECURE - Authorization enforced
[HttpGet("{id}")]
[Authorize(Roles.Manager, Roles.Admin)] // project authorization attribute (see docs/project-reference/backend-patterns-reference.md)
public async Task<Employee> Get(string id)
{
    var employee = await repo.GetByIdAsync(id);

    // Verify access to this specific resource
    if (employee.CompanyId != RequestContext.CurrentCompanyId())
        throw new UnauthorizedAccessException();

    return employee;
}

2. Cryptographic Failures

// :x: VULNERABLE - Storing plain text secrets
var apiKey = config["ApiKey"];
await SaveToDatabase(apiKey);

// :white_check_mark: SECURE - Encrypt sensitive data
var encryptedKey = encryptionService.Encrypt(apiKey);
await SaveToDatabase(encryptedKey);

// Use secure configuration
var apiKey = config.GetValue<string>("ApiKey");  // From Azure Key Vault

3. Injection

// :x: VULNERABLE - SQL Injection
var sql = $"SELECT * FROM Users WHERE Name = '{name}'";
await context.Database.ExecuteSqlRawAsync(sql);

// :white_check_mark: SECURE - Parameterized query
await context.Users.Where(u => u.Name == name).ToListAsync();

// Or if raw SQL needed:
await context.Database.ExecuteSqlRawAsync(
    "SELECT * FROM Users WHERE Name = @p0", name);

4. Insecure Design

// :x: VULNERABLE - No rate limiting
[HttpPost("login")]
public async Task<IActionResult> Login(LoginRequest request)
    => await authService.Login(request);

// :white_check_mark: SECURE - Rate limiting applied
[HttpPost("login")]
[RateLimit(MaxRequests = 5, WindowSeconds = 60)]
public async Task<IActionResult> Login(LoginRequest request)
    => await authService.Login(request);

5. Security Misconfiguration

// :x: VULNERABLE - Detailed errors in production
app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();  // Exposes stack traces

// :white_check_mark: SECURE - Generic errors in production
if (env.IsDevelopment())
    app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
else
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/Error");

6. Vulnerable Components

# Check for vulnerable packages
dotnet list package --vulnerable

# Update vulnerable packages
dotnet outdated

7. Authentication Failures

// :x: VULNERABLE - Weak password policy
if (password.Length >= 4) { }

// :white_check_mark: SECURE - Strong password policy
public class PasswordPolicy
{
    public bool Validate(string password)
    {
        return password.Length >= 12
            && password.Any(char.IsUpper)
            && password.Any(char.IsLower)
            && password.Any(char.IsDigit)
            && password.Any(c => !char.IsLetterOrDigit(c));
    }
}

8. Data Integrity Failures

// :x: VULNERABLE - No validation of external data
var userData = await externalApi.GetUserAsync(id);
await SaveToDatabase(userData);

// :white_check_mark: SECURE - Validate external data
var userData = await externalApi.GetUserAsync(id);
var validation = userData.Validate();
if (!validation.IsValid)
    throw new ValidationException(validation.Errors);
await SaveToDatabase(userData);

9. Logging Failures

// :x: VULNERABLE - Logging sensitive data
Logger.LogInformation("User login: {Email} {Password}", email, password);

// :white_check_mark: SECURE - Redact sensitive data
Logger.LogInformation("User login: {Email}", email);
// Never log passwords, tokens, or PII

10. SSRF (Server-Side Request Forgery)

// :x: VULNERABLE - User-controlled URL
var url = request.WebhookUrl;
await httpClient.GetAsync(url);  // Could access internal services

// :white_check_mark: SECURE - Validate and restrict URLs
if (!IsAllowedUrl(request.WebhookUrl))
    throw new SecurityException("Invalid webhook URL");

private bool IsAllowedUrl(string url)
{
    var uri = new Uri(url);
    return AllowedDomains.Contains(uri.Host)
        && uri.Scheme == "https";
}

Authorization Patterns

⚠️ MUST ATTENTION READ: CLAUDE.md for authorization controller/handler patterns, RequestContext usage, and entity-level access filters (see docs/project-reference/backend-patterns-reference.md).

Data Protection

Sensitive Data Handling

public class SensitiveDataHandler
{
    // Encrypt at rest
    public string EncryptForStorage(string plainText)
        => encryptionService.Encrypt(plainText);

    // Mask for display
    public string MaskEmail(string email)
    {
        var parts = email.Split('@');
        return $"{parts[0][0]}***@{parts[1]}";
    }

    // Never log sensitive data
    public void LogUserAction(User user)
    {
        Logger.LogInformation("User action: {UserId}", user.Id);
        // NOT: Logger.Log("User: {Email} {Phone}", user.Email, user.Phone);
    }
}

File Upload Security

public async Task<IActionResult> Upload(IFormFile file)
{
    // Validate file type
    var allowedTypes = new[] { ".pdf", ".docx", ".xlsx" };
    var extension = Path.GetExtension(file.FileName).ToLowerInvariant();
    if (!allowedTypes.Contains(extension))
        return BadRequest("Invalid file type");

    // Validate file size
    if (file.Length > 10 * 1024 * 1024)  // 10MB
        return BadRequest("File too large");

    // Scan for malware (if available)
    if (!await antivirusService.ScanAsync(file))
        return BadRequest("File rejected by security scan");

    // Generate safe filename
    var safeFileName = $"{Guid.NewGuid()}{extension}";

    // Save to isolated storage
    await fileService.SaveAsync(file, safeFileName);

    return Ok();
}

Security Scanning Commands

# .NET vulnerability scan
dotnet list package --vulnerable

# Outdated packages
dotnet outdated

# Secret scanning
grep -r "password\|secret\|apikey" --include="*.cs" --include="*.json"

# Hardcoded credentials
grep -r "Password=\"" --include="*.cs"
grep -r "connectionString.*password" --include="*.json"

Security Review Checklist

Authentication

• Strong password policy enforced
• Account lockout after failed attempts
• Secure session management
• JWT tokens properly validated
• Refresh token rotation

Authorization

• All endpoints require authentication
• Role-based access control implemented
• Resource-level permissions checked
• No privilege escalation possible

Input Validation

• All inputs validated
• SQL injection prevented (parameterized queries)
• XSS prevented (output encoding)
• File uploads validated
• URL validation for redirects

Data Protection

• Sensitive data encrypted at rest
• HTTPS enforced
• No sensitive data in logs
• Proper error handling (no stack traces)

Dependencies

• No known vulnerable packages
• Dependencies regularly updated
• Third-party code reviewed

Anti-Patterns to AVOID

:x: Trusting client input

var isAdmin = request.IsAdmin;  // User-supplied!

:x: Exposing internal errors

catch (Exception ex) { return BadRequest(ex.ToString()); }

:x: Hardcoded secrets

var apiKey = "sk_live_xxxxx";

:x: Insufficient logging

// No audit trail for sensitive operations
await DeleteAllUsers();

Verification Checklist

• OWASP Top 10 reviewed
• Authentication/authorization verified
• Input validation complete
• Sensitive data protected
• No hardcoded secrets
• Logging appropriate (no PII)
• Dependencies scanned

Related

• arch-performance-optimization
• arch-cross-service-integration
• code-review

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Closing Reminders

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using TaskCreate BEFORE starting
• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION search codebase for 3+ similar patterns before creating new code
• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cite file:line evidence for every claim (confidence >80% to act)
• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add a final review todo task to verify work quality
• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION execute two review rounds (Round 1: understand, Round 2: catch missed issues) MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION READ the following files before starting:
• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cite file:line evidence for every claim. Confidence >80% to act, <60% = do NOT recommend.

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