drupal-security-patterns

name	drupal-security-patterns
description	OWASP prevention patterns, access control, input sanitization, and XSS protection for Drupal 10/11. Use when reviewing code for security issues, implementing access control, or hardening Drupal applications.
metadata	{"status":"stable","drupal-version":"10+","last-reviewed":"2026-04"}

Drupal Security Patterns

SQL Injection Prevention

// Bad: string concatenation.
$result = $connection->query("SELECT * FROM {node} WHERE title = '$title'");

// Good: parameterized query.
$result = $connection->query(
  "SELECT * FROM {node} WHERE title = :title",
  [':title' => $title]
);

// Best: Entity API.
$nids = \Drupal::entityQuery('node')
  ->condition('title', $title)
  ->accessCheck(TRUE)
  ->execute();

XSS Protection

// Twig auto-escapes by default - safe.
{{ node.title }}

// Explicit escaping for raw output.
use Drupal\Component\Utility\Html;
$safe = Html::escape($user_input);

// Xss filter for allowed HTML.
use Drupal\Component\Utility\Xss;
$filtered = Xss::filter($user_input);

// Admin filter (more tags allowed).
$filtered = Xss::filterAdmin($content);

Access Control

Route Access

# my_module.routing.yml
my_module.admin:
  path: '/admin/my-module'
  defaults:
    _controller: '\Drupal\my_module\Controller\AdminController::page'
  requirements:
    _permission: 'administer my_module'

my_module.content:
  path: '/my-module/{node}'
  defaults:
    _controller: '\Drupal\my_module\Controller\ContentController::view'
  requirements:
    _entity_access: 'node.view'

Custom Access Checker

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace Drupal\my_module\Access;

use Drupal\Core\Access\AccessResult;
use Drupal\Core\Routing\Access\AccessInterface;
use Drupal\Core\Session\AccountInterface;

final class MyAccessChecker implements AccessInterface {

  public function access(AccountInterface $account): AccessResult {
    return AccessResult::allowedIfHasPermission($account, 'access my_module')
      ->cachePerPermissions();
  }

}

Stacked Route Access Checks

Routes can have multiple _*_access* requirements that ALL must pass (AND logic). Don't assume _permission is the only gate.

# Example: three access checkers on one route
my_module.entity_edit:
  path: '/entity/{entity}/edit'
  requirements:
    _entity_access: entity.update           # Entity-level check
    _custom_archived_check: 'TRUE'          # Custom: is entity archived?
    _custom_status_check: 'TRUE'            # Custom: additional gate

Debugging 403s when entity access passes:

1. Read the route's requirements in *.routing.yml
2. Trace each _*_access* checker service in *.services.yml
3. Check each checker class individually -- any one returning DENIED blocks the route

During security review: Examine ALL route requirements, not just _permission. Custom access checkers may silently block access even when entity-level access is granted.

CSRF Protection

// Form API handles CSRF automatically via form tokens.
// For custom AJAX endpoints:
use Drupal\Core\Access\CsrfTokenGenerator;

// Generate token.
$token = \Drupal::csrfToken()->get('my_module_action');

// Validate token.
if (!\Drupal::csrfToken()->validate($token, 'my_module_action')) {
  throw new AccessDeniedHttpException();
}

File Upload Validation

$validators = [
  'file_validate_extensions' => ['pdf doc docx'],
  'file_validate_size' => [25 * 1024 * 1024], // 25MB
  'file_validate_name_length' => [],
];

Security Checklist

Critical (Must Fix)

• No SQL injection (Entity API or parameterized queries).
• XSS protection (Twig auto-escape, Html::escape).
• Access control on all routes and entities.
• Input sanitization via Form API validation.
• No hardcoded credentials.
• CSRF protection via Form API.

Important (Should Fix)

• Dependency injection used (no \Drupal:: in classes).
• File upload validation (type, size, extension).
• Configuration exportable.
• No deprecated code.
• WCAG 2.1 AA compliance.

Architecture Red Flags

• Multiple responsibilities in one module.
• Service exposes internal implementation details.
• Direct class dependencies instead of interfaces.
• Hidden side effects or implicit contracts.
• \Drupal:: static calls in service classes.