This document outlines the security improvements implemented in version 2.1.0 of the Node.js Authentication Backend.

• Implemented helmet middleware to set secure HTTP headers
• Protection against common web vulnerabilities (XSS, clickjacking, etc.)
• Helps enforce HTTPS and prevent MIME-type sniffing

• General Rate Limit: 100 requests per 15 minutes per IP
• Authentication Rate Limit: 5 login attempts per 15 minutes per IP
  • Applied to: /login, /register, /password/*
  • Prevents brute force attacks
  • Skips counting successful requests

• Development: Open CORS for easier local development
• Production: Whitelist-based CORS
  • Configure allowed origins via ALLOWED_ORIGINS environment variable
  • Supports credentials
  • Restricted HTTP methods and headers

• Maximum request body size: 10KB
• Prevents DoS attacks via large payloads

• Minimum 8 characters (previously 6)
• Must contain:
  • At least one uppercase letter
  • At least one lowercase letter
  • At least one number
  • At least one special character (@$!%*?&#)

• Increased from 8 to 12 rounds
• Stronger protection against brute force attacks
• Industry-standard security level

• Implemented express-validator for all endpoints
• Validators for:
  • User registration and authentication
  • Password reset requests
  • Two-factor authentication
  • OAuth flows
• Prevents injection attacks (SQL, NoSQL, XSS)
• Normalizes and sanitizes email inputs
• Validates data types, lengths, and formats

• Implemented state parameter validation
• State tokens stored server-side with expiration (10 minutes)
• One-time use tokens (removed after validation)
• Automatic cleanup of expired states
• Protection against CSRF attacks in OAuth flow

• Stack traces only shown in development mode
• Production mode hides internal error details
• Structured error logging for debugging
• No sensitive information leaked to clients

• Updated .env.example with strong secret generation instructions
• Recommends using openssl rand -base64 32
• Warns against weak secrets

Always set strong, random values for:

• JWT_SECRET - At least 32 characters, cryptographically random
• ALLOWED_ORIGINS - Comma-separated list of allowed domains in production
• NODE_ENV - Set to "production" in production environments

Users must create passwords that:

• Are at least 8 characters long
• Include uppercase and lowercase letters
• Include at least one number
• Include at least one special character

Adjust rate limits based on your use case:

// In src/infrastructure/http/app.ts
const limiter = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
  max: 100, // Adjust based on expected traffic
});

const authLimiter = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000,
  max: 5, // Adjust based on security requirements
});

• Set NODE_ENV=production
• Generate strong JWT_SECRET (minimum 32 characters)
• Configure ALLOWED_ORIGINS with your frontend domains
• Enable HTTPS/TLS
• Review and adjust rate limiting based on traffic
• Enable logging to monitor suspicious activities
• Keep dependencies updated regularly
• Implement proper database security (encryption at rest, secure connections)
• Use environment-specific configurations
• Set up monitoring and alerting for security events

This implementation addresses the OWASP Top 10 security risks:

1. Broken Access Control - JWT authentication, role-based access (if implemented)
2. Cryptographic Failures - Bcrypt with 12 salt rounds, strong password requirements
3. Injection - Input validation and sanitization with express-validator
4. Insecure Design - Secure architecture with Clean Architecture + DDD
5. Security Misconfiguration - Helmet headers, secure CORS, environment-based configs
6. Vulnerable Components - Regular dependency updates recommended
7. Authentication Failures - Rate limiting, strong passwords, 2FA support, secure JWT
8. Software and Data Integrity Failures - No eval(), proper error handling
9. Security Logging Failures - Winston logging system with structured logs
10. Server-Side Request Forgery - OAuth state validation, input validation

• Name: 2-100 characters, letters and spaces only
• Username: 3-30 characters, alphanumeric and underscores only
• Email: Valid email format, normalized
• Password: Strong password requirements

• Email: Valid email format
• Password: Required (no validation on login to prevent information disclosure)

• Token: 32-128 characters
• New Password: Strong password requirements

• TOTP Token: Exactly 6 digits
• Backup Code: 8-12 characters

• Provider: Must be one of: github, google, facebook
• Code: Required authorization code
• State: 32-128 characters, validated against stored states

If you discover a security vulnerability, please:

1. Do NOT open a public issue
2. Email the maintainer with details
3. Allow time for a fix before public disclosure

• OWASP Top 10
• OWASP Authentication Cheat Sheet
• Express Security Best Practices
• Node.js Security Checklist