Laravel OWASP Security

Dual-purpose security skill for Laravel 13 + React/Inertia.js applications. Run a full OWASP Top 10 audit against a codebase, or use as a secure coding reference when building features.

How to Audit

Step 1: Detect Stack

Check if the project uses React + Inertia.js by looking for:

• app/Http/Middleware/HandleInertiaRequests.php exists
• resources/js/ contains .tsx or .jsx files
• inertiajs/inertia-laravel in composer.json
• @inertiajs/react in package.json

If detected, state at the top of the report:

"React + Inertia.js detected — Laravel OWASP checklist AND React/Inertia security checks will both be applied."

If not detected, state:

"No React/Inertia.js detected — applying Laravel OWASP checklist only."

Step 2: Determine Scope

• If arguments provided ($ARGUMENTS): review only those files or features
• If no arguments: review the entire codebase

Step 3: Run Checklist

Work through every item below. For each, output:

• PASS — brief confirmation of what was verified
• FAIL — exact file:line, a description of the vulnerability (do NOT reproduce any code, values, API keys, tokens, or .env contents from the file), and a fix recommendation
• N/A — if the check does not apply to this project

OWASP Top 10 Checklist

1. Broken Access Control (A01:2021)

• Middleware protects all route groups by role (auth, role:admin, etc.)
• Resource queries scoped to authenticated user — ->where('user_id', auth()->id())
• No direct object reference without ownership check
• Gates and Policies used to authorize resource access
• Frontend role checks are mirrored server-side — never rely on React UI checks alone

2. Cryptographic Failures (A02:2021)

• Passwords hashed with Hash::make() or 'hashed' Eloquent cast — never stored as plaintext
• No MD5 or SHA1 used for password hashing
• Sensitive fields (API keys, secrets) encrypted with Crypt::encryptString() or 'encrypted' Eloquent cast
• APP_KEY is long, random, and unique per environment
• Signed URLs (URL::signedRoute()) used for sensitive one-time actions (password reset, email verify)

3. Injection (A03:2021)

SQL & Mass Assignment:

• No string concatenation in whereRaw(), selectRaw(), orderByRaw() — use ? bindings
• Column names never derived from user input without a whitelist
• No $request->all() passed directly to create(), fill(), or update()
• No forceFill() or forceCreate() with unvalidated user input
• Models define $fillable explicitly — not $guarded = []
• Controllers use $request->validated() for mass operations

XSS — Blade & React:

• No {!! $userInput !!} in Blade templates with untrusted data
• {{ }} used for all user-supplied Blade output
• No dangerouslySetInnerHTML in React without DOMPurify.sanitize() first
• href and src attributes not set from unvalidated user input
• No eval(), new Function(), or setTimeout(string) with user-controlled strings
• External CDN scripts use Subresource Integrity (integrity="sha384-...")

4. Insecure Design (A04:2021)

• Business logic enforced server-side — prices, totals, and discounts never trusted from client input
• Sensitive operations require secondary confirmation (e.g. password re-entry for account deletion)
• No mass action endpoints without per-item authorization check
• Admin-only features isolated behind separate middleware — not just hidden in the UI
• Payment amounts and enrollment states calculated server-side, not passed as form inputs

5. Security Misconfiguration (A05:2021)

• APP_DEBUG=false in production
• .env is in .gitignore and never committed
• Database uses a restricted user — not root/admin — in production
• storage/ and bootstrap/cache/ have correct permissions (not world-writable)
• APP_KEY is set and unique per environment
• CORS allowed_origins is not ['*'] for authenticated API routes

6. Vulnerable & Outdated Components (A06:2021)

• composer audit passes with no known CVEs
• npm audit passes with no known CVEs
• Laravel framework is on a supported version

7. Identification & Authentication Failures (A07:2021)

Auth:

• Using Laravel Breeze, Fortify, or Jetstream — not custom-rolled auth
• Passwords hashed with bcrypt or argon2 (Laravel default)
• Login route rate limited — throttle middleware or RateLimiter in LoginRequest
• Password reset and email verification routes rate limited
• Payment and sensitive action routes have appropriate rate limits
• session()->regenerate() called after successful login

Cookie & Session:

• http_only = true in config/session.php
• same_site = lax or strict in config/session.php
• secure = true or null (auto for HTTPS) in config/session.php
• lifetime is a reasonable value (15–30 min recommended for most apps)
• domain = null unless subdomains are needed
• EncryptCookies middleware is in the web group

8. Software & Data Integrity Failures (A08:2021)

CSRF:

• VerifyCsrfToken middleware active in the web group
• Only stateless routes (webhooks, external callbacks) are excluded from CSRF
• @csrf directive used in all non-Inertia POST forms
• Excluded routes in validateCsrfTokens(except: [...]) are justified

Deserialization:

• No unserialize($request->input(...))
• No eval($request->input(...))
• No extract($request->all())

9. Security Logging & Monitoring Failures (A09:2021)

• Failed login attempts logged with IP and identifier
• Payment failures and exceptions logged
• Log entries do not contain raw passwords or secrets
• Monitoring in place (Laravel Telescope, Sentry, or similar)

10. Server-Side Request Forgery — SSRF (A10:2021)

• No Http::get($request->input('url')) with unvalidated URLs
• User-supplied URLs validated against an allowlist or scheme check
• Internal network addresses blocked from user-supplied URLs

Additional Checks

Not part of the OWASP Top 10 but critical for Laravel applications.

Command Injection & Dangerous Functions

• No exec(), shell_exec(), system(), passthru() with user input
• No open redirects — no redirect($request->input('url')) with unvalidated URLs
• File uploads validate mimes:, max: — filenames never derived from raw user input

Security Headers

• Content-Security-Policy set — with nonces (Vite::useCspNonce()) if possible
• X-Frame-Options set
• X-Content-Type-Options set
• Strict-Transport-Security set for HTTPS
• Referrer-Policy set
• Permissions-Policy set

React + Inertia.js Checks

Only run if React + Inertia.js detected in Step 1.

R1. XSS in React Components

• No dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: userInput }} without DOMPurify.sanitize() first
• href and src attributes not set from unvalidated user input — javascript: URLs execute scripts
• No eval(), new Function(), or setTimeout(string) with user-controlled strings
• Links from user input validate scheme (https:// or http:// only)

R2. Inertia.js Data Exposure (Critical)

• HandleInertiaRequests::share() does NOT expose passwords, tokens, or internal-only flags
• Controllers use ->only([...]) or API Resources — not raw model toArray()
• All Inertia props are treated as public — visible in data-page HTML attribute on initial load
• Payment secret keys and admin-only credentials are never passed as Inertia props
• Inertia v2 History Encryption enabled for pages with sensitive data

R3. CSRF in Inertia.js

• Inertia X-XSRF-TOKEN header not disabled
• Custom fetch or axios calls include CSRF token manually if bypassing Inertia's router
• Webhook/callback routes are the ONLY CSRF-excluded routes

R4. Authentication State in React

• auth.user Inertia prop excludes password hash, remember tokens, and 2FA secrets
• Role/permission checks enforced server-side — React checks are UI-only
• auth.user contains only fields the UI actually needs

R5. Sensitive Data in Browser

• No API keys or secrets hardcoded in React components or TypeScript files
• No sensitive data in localStorage or sessionStorage — use HttpOnly cookies
• VITE_* env vars contain no secrets — they are public by design

R6. Dependency Security

• npm audit passes with no high/critical CVEs in React or Inertia packages
• React is on a supported version
• Third-party component libraries reviewed for known CVEs

Output Format

Structure the audit report as:

## Laravel OWASP Security Audit Report

> React + Inertia.js detected — Laravel OWASP checklist AND React/Inertia security checks will both be applied.

### 1. Broken Access Control (A01:2021)
- **PASS** `app/Http/Middleware/RoleMiddleware.php` — role middleware applied to all route groups
- **FAIL** `app/Http/Controllers/PaymentController.php:42` — Payment model fetched without ownership check (direct object reference exposure). Fix: scope the query to the authenticated user.

[Continue for all 10 OWASP checks + Additional Checks + R1–R6 React/Inertia checks]

---

## Summary

### Critical Issues (fix immediately)
1. ...

### Warnings (fix soon)
1. ...

### Passed
X checks passed.

### Recommended Commands
composer audit
npm audit

When to Apply for Guidance

Reference the rule files when:

• Implementing authentication or password handling
• Building payment or webhook integrations
• Writing file upload or download logic
• Designing admin or role-based access control
• Building API endpoints with user-supplied input
• Using dangerouslySetInnerHTML in React components
• Passing data from Laravel controllers to Inertia props

Rule Categories by Priority

Quick Reference

1. Broken Access Control (CRITICAL)

• sec-broken-access-control — Middleware, ownership checks, policies, scoped queries

2. Cryptographic Failures (CRITICAL)

• sec-cryptographic-failures — Password hashing, encrypted casts, signed URLs

3. Injection Prevention (CRITICAL)

• sec-injection-prevention — SQL injection, mass assignment, raw query bindings

4. XSS & React/Inertia (HIGH)

• sec-xss-react-inertia — dangerouslySetInnerHTML, DOMPurify, href/src validation

5. CSRF Protection (HIGH)

• sec-csrf-protection — VerifyCsrfToken, webhook exclusions, Inertia CSRF

6. Security Misconfiguration (HIGH)

• sec-security-misconfiguration — APPDEBUG, APPKEY, security headers, CORS

7. Authentication & Rate Limiting (HIGH)

• sec-authentication-rate-limiting — Throttle, session regeneration, brute force prevention

8. Inertia Data Exposure (HIGH)

• sec-inertia-data-exposure — data-page attribute exposure, secret props, API Resources

How to Use

Read individual rule files for detailed explanations and code examples:

rules/sec-broken-access-control.md
rules/sec-cryptographic-failures.md
rules/sec-injection-prevention.md
rules/sec-xss-react-inertia.md
rules/sec-csrf-protection.md
rules/sec-security-misconfiguration.md
rules/sec-authentication-rate-limiting.md
rules/sec-inertia-data-exposure.md

Each rule file contains:

• YAML frontmatter with metadata (title, impact, tags)
• Why it matters in Laravel/React context
• Incorrect code example with explanation
• Correct code example with fix
• Laravel 13 and PHP 8.3+ specific context

Full Compiled Document

For the complete guide with all rules expanded: AGENTS.md