analyzing-security-headers

Prerequisites

Before using this skill, ensure:

• Target URL or domain name is accessible
• Network connectivity for HTTP requests
• Permission to scan the target domain
• Optional: Save results to {baseDir}/security-reports/

Instructions

1. Domain Input Phase

Accept domain specification:

• Full URL with protocol (https://example.com)
• Domain name only (example.com - will test HTTPS first)
• Multiple domains for batch analysis
• Specific paths for header variation testing

2. Header Fetching Phase

Retrieve HTTP response headers:

• Make HEAD or GET request to target
• Capture all security-relevant headers
• Test both HTTP and HTTPS responses
• Record redirect chains and final destination

3. Analysis Phase

Evaluate each security header against best practices:

Critical Headers:

• Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS)
• Content-Security-Policy (CSP)
• X-Frame-Options
• X-Content-Type-Options
• Permissions-Policy

Important Headers:

• Referrer-Policy
• Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy (COEP)
• Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy (COOP)
• Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy (CORP)

Additional Checks:

• Server header information disclosure
• X-Powered-By header exposure
• Cookie security attributes (Secure, HttpOnly, SameSite)

4. Grading Phase

Calculate security score:

• A+ (95-100): All critical headers properly configured
• A (85-94): Critical headers present, minor issues
• B (75-84): Most headers present, some weaknesses
• C (65-74): Missing critical headers
• D (50-64): Significant security gaps
• F (<50): Multiple critical vulnerabilities

5. Report Generation Phase

Create comprehensive report with:

• Overall security grade and numeric score
• Missing headers with impact assessment
• Misconfigured headers with specific issues
• Remediation recommendations with examples
• Priority ranking for fixes

Output

The skill produces:

Primary Output: Security headers analysis report

Report Structure:

# Security Headers Analysis - example.com
## Overall Grade: B (82/100)

## Critical Headers Status
✅ Strict-Transport-Security: Present (max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains)
❌ Content-Security-Policy: Missing
✅ X-Frame-Options: Present (DENY)
✅ X-Content-Type-Options: Present (nosniff)
⚠️  Permissions-Policy: Misconfigured

## Detailed Findings

### Missing Headers (High Priority)
1. Content-Security-Policy
   - Risk: XSS vulnerability exposure
   - Recommendation: Implement strict CSP
   - Example: Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'

### Misconfigured Headers
1. Permissions-Policy
   - Current: geolocation=*
   - Issue: Allows all origins
   - Fix: geolocation=(self)

## Priority Actions
1. Add Content-Security-Policy (Critical)
2. Fix Permissions-Policy wildcard (High)
3. Add Referrer-Policy (Medium)

Optional Outputs:

• JSON format for automation: {baseDir}/security-reports/headers-DOMAIN-YYYYMMDD.json
• CSV for spreadsheet analysis
• Comparison report for multiple domains

Error Handling

Common Issues and Resolutions:

1. Domain Unreachable

- Error: "Failed to connect to example.com" - Resolution: Check domain spelling, network connectivity, firewall rules - Fallback: Test alternate protocols (HTTP vs HTTPS)

1. SSL/TLS Errors

- Error: "SSL certificate verification failed" - Resolution: Note in report, test with certificate validation disabled - Impact: Indicates HSTS not properly enforced

1. Redirect Loops

- Error: "Too many redirects" - Resolution: Report redirect chain, analyze headers at each hop - Note: Headers may differ across redirect chain

1. Rate Limiting

- Error: "HTTP 429 Too Many Requests" - Resolution: Implement exponential backoff, reduce request frequency - Fallback: Queue domain for later analysis

1. Mixed Content Issues

- Error: "Headers differ between HTTP and HTTPS" - Resolution: Report both sets, highlight critical differences - Recommendation: Ensure HSTS enforces HTTPS-only

Resources

Security Header References:

• OWASP Secure Headers Project: https://owasp.org/www-project-secure-headers/
• MDN Security Headers Guide: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers#security
• Security Headers Scanner: https://securityheaders.com/

Header-Specific Documentation:

• CSP Reference: https://content-security-policy.com/
• HSTS Preload: https://hstspreload.org/
• Permissions Policy: https://www.w3.org/TR/permissions-policy/

Best Practice Guides:

• NIST Web Security Guidelines: https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-3/
• Mozilla Observatory: https://observatory.mozilla.org/

Testing Tools:

• Online header checker: https://securityheaders.com/
• Browser DevTools Network tab for manual inspection
• curl command for command-line testing: curl -I https://example.com

Integration Examples:

• Automated header checks in CI/CD pipelines
• Periodic scanning with alerting on grade degradation
• Compliance reporting for security audits