Security

Current security status and required improvements for the TrickBook backend.

Critical Issues

Immediate Action Required

The following issues must be addressed before any further development.

1. Exposed Credentials

Status: CRITICAL

The .env file contains plaintext credentials that may be committed to git:

# EXPOSED - Rotate these immediately
ATLAS_URI=mongodb+srv://[REDACTED]@cluster.mongodb.net/...
AWS_KEY=[REDACTED]
AWS_SECRET=[REDACTED]
EMAIL_PASSWORD=[REDACTED]

Fix:

1. Rotate ALL credentials immediately
2. Add .env to .gitignore
3. Use secrets manager (AWS Secrets Manager, Doppler, etc.)
4. Create .env.example with placeholder values

2. Hardcoded JWT Secret

Status: CRITICAL

// Current code - INSECURE
jwt.sign(payload, "jwtPrivateKey");

Fix:

jwt.sign(payload, process.env.JWT_SECRET, { expiresIn: '1h' });

3. No Token Expiration

Status: CRITICAL

JWT tokens never expire, meaning a leaked token grants permanent access.

Fix:

const token = jwt.sign(payload, process.env.JWT_SECRET, {
  expiresIn: '1h'  // Short-lived access token
});

// Implement refresh tokens for better UX
const refreshToken = jwt.sign(
  { _id: user._id },
  process.env.REFRESH_SECRET,
  { expiresIn: '7d' }
);

4. End-of-Life Node.js

Status: CRITICAL

Node.js 12.6.x reached end-of-life in April 2022. No security patches available.

Fix:

// package.json
{
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=18.0.0"
  }
}

---

High Priority Issues

5. Outdated helmet

Current: 3.22.0 (2019) Latest: 7.x

Missing security headers and protections.

Fix:

npm install helmet@latest

const helmet = require('helmet');
app.use(helmet());

6. No Rate Limiting

Login and API endpoints have no protection against brute force attacks.

Fix:

npm install express-rate-limit

const rateLimit = require('express-rate-limit');

// Strict limit for auth endpoints
const authLimiter = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
  max: 5,
  message: 'Too many login attempts, try again later'
});

router.post('/auth', authLimiter, loginHandler);

// General API limit
const apiLimiter = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 60 * 1000, // 1 minute
  max: 100
});

app.use('/api/', apiLimiter);

7. CORS Wildcard

Current:

app.use(cors());  // Allows all origins

Fix:

const corsOptions = {
  origin: [
    'https://thetrickbook.com',
    'https://www.thetrickbook.com',
    'https://admin.thetrickbook.com'
  ],
  credentials: true
};

app.use(cors(corsOptions));

8. Unrestricted Public Endpoints

These endpoints expose data without authentication:

Endpoint	Risk
GET /api/users/all	Exposes all user emails
GET /api/listings/all	Exposes all user data
GET /api/spots	May be intentional

Fix: Add authentication or remove if not needed.

---

Medium Priority Issues

9. Weak Password Requirements

Current:

password: Joi.string().min(5).required()

Fix:

password: Joi.string()
  .min(8)
  .pattern(/^(?=.*[a-z])(?=.*[A-Z])(?=.*\d)/)
  .required()
  .messages({
    'string.pattern.base': 'Password must contain uppercase, lowercase, and number'
  })

10. No Input Sanitization

User input used directly in regex patterns:

// Vulnerable
{ name: { $regex: userInput, $options: "i" } }

Fix:

const escapeRegex = (str) => str.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');

{ name: { $regex: escapeRegex(userInput), $options: "i" } }

11. Missing HTTPS Redirect

Ensure all traffic uses HTTPS:

app.use((req, res, next) => {
  if (req.header('x-forwarded-proto') !== 'https') {
    return res.redirect(`https://${req.header('host')}${req.url}`);
  }
  next();
});

12. No Request Size Limits

Large payloads could cause DoS:

app.use(express.json({ limit: '10kb' }));
app.use(express.urlencoded({ limit: '10kb', extended: true }));

---

Security Checklist

Authentication

• Move JWT secret to environment variable
• Add token expiration (1 hour)
• Implement refresh tokens
• Add password complexity requirements
• Add account lockout after failed attempts

Authorization

• Review all public endpoints
• Add authentication to /api/users/all
• Verify admin checks on all admin routes

Network

• Update CORS whitelist
• Add rate limiting
• Enforce HTTPS
• Add request size limits

Dependencies

• Upgrade Node.js to 18+
• Update helmet to 7.x
• Update jsonwebtoken to 9.x
• Update joi to 17.x
• Run npm audit and fix vulnerabilities

Credentials

• Rotate MongoDB password
• Rotate AWS access keys
• Rotate email password
• Create new JWT secret
• Add .env to .gitignore
• Set up secrets manager

Monitoring

• Add error logging (Winston/Pino)
• Set up Sentry for error tracking
• Monitor for suspicious activity
• Set up alerts for failed auth attempts

---

Secure Configuration Template

// index.js - Secure setup

const express = require('express');
const helmet = require('helmet');
const cors = require('cors');
const rateLimit = require('express-rate-limit');

const app = express();

// Security headers
app.use(helmet());

// CORS whitelist
app.use(cors({
  origin: ['https://thetrickbook.com'],
  credentials: true
}));

// Rate limiting
app.use(rateLimit({
  windowMs: 60 * 1000,
  max: 100
}));

// Request size limits
app.use(express.json({ limit: '10kb' }));

// HTTPS redirect (behind proxy)
app.use((req, res, next) => {
  if (req.header('x-forwarded-proto') !== 'https') {
    return res.redirect(301, `https://${req.header('host')}${req.url}`);
  }
  next();
});

// Validate required env vars
const required = ['ATLAS_URI', 'JWT_SECRET', 'AWS_KEY'];
required.forEach(key => {
  if (!process.env[key]) {
    console.error(`Missing required env var: ${key}`);
    process.exit(1);
  }
});