Category

Api Security

Security vulnerabilities and automated fixes for api security issues

23 posts found

critical8 min

How Missing Authentication Middleware Happens in Node.js APIs and How to Fix It

A critical vulnerability in a Node.js Panel Connector API (CVE-2025-7783) left 14 endpoints—including shell command execution, file deletion, and file writing—completely open to unauthenticated access. The comment in the source code even declared "NO AUTH — Full Open Access," making it a textbook example of a missing authentication control. The fix adds a Bearer token middleware guard on all `/api` routes, blocking unauthorized requests before they reach any sensitive handler.

#authentication#nodejs#expressjs+2 more
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anupamme
Aug 26, 2026
critical8 min

How Unauthenticated API Endpoint Exposure happens in Node.js and how to fix it

A critical vulnerability in `api/firebase-config.js` exposed all Firebase configuration values — including API keys, app IDs, and project IDs — to any unauthenticated caller. With no access controls, CORS restrictions, or rate limiting in place, attackers could retrieve live credentials and directly access Firebase services. The fix adds shared-secret authentication using timing-safe comparison, origin validation, and method enforcement.

#authentication#nodejs#firebase+2 more
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anupamme
Aug 26, 2026
high8 min

How Missing Authentication Happens in Express.js APIs and How to Fix It

Four Express.js API endpoints in `index.js` — `/api/config`, `/api/subscriptions`, `/api/sites`, and `/api/refresh` — were fully accessible without any authentication, allowing any remote attacker to retrieve sensitive application data. The fix introduces both an API key authentication middleware and CSRF token protection, ensuring only authorized clients can interact with these endpoints. This is a common but critical oversight in Node.js web services that can expose configuration secrets and s

#authentication#nodejs#express+3 more
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anupamme
Aug 26, 2026
critical9 min

How Hardcoded API Keys happen in JavaScript plugins and how to fix them

A critical hardcoded API key was discovered in `plugins/ocr.js` at line 21, where the OCR integration used a plaintext fallback credential `'K81241004488957'` whenever the `OCR_API_KEY` environment variable was absent. This exposed a live API key to anyone with repository access, enabling unauthorized use of the OCR service. The fix removes the hardcoded fallback entirely and fails fast with a clear error message when the required environment variable is not configured.

#hardcoded-secrets#javascript#nodejs+2 more
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anupamme
Aug 26, 2026
critical6 min

How Missing Rate Limiting Happens in Express.js Authentication Endpoints and How to Fix It

A critical security vulnerability was discovered in the Apple Store API implementation where three authentication endpoints (`/auth/login`, `/auth/refresh`, `/auth/reset`) lacked rate limiting protection. This allowed unlimited authentication attempts from a single IP address, enabling credential stuffing and brute force attacks. The fix implements an in-memory rate limiter that restricts each IP to 5 requests per 15-minute window.

#security#rate-limiting#express-js+4 more
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anupamme
Aug 19, 2026
high10 min

How Email Exhaustion Denial of Service Happens in Node.js OTP Endpoints and How to Fix It

A Node.js authentication service exposed unauthenticated OTP endpoints without adequate rate limiting, allowing attackers to exhaust email service quotas through repeated requests. The fix implements per-session resend caps and cooldown enforcement to prevent email-based denial of service attacks while preserving legitimate user workflows.

#security#rate-limiting#denial-of-service+5 more
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anupamme
Aug 14, 2026
critical7 min

How broken authentication happens in Node.js Express APIs and how to fix it

A critical authentication bypass in the `/api/posts` endpoint allowed any unauthenticated user to create, update, or delete posts without verification. The POST endpoint had zero authentication checks, while PUT and DELETE endpoints used a trivially bypassable username comparison that attackers could forge by simply including the target username in their request body. The fix validates user identity by looking up the userId in the database before any post operations.

#authentication#authorization#express+4 more
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anupamme
Aug 9, 2026
critical5 min

How Credential Exposure Over HTTP Happens in Python Requests and How to Fix It

A critical vulnerability was discovered in the Bitbucket catalog connector where pagination URLs from API responses were followed without HTTPS validation, potentially exposing HTTP Basic Authentication credentials over unencrypted connections. The fix enforces HTTPS-only URLs for pagination and adds request timeouts to prevent resource exhaustion attacks.

#security#python#requests+4 more
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anupamme
Aug 6, 2026
critical7 min

How URL Injection via Unvalidated User Input happens in Node.js and how to fix it

A critical URL injection vulnerability in the QQ info lookup feature allowed attackers to manipulate API request parameters by sending specially crafted messages. Without proper input validation, user-controlled data was directly embedded into external API URLs, potentially exposing sensitive authentication credentials (skey and pskey) to attacker-controlled servers.

#url-injection#input-validation#nodejs+4 more
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anupamme
Aug 5, 2026
critical8 min

How Missing Rate Limiting Happens in Next.js API Routes and How to Fix It

Three public API endpoints in a Next.js application — `/api/send-review`, `/api/contact`, and `/api/auth` — were deployed without any server-side rate limiting, allowing attackers to flood them with unlimited requests. The `/api/send-review` and `/api/contact` endpoints were especially dangerous because every request triggered an outbound email via Gmail SMTP, making them prime targets for email bombing and quota exhaustion. The fix introduces a lightweight in-memory rate limiter capping each IP

#security#rate-limiting#nextjs+5 more
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anupamme
Aug 4, 2026
high8 min

How unauthenticated endpoint exposure happens in Node.js Express and how to fix it

A high-severity vulnerability in the AgenticATODetectionService allowed unauthenticated users to access sensitive agent status data, trigger detection scans, and view security alerts. The fix adds authentication middleware to four critical API endpoints, ensuring only authorized users can access these sensitive operations.

#node.js#express#authentication+4 more
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anupamme
Jul 31, 2026
critical8 min

How unauthenticated API access happens in Node.js Express endpoints and how to fix it

The `/api/translate` endpoint in `api/translate.js` was publicly accessible without any authentication, allowing anonymous users to freely invoke paid Anthropic Claude or Google Translate API calls. This critical vulnerability exposed the application to API cost abuse, quota exhaustion, and potential data exfiltration. A targeted fix adds a shared-secret header check before any translation logic executes.

#security#nodejs#authentication+4 more
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anupamme
Jul 29, 2026