The 30 minute security checklist I run on every AI built app before it goes live
If posts like these are not allowed on here, then please forgive me mods. I have been lurking on this page for some time now, and know that many people on here building apps with use of AI tools (Claude/Lovable/Cursor, etc.). I have just seen many of the same security issues within the apps that I have audited thus far, and figured that a quick PSA styled post would be unequivocally beneficial :) That said, I have been auditing apps built with AI tools such as Cursor/Bolt/Lovable for quite some time now, and I have always noticed that the same security issues keep coming up in various different domains. With respect to AI generated code more broadly, regardless of the platform or medium that you choose to utilize in your vibe coding journey, I have noticed across the board that many of the exact same issues keep popping up all around. Citing what I have personally rendered from all of this, here is the exact checklist that I have distilled down and run myself on every build that I have encountered. This whole sequence takes ~30 to pull off end to end, and doesn't require any fancy tooling or deep technical knowledge; most of this is extremely rudimentary, yet high ROI all around. Security headers check: ~2 min (securityheaders.com) This check is one that is fairly straight forward to pull off, all you need is your live site link and access to the above URL. Running the check, what you are looking for is any grade above B; anything less than this from a security standpoint is a huge issue. In this case, improperly implemented headers mean that you are leaving your app open to a whole slew of possible exploits that simply do not need to happen; things such as clickjacking, content injection and cross site scripting attacks all become radically easier to pull off without any headers present to pose as a resistance layer. The fix here is most always a simple one line patch in your config, and given the risk that improperly configured headers pose, this is quite possibly one of the simplest yet high ROI patches that you could implement to galvanize your apps security. In my experience, missing X-Frame-Options and CSP headers seem to be the two most frequently overlooked in AI output.