Codebase Security Discovery

Generate a security-focused DISCOVERY.md for the codebase at $ARGUMENTS.

When to Use This Skill

•Security assessment of a new codebase
•Threat modeling preparation
•Security-focused code review
•Compliance audit preparation

Workflow Steps

•Discover - Run file discovery commands at $ARGUMENTS
•Analyze - Examine auth, crypto, validation patterns
•Map - Identify trust boundaries and entry points
•Document - Generate DISCOVERY.md using template below
•Verify - Complete generation checklist

Discovery Commands

Security-Relevant Files

bash

# Find security-critical files
find $ARGUMENTS -type f \( \
  -name "auth*" -o -name "*login*" -o -name "*session*" -o \
  -name "*crypt*" -o -name "*secret*" -o -name "*key*" -o \
  -name "*token*" -o -name "*password*" -o -name "*credential*" -o \
  -name "*.pem" -o -name "*.key" -o -name "*.cert" -o \
  -name "*security*" -o -name "*permission*" -o -name "*role*" -o \
  -name "*sanitiz*" -o -name "*valid*" -o -name "*filter*" \
\) 2>/dev/null | grep -v node_modules | grep -v __pycache__

# Configuration with potential secrets
find $ARGUMENTS -type f \( -name "*.env*" -o -name "*config*" -o -name "*settings*" \) 2>/dev/null | head -20

# API endpoints
grep -r -l "route\|router\|endpoint\|@app\.\|@api\." --include="*.py" --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.go" $ARGUMENTS 2>/dev/null | head -20

Analysis Targets

Area	What to Examine
Dependencies	Vulnerable packages, outdated versions, unnecessary deps
Trust Boundaries	HTTP endpoints, file uploads, CLI args, env vars, DB queries, message queues
Auth Flow	Identity verification, session management, token handling, permission checks, RBAC

Security-Enhanced Structure (Based on Claude.md)

markdown

# [Project Name] - Security Review Documentation

## Overview
Brief description with security context: what the application does, what sensitive data it handles, and its exposure (internal/external/public).

## Technology Stack
- **Language(s)**: [With versions - check for EOL/vulnerable versions]
- **Framework(s)**: [Note known security features/issues]
- **Database**: [Type, version, connection method]
- **Authentication**: [Mechanism used]
- **Cryptographic Libraries**: [Libraries handling crypto operations]

## Security Posture Summary

| Aspect | Status | Notes |
|--------|--------|-------|
| Authentication | [Mechanism] | [Implementation location] |
| Authorization | [RBAC/ABAC/etc.] | [Where enforced] |
| Input Validation | [Centralized/Distributed] | [Key locations] |
| Output Encoding | [Present/Absent] | [Implementation] |
| Cryptography | [Libraries used] | [Algorithms observed] |
| Logging/Audit | [Present/Absent] | [What's logged] |
| Error Handling | [Secure/Leaky] | [Pattern used] |

## Project Structure (Security View)

project-root/ ├── src/ │ ├── auth/ # [!] Authentication logic │ ├── middleware/ # [!] Security middleware, validators │ ├── controllers/ # [!] Input handling, business logic │ ├── models/ # [!] Data models, ORM queries │ ├── services/ # External integrations │ └── utils/ │ ├── crypto.js # [!] Cryptographic operations │ └── sanitize.js # [!] Input sanitization ├── config/ # [!] Configuration, potential secrets └── tests/ └── security/ # Security-specific tests (if any)

code

[!] = Security-critical directories

## Trust Boundaries

### External Entry Points
| Entry Point | Location | Input Type | Validation |
|-------------|----------|------------|------------|
| REST API | `src/routes/api/` | JSON | [Describe] |
| File Upload | `src/controllers/upload.js` | Multipart | [Describe] |
| WebSocket | `src/ws/handler.js` | Messages | [Describe] |
| GraphQL | `src/graphql/resolvers/` | Queries | [Describe] |

### Internal Trust Boundaries
- **Service-to-Service**: How internal services authenticate
- **Database Access**: Connection handling, query construction
- **Cache Layer**: What's cached, cache poisoning risks
- **Message Queue**: Message validation, serialization

## Attack Surface

### Network Exposure
- **Public Endpoints**: Unauthenticated routes
- **Authenticated Endpoints**: Routes requiring auth
- **Admin Endpoints**: Privileged routes
- **Internal APIs**: Service-to-service communication

### Data Input Vectors
1. **User Input**: Forms, query params, headers
2. **File Input**: Uploads, imports
3. **API Input**: Third-party webhooks, callbacks
4. **Scheduled Input**: Cron jobs, background tasks

## Authentication Flow

### Primary Authentication

[Diagram or step-by-step flow]

•User submits credentials to POST /auth/login
•Server validates against [user store]
•[Session/Token] created and returned
•Subsequent requests authenticated via [header/cookie]

code


**Implementation Files:**
- Login handler: `src/auth/login.js`
- Session management: `src/auth/session.js`
- Auth middleware: `src/middleware/authenticate.js`

### Session Management
- **Type**: [Cookie/JWT/Session ID]
- **Storage**: [Server-side/Client-side]
- **Expiration**: [Duration, renewal policy]
- **Invalidation**: [Logout handling]

### Multi-Factor Authentication
- **Supported**: [Yes/No]
- **Implementation**: [Location if present]

## Authorization Model

### Access Control Type
[RBAC/ABAC/ACL/Custom] implemented in `path/to/authz`

### Roles & Permissions
| Role | Permissions | Definition Location |
|------|-------------|---------------------|
| admin | Full access | `src/config/roles.js` |
| user | Read, write own | `src/config/roles.js` |
| guest | Read public | `src/config/roles.js` |

### Authorization Enforcement Points
- **Route level**: `src/middleware/authorize.js`
- **Controller level**: [If present]
- **Data level**: [Row-level security if present]

## Sensitive Data Handling

### Data Classification
| Data Type | Classification | Storage | Encryption |
|-----------|---------------|---------|------------|
| Passwords | Critical | DB (hashed) | [Algorithm] |
| PII | Sensitive | DB | [At-rest encryption] |
| API Keys | Critical | Env/Vault | [Method] |
| Session Tokens | Sensitive | [Redis/Memory] | [Method] |

### Data Flow

[Input] → [Validation] → [Processing] → [Storage] ↓ [Logging - what's logged?]

code


### Secrets Management
- **Location**: Environment variables / Vault / Config files
- **Rotation**: [Policy if any]
- **Access**: [Who/what can access]

## Cryptographic Implementation

### Algorithms in Use
| Purpose | Algorithm | Location | Assessment |
|---------|-----------|----------|------------|
| Password Hashing | [bcrypt/argon2/etc.] | `src/auth/password.js` | [Adequate/Weak] |
| Token Signing | [HS256/RS256/etc.] | `src/auth/jwt.js` | [Adequate/Weak] |
| Data Encryption | [AES-256-GCM/etc.] | `src/utils/crypto.js` | [Adequate/Weak] |
| TLS | [Version] | Server config | [Adequate/Weak] |

### Key Management
- **Storage**: [HSM/Vault/Environment/Hardcoded(!)]
- **Rotation**: [Automated/Manual/None]
- **Derivation**: [KDF used if any]

### Cryptographic Concerns
- [ ] Hardcoded keys or IVs
- [ ] Weak algorithms (MD5, SHA1 for security, DES, RC4)
- [ ] ECB mode usage
- [ ] Predictable random number generation
- [ ] Missing integrity checks (encryption without MAC)

## Input Validation & Output Encoding

### Input Validation
| Input Source | Validation Method | Location |
|--------------|-------------------|----------|
| Query params | [Schema/Manual] | `src/middleware/validate.js` |
| Request body | [Schema/Manual] | `src/middleware/validate.js` |
| File uploads | [Type/Size/Content] | `src/controllers/upload.js` |
| Headers | [Allowlist/None] | [Location] |

### Output Encoding
| Context | Encoding Method | Location |
|---------|-----------------|----------|
| HTML | [Escaped/Template auto-escape] | `src/views/` |
| JSON | [Serializer] | [Framework default] |
| SQL | [Parameterized/ORM] | `src/models/` |
| Shell | [Escaped/Avoided] | [If applicable] |

## Security Controls

### Existing Controls
- [ ] CSRF protection: [Implementation]
- [ ] Rate limiting: [Implementation]
- [ ] CORS policy: [Configuration location]
- [ ] Security headers: [Helmet/manual]
- [ ] SQL injection prevention: [ORM/parameterized]
- [ ] XSS prevention: [CSP/encoding]
- [ ] Path traversal prevention: [Method]

### Logging & Monitoring
- **Security Events Logged**: [Auth failures, access denied, etc.]
- **Log Location**: `path/to/logs` or [external service]
- **Sensitive Data in Logs**: [Yes/No - check for PII leakage]
- **Audit Trail**: [Present/Absent]

### Error Handling
- **Error Response Pattern**: [Generic/Detailed]
- **Stack Traces Exposed**: [Yes/No]
- **Error Logging**: [Implementation]

## External Integrations

| Service | Purpose | Auth Method | Data Exchanged |
|---------|---------|-------------|----------------|
| [Service] | [Purpose] | [API Key/OAuth] | [Data types] |

### Third-Party Risks
- Dependency on external services for security functions
- Data sent to third parties
- Callback/webhook handling

## Dependencies Security

### Critical Dependencies
| Package | Version | Purpose | Known Issues |
|---------|---------|---------|--------------|
| [package] | [version] | [auth/crypto/etc.] | [CVEs if any] |

### Dependency Analysis Commands
```bash
# Node.js
npm audit

# Python
pip-audit / safety check

# Go
govulncheck ./...

# Ruby
bundle audit

Security Testing

Existing Security Tests

•Location: tests/security/ or integrated
•Coverage: [Auth, authz, injection, etc.]
•Automation: [CI/CD integration]

Recommended Test Areas

•Authentication bypass attempts
•Authorization boundary testing
•Input validation fuzzing
•Session management testing
•Cryptographic implementation review

Configuration Security

Security-Relevant Configuration

Setting	Location	Current Value	Recommendation
Debug mode	`config/app.js`	[true/false]	false in prod
Session timeout	`config/auth.js`	[value]	[recommendation]
Password policy	`config/auth.js`	[policy]	[recommendation]

Environment Variables

Variable	Purpose	Sensitivity
`DATABASE_URL`	DB connection	High
`JWT_SECRET`	Token signing	Critical
`API_KEY`	External service	High

High-Risk Areas

Priority Review Targets

•[Component]: [Reason for concern]
•[Component]: [Reason for concern]
•[Component]: [Reason for concern]

Known Security Debt

•[Issue 1]: [Location, severity, notes]
•[Issue 2]: [Location, severity, notes]

Quick Reference

Security-Critical Files

File	Contains
`src/auth/login.js`	Authentication logic
`src/middleware/auth.js`	Auth middleware
`src/utils/crypto.js`	Crypto operations
`config/security.js`	Security configuration

Common Vulnerability Locations

•SQLi: src/models/, raw query usage
•XSS: src/views/, dynamic content
•SSRF: src/services/, URL handling
•Path Traversal: src/controllers/, file operations
•Deserialization: src/utils/, object parsing

Compliance Considerations

If applicable:

•GDPR: Data subject rights implementation
•PCI-DSS: Cardholder data handling
•HIPAA: PHI protection measures
•SOC 2: Security controls mapping

code


## Generation Checklist

Before finalizing, verify:
- [ ] All entry points identified
- [ ] Authentication flow fully traced
- [ ] Authorization enforcement points mapped
- [ ] Sensitive data flows documented
- [ ] Cryptographic usage catalogued
- [ ] External integrations listed
- [ ] High-risk areas highlighted
- [ ] Security controls inventory complete

## Success Criteria

A complete DISCOVERY.md enables a security reviewer to:
- Understand the application's security posture in <30 minutes
- Identify all trust boundaries and entry points
- Locate security-critical code files directly
- Know what authentication/authorization mechanisms exist
- Find cryptographic implementations for review

## Output

Save as `DISCOVERY.md` in the repository root at $ARGUMENTS.