d-subrahmanyam/cors-security-headers

CORS & Security Headers

CORS (Express)

import cors from 'cors';

// Restrictive (recommended)
app.use(cors({
  origin: ['https://myapp.com', 'https://admin.myapp.com'],
  methods: ['GET', 'POST', 'PUT', 'DELETE'],
  allowedHeaders: ['Content-Type', 'Authorization'],
  credentials: true,
  maxAge: 86400, // Preflight cache: 24h
}));

// Dynamic origin
app.use(cors({
  origin: (origin, callback) => {
    const allowed = ALLOWED_ORIGINS.includes(origin!) || !origin; // !origin = same-origin
    callback(null, allowed ? origin : false);
  },
  credentials: true,
}));

Security Headers (Helmet.js)

import helmet from 'helmet';

app.use(helmet({
  contentSecurityPolicy: {
    directives: {
      defaultSrc: ["'self'"],
      scriptSrc: ["'self'", "'unsafe-inline'", 'https://cdn.example.com'],
      styleSrc: ["'self'", "'unsafe-inline'"],
      imgSrc: ["'self'", 'data:', 'https:'],
      connectSrc: ["'self'", 'https://api.example.com'],
      frameSrc: ["'none'"],
      objectSrc: ["'none'"],
    },
  },
  hsts: { maxAge: 31536000, includeSubDomains: true, preload: true },
  referrerPolicy: { policy: 'strict-origin-when-cross-origin' },
}));

CSRF Protection

import csrf from 'csurf';

// For server-rendered forms (session-based apps)
app.use(csrf({ cookie: true }));
app.get('/form', (req, res) => {
  res.render('form', { csrfToken: req.csrfToken() });
});

// For SPAs: use SameSite cookies + custom header
// No csrf library needed — rely on:
// 1. SameSite=Strict/Lax cookies
// 2. Check Origin/Referer header matches
// 3. Custom header requirement (X-Requested-With)

Secure Cookies

app.use(session({
  cookie: {
    httpOnly: true,        // No JS access
    secure: true,          // HTTPS only
    sameSite: 'lax',       // CSRF protection
    maxAge: 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000,
    domain: '.myapp.com',  // Shared across subdomains
  },
}));

Spring Boot Security Headers

@Bean
SecurityFilterChain securityFilterChain(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception {
    return http
        .cors(cors -> cors.configurationSource(corsConfig()))
        .headers(headers -> headers
            .contentSecurityPolicy(csp -> csp.policyDirectives("default-src 'self'"))
            .referrerPolicy(ref -> ref.policy(ReferrerPolicyHeaderWriter.ReferrerPolicy.STRICT_ORIGIN))
            .frameOptions(frame -> frame.deny())
        )
        .csrf(csrf -> csrf.csrfTokenRepository(CookieCsrfTokenRepository.withHttpOnlyFalse()))
        .build();
}

@Bean
CorsConfigurationSource corsConfig() {
    var config = new CorsConfiguration();
    config.setAllowedOrigins(List.of("https://myapp.com"));
    config.setAllowedMethods(List.of("GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE"));
    config.setAllowCredentials(true);
    var source = new UrlBasedCorsConfigurationSource();
    source.registerCorsConfiguration("/**", config);
    return source;
}

Key Headers Reference

| Header | Purpose | Recommended Value | |--------|---------|------------------| | Strict-Transport-Security | Force HTTPS | max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains | | Content-Security-Policy | Restrict resource loading | default-src 'self' + specifics | | X-Content-Type-Options | Prevent MIME sniffing | nosniff | | X-Frame-Options | Prevent clickjacking | DENY | | Referrer-Policy | Control referrer info | strict-origin-when-cross-origin | | Permissions-Policy | Restrict browser features | camera=(), microphone=() |

Anti-Patterns

| Anti-Pattern | Fix | |--------------|-----| | Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * with credentials | Specify exact origins | | No CSP header | Add Content-Security-Policy | | CSRF token in URL query params | Use header or hidden form field | | SameSite=None without Secure | Always pair SameSite=None with Secure | | Missing HSTS | Enable with long max-age and preload |

Production Checklist

• [ ] CORS: specific origins, no wildcard with credentials
• [ ] Helmet.js (or equivalent) for all security headers
• [ ] CSP configured and tested
• [ ] HSTS with preload
• [ ] Secure, HttpOnly, SameSite cookies
• [ ] CSRF protection for state-changing requests