michaelalber/php-security-review

PHP Security Review

"Security is not a product, but a process." — Bruce Schneier

Core Philosophy

Shared across the dotnet / python / php / rust security reviews — same values, language-specific threats.

| # | Value | What it means | |---|-------|---------------| | 1 | Validate at boundaries | Every external input validated and typed at the edge; never trust client data. | | 2 | Parameterized queries only | No string-concatenated SQL; bound parameters everywhere. | | 3 | Secrets out of code | No hardcoded secrets; env / secret-manager; never logged. | | 4 | Authn/authz at every boundary | Authentication and authorization enforced server-side at each trust boundary; deny by default. | | 5 | Least privilege & safe defaults | Minimal permissions; secure defaults; fail closed. | | 6 | Protect data in transit & at rest | No sensitive data (passwords, tokens, PII) in logs; TLS; encryption at rest. | | 7 | Dependencies pinned & audited | Versions pinned; CVE scan in CI; supply chain reviewed. | | 8 | Evidence-based, graded findings | Every finding cites file:line + OWASP category + severity; report is graded and manager-readable. |

Workflow

Shared skeleton: DETECT → SCAN → EXECUTIVE SUMMARY → GRADED FINDINGS.

DETECT     Framework (Laravel/Symfony/plain + version), entry points (routes, controllers, jobs,
           console commands), and the data stores / external calls in scope.

SCAN       Walk the PHP Threat Checklist below, one OWASP category at a time. Gather evidence:
             composer audit                       # known CVEs in dependencies
             phpstan analyse / psalm --taint-analysis   # taint + static analysis
             grep -rn "DB::raw\|{!! \|unserialize\|env(" app/   # high-signal patterns
           Every issue becomes a finding with file:line, OWASP category, and severity.

EXEC SUMMARY  Manager-friendly: risk grade, count by severity, top 3 risks in plain language.

FINDINGS      Technical table: severity · location · OWASP · finding · remediation.

PHP Threat Checklist (language-specific)

| OWASP (2025) | PHP / Laravel check | Severity signal | |---|---|---| | A01 Broken Access Control | Gates/Policies enforced; no IDOR (object ownership checked); mass-assignment guarded ($fillable/$guarded, never Model::unguard()) | Critical | | A02 Cryptographic Failures | password_hash/Bcrypt/Argon2 (never MD5/SHA1 for passwords); openssl/sodium for encryption; no mt_rand for tokens (random_bytes) | High | | A03 Injection | Eloquent / bound params; no DB::raw/whereRaw on input; no eval/shell_exec on input (escapeshellarg); Blade auto-escapes — {!! !!} only on sanitized HTML | Critical | | A05 Misconfiguration | APP_DEBUG=false in prod; .env not web-served; no directory listing; security headers set | High | | A06 Vulnerable Components | composer audit clean; no abandoned packages; composer.lock committed | High | | A07 Auth/Session Failures | Login rate-limited/throttled; session regenerated on login (fixation); secure+httpOnly cookies; CSRF tokens on state-changing routes | High | | A08 Integrity Failures | No unserialize() on user input (object injection); signed/verified package sources | Critical | | A09 Logging Failures | No passwords/tokens/PII in logs; auth and access failures logged | Medium | | A10 SSRF | Outbound URLs from user input validated/allow-listed; no raw file_get_contents($userUrl) | High |

Full per-category checklist: owasp php checklist.

State Block

<security-review-state>
language: php
mode: DETECT | SCAN | EXEC-SUMMARY | FINDINGS | COMPLETE
detected: [framework+version | entry points | data stores]
owasp_covered: [A01..A10 progress]
findings: [critical:N high:N medium:N low:N]
last_action: [what was just done]
next_action: [what should happen next]
</security-review-state>

Output Template

Shared across all four security reviews. Executive summary template: executive summary.

## Security Review: [project] (PHP)
**Framework**: [Laravel x/Symfony/plain] | **Scope**: [paths] | **Risk grade**: [A–F]

### Executive Summary (manager-friendly)
[2–3 sentences: overall posture, the most serious risk in plain language, recommended next step.]
Findings: Critical [N] · High [N] · Medium [N] · Low [N]

### Technical Findings
| Severity | Location | OWASP | Finding | Remediation |
|----------|----------|-------|---------|-------------|
| CRITICAL | file:line | A03 | [pattern] | [fix] |

**Top 3 priorities**: 1. … 2. … 3. …

Risk grade: A no critical/high · B no critical, ≤2 high · C no critical, multiple high · D 1+ critical · F systemic (injection + secrets in code + broken access control).

AI Discipline Rules

• Evidence or it is not a finding. Run the tools; cite file:line and the OWASP category. No speculative findings.
• Detect the framework first. Laravel ships CSRF, hashing, and Blade escaping — confirm they are used, not bypassed, before flagging.
• Severity reflects exploitability + impact, not how unusual the pattern looks.
• Architecture, not here. Structural/maintainability issues belong to php-architecture-checklist — note and route.
• Federal/gov context → escalate. If NIST/FIPS/CUI/DOE applies, run security-review-federal after this base review.

Integration with Other Skills

• security-review-federal — Federal/gov overlay (NIST 800-53, FIPS, CUI, POA&M) applied on top of this base review.
• php-architecture-checklist — Companion for structure/maintainability; run first for context.
• supply-chain-audit — Deeper dependency/CVE and license analysis beyond composer audit.
• dotnet / python / rust-security-review — Sibling skills sharing this exact Core Values + workflow + output.