Springboot Security

affaan-m/ECC/.kiro/skills/springboot-security

by affaan-mef648e01899ba3e8dc6371642deaaf64b4477775No license275K starsListed Oct 9, 2026Updated Oct 9, 2026Repository updated 4 days ago

Spring Security best practices for authn/authz, validation, CSRF, secrets, headers, rate limiting, and dependency security in Java Spring Boot services.

Instructions onlySecurity
AI-generated overview

Spring Boot security review guidance covering authentication, authorization, validation, CSRF, secrets, headers, rate limiting and dependency checks.

What it does
This skill provides a review checklist and code patterns for securing Java Spring Boot services. It covers authentication filters, method-level authorization, input validation, SQL injection prevention, password encoding, CSRF posture, secrets externalization, security headers, CORS, rate limiting, dependency scanning, logging hygiene and file uploads. It produces guidance and annotated Java and YAML examples rather than executable artifacts.
When to use it
Use it when adding authentication or authorization to a Spring Boot service, handling user input, creating endpoints, or managing secrets. It also fits reviews of CORS, CSRF, security headers, rate limiting and dependency vulnerabilities before release.
Requirements
No scripts or tooling are required; it is instructions only. The examples assume a Java Spring Boot project with Spring Security, and mention optional libraries and services such as Bucket4j, Spring Cloud Vault, OWASP Dependency Check and Snyk.

Spring Boot Security Review

Use when adding auth, handling input, creating endpoints, or dealing with secrets.

When to Activate

  • Adding authentication (JWT, OAuth2, session-based)
  • Implementing authorization (@PreAuthorize, role-based access)
  • Validating user input (Bean Validation, custom validators)
  • Configuring CORS, CSRF, or security headers
  • Managing secrets (Vault, environment variables)
  • Adding rate limiting or brute-force protection
  • Scanning dependencies for CVEs

Authentication

  • Prefer stateless JWT or opaque tokens with revocation list
  • Use httpOnly, Secure, SameSite=Strict cookies for sessions
  • Validate tokens with OncePerRequestFilter or resource server
java
@Componentpublic class JwtAuthFilter extends OncePerRequestFilter {  private final JwtService jwtService;
  public JwtAuthFilter(JwtService jwtService) {    this.jwtService = jwtService;  }
  @Override  protected void doFilterInternal(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response,      FilterChain chain) throws ServletException, IOException {    String header = request.getHeader(HttpHeaders.AUTHORIZATION);    if (header != null && header.startsWith("Bearer ")) {      String token = header.substring(7);      Authentication auth = jwtService.authenticate(token);      SecurityContextHolder.getContext().setAuthentication(auth);    }    chain.doFilter(request, response);  }}

Authorization

  • Enable method security: @EnableMethodSecurity
  • Use @PreAuthorize("hasRole('ADMIN')") or @PreAuthorize("@authz.canEdit(#id)")
  • Deny by default; expose only required scopes
java
@RestController@RequestMapping("/api/admin")public class AdminController {
  @PreAuthorize("hasRole('ADMIN')")  @GetMapping("/users")  public List<UserDto> listUsers() {    return userService.findAll();  }
  @PreAuthorize("@authz.isOwner(#id, authentication)")  @DeleteMapping("/users/{id}")  public ResponseEntity<Void> deleteUser(@PathVariable Long id) {    userService.delete(id);    return ResponseEntity.noContent().build();  }}

Input Validation

  • Use Bean Validation with @Valid on controllers
  • Apply constraints on DTOs: @NotBlank, @Email, @Size, custom validators
  • Sanitize any HTML with a whitelist before rendering
java
// BAD: No validation@PostMapping("/users")public User createUser(@RequestBody UserDto dto) {  return userService.create(dto);}
// GOOD: Validated DTOpublic record CreateUserDto(    @NotBlank @Size(max = 100) String name,    @NotBlank @Email String email,    @NotNull @Min(0) @Max(150) Integer age) {}
@PostMapping("/users")public ResponseEntity<UserDto> createUser(@Valid @RequestBody CreateUserDto dto) {  return ResponseEntity.status(HttpStatus.CREATED)      .body(userService.create(dto));}

SQL Injection Prevention

  • Use Spring Data repositories or parameterized queries
  • For native queries, use :param bindings; never concatenate strings
java
// BAD: String concatenation with EntityManager (SQL injection risk)String sql = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = '" + name + "'";List<User> users = entityManager.createNativeQuery(sql, User.class).getResultList();
// GOOD: Parameterized native query@Query(value = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = :name", nativeQuery = true)List<User> findByName(@Param("name") String name);
// GOOD: Spring Data derived query (auto-parameterized)List<User> findByEmailAndActiveTrue(String email);

Password Encoding

  • Always hash passwords with BCrypt or Argon2 — never store plaintext
  • Use PasswordEncoder bean, not manual hashing
java
@Beanpublic PasswordEncoder passwordEncoder() {  return new BCryptPasswordEncoder(12); // cost factor 12}
// In servicepublic User register(CreateUserDto dto) {  String hashedPassword = passwordEncoder.encode(dto.password());  return userRepository.save(new User(dto.email(), hashedPassword));}

CSRF Protection

  • For browser session apps, keep CSRF enabled; include token in forms/headers
  • For pure APIs with Bearer tokens, disable CSRF and rely on stateless auth
java
http  .csrf(csrf -> csrf.disable())  .sessionManagement(sm -> sm.sessionCreationPolicy(SessionCreationPolicy.STATELESS));

Secrets Management

  • No secrets in source; load from env or vault
  • Keep application.yml free of credentials; use placeholders
  • Rotate tokens and DB credentials regularly
yaml
# BAD: Hardcoded in application.ymlspring:  datasource:    password: mySecretPassword123
# GOOD: Environment variable placeholderspring:  datasource:    password: ${DB_PASSWORD}
# GOOD: Spring Cloud Vault integrationspring:  cloud:    vault:      uri: https://vault.example.com      token: ${VAULT_TOKEN}

Security Headers

java
http  .headers(headers -> headers    .contentSecurityPolicy(csp -> csp      .policyDirectives("default-src 'self'"))    .frameOptions(HeadersConfigurer.FrameOptionsConfig::sameOrigin)    .xssProtection(Customizer.withDefaults())    .referrerPolicy(rp -> rp.policy(ReferrerPolicyHeaderWriter.ReferrerPolicy.NO_REFERRER)));

CORS Configuration

  • Configure CORS at the security filter level, not per-controller
  • Restrict allowed origins — never use * in production
java
@Beanpublic CorsConfigurationSource corsConfigurationSource() {  CorsConfiguration config = new CorsConfiguration();  config.setAllowedOrigins(List.of("https://app.example.com"));  config.setAllowedMethods(List.of("GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE"));  config.setAllowedHeaders(List.of("Authorization", "Content-Type"));  config.setAllowCredentials(true);  config.setMaxAge(3600L);
  UrlBasedCorsConfigurationSource source = new UrlBasedCorsConfigurationSource();  source.registerCorsConfiguration("/api/**", config);  return source;}
// In SecurityFilterChain:http.cors(cors -> cors.configurationSource(corsConfigurationSource()));

Rate Limiting

  • Apply Bucket4j or gateway-level limits on expensive endpoints
  • Log and alert on bursts; return 429 with retry hints
java
// Using Bucket4j for per-endpoint rate limiting@Componentpublic class RateLimitFilter extends OncePerRequestFilter {  private final Map<String, Bucket> buckets = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
  private Bucket createBucket() {    return Bucket.builder()        .addLimit(Bandwidth.classic(100, Refill.intervally(100, Duration.ofMinutes(1))))        .build();  }
  @Override  protected void doFilterInternal(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response,      FilterChain chain) throws ServletException, IOException {    String clientIp = request.getRemoteAddr();    Bucket bucket = buckets.computeIfAbsent(clientIp, k -> createBucket());
    if (bucket.tryConsume(1)) {      chain.doFilter(request, response);    } else {      response.setStatus(HttpStatus.TOO_MANY_REQUESTS.value());      response.getWriter().write("{\"error\": \"Rate limit exceeded\"}");    }  }}

Dependency Security

  • Run OWASP Dependency Check / Snyk in CI
  • Keep Spring Boot and Spring Security on supported versions
  • Fail builds on known CVEs

Logging and PII

  • Never log secrets, tokens, passwords, or full PAN data
  • Redact sensitive fields; use structured JSON logging

File Uploads

  • Validate size, content type, and extension
  • Store outside web root; scan if required

Checklist Before Release

  • Auth tokens validated and expired correctly
  • Authorization guards on every sensitive path
  • All inputs validated and sanitized
  • No string-concatenated SQL
  • CSRF posture correct for app type
  • Secrets externalized; none committed
  • Security headers configured
  • Rate limiting on APIs
  • Dependencies scanned and up to date
  • Logs free of sensitive data

Remember: Deny by default, validate inputs, least privilege, and secure-by-configuration first.

Source and attribution

Source:affaan-m/ECCin.kiro/skills/springboot-securityat commitef648e0

License: No license

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