BugVault v2.0 includes the following security enhancements:

• Content-Security-Policy (CSP) to prevent XSS
• X-Frame-Options to prevent clickjacking
• X-Content-Type-Options to prevent MIME sniffing
• Referrer-Policy for privacy
• And more security headers

• 100 requests per 15 minutes per IP address
• Prevents brute-force attacks and DoS
• Configurable via express-rate-limit

• All user inputs are sanitized using DOMPurify
• HTML tags stripped from title, error, solution, context, project, and tags
• Prevents XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attacks

• Configurable allowed origins via ALLOWED_ORIGINS environment variable
• Default: http://localhost:3000
• Production: Set to your domain(s)

• JSON payload limited to 1MB (reduced from 10MB)
• Prevents memory exhaustion attacks

• All npm vulnerabilities fixed
• Zero known vulnerabilities in dependencies

✅ Current version is safe for local, single-user deployments.

No additional authentication needed if:

• Running on localhost
• Behind a firewall
• Only you have access

If deploying BugVault for team use or on the internet, we strongly recommend adding:

BugVault does not include built-in authentication. Consider:

Option A: API Key (Simple)

// server.js
const API_KEY = process.env.API_KEY;

const authenticate = (req, res, next) => {
  const key = req.headers['x-api-key'];
  if (key !== API_KEY) {
    return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Unauthorized' });
  }
  next();
};

app.use('/api', authenticate);

Option B: Reverse Proxy with Auth (Recommended)

• Deploy behind Nginx/Caddy with basic auth
• Use Cloudflare Access, Tailscale, or similar
• OAuth via Auth0, Okta, or similar

Option C: OAuth/JWT (Advanced)

• Implement with Passport.js
• Add user roles (admin, viewer, editor)
• Track issue ownership

Always use HTTPS in production. Use:

• Let's Encrypt (free SSL certificates)
• Cloudflare (free SSL + DDoS protection)
• Reverse proxy with TLS termination

Secure your MongoDB instance:

# docker-compose.yml
mongo:
  environment:
    MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME: admin
    MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MONGO_PASSWORD}

Production checklist:

• ✅ Enable MongoDB authentication
• ✅ Use strong passwords
• ✅ Restrict network access (bind to localhost or private network)
• ✅ Enable TLS for MongoDB connections
• ✅ Regular backups

Never commit secrets to Git.

Required production variables:

NODE_ENV=production
MONGO_URI=mongodb://user:password@host:27017/bugvault
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://yourdomain.com
API_KEY=your-secret-api-key-here

Use:

• Docker secrets
• Kubernetes secrets
• Cloud provider secrets (AWS Secrets Manager, etc.)

# Check for vulnerabilities weekly
npm audit

# Update dependencies monthly
npm update
npm audit fix

If you discover a security vulnerability in BugVault, please:

1. Do NOT open a public GitHub issue
2. Email the maintainer directly: tahseen137@gmail.com (replace with actual email)
3. Include:
   • Description of the vulnerability
   • Steps to reproduce
   • Potential impact
   • Suggested fix (if any)

We will respond within 48 hours and provide a fix within 7 days for critical issues.

A comprehensive security audit was conducted on February 16, 2026. See AUDIT.md for full details.

Summary:

• ✅ No critical vulnerabilities in core codebase
• ✅ All npm dependencies up to date
• ✅ Security headers implemented
• ✅ Input sanitization active
• ⚠️ Authentication required for production use

BugVault is designed for personal use and does not include user authentication. See recommendations above for adding auth.

Actions (create, update, delete) are not logged. Consider adding Winston or similar for production.

If you add file upload functionality, ensure:

• File type validation
• Virus scanning
• Size limits
• Secure storage (S3, etc.)

When contributing to BugVault:

1. Sanitize all inputs using DOMPurify
2. Validate all data with express-validator
3. Never trust user input (even from authenticated users)
4. Run npm audit before committing
5. Test for XSS, SQL injection, and CSRF
6. Follow OWASP Top 10 guidelines

• OWASP Top 10
• Node.js Security Best Practices
• Express Security Best Practices
• MongoDB Security Checklist

Last updated: February 16, 2026
Version: 2.0.0