Security Checklists

Overview

Welcome to the Security Checklists section. This directory contains practical, actionable security verification lists designed for different stages of the development and deployment lifecycle.

These checklists ensure consistent application of security controls, prevent regressions, and provide a standardized approach to security verification across teams.

📋 Available Checklists

PR Security Review Checklist

For: Code reviewers, security team, and maintainers
When: Every pull request with code changes
Duration: 5-15 minutes per PR
Purpose: Prevent security vulnerabilities from entering the codebase

Key Areas Covered:

• ✅ Authentication & Authorization (tokens, sessions, access control)
• ✅ Input Validation & XSS Prevention (form validation, React safety, DOM operations)
• ✅ API Security (requests, responses, error handling, CORS)
• ✅ Data Protection & Logging (sensitive data, error messages, audit trails)
• ✅ Dependencies & Third-party Code (npm audit, vulnerabilities, supply chain)
• ✅ Cryptography & Secrets (environment variables, secrets management)
• ✅ Code Quality & Best Practices (TypeScript, ESLint, error handling)
• ✅ Testing (security test coverage, test execution)
• ✅ Documentation & Comments (code comments, PR descriptions)
• ✅ Manual Security Testing (functional verification, security testing)

Checklist Structure:

• 10 major categories
• 40+ specific items to verify
• Sign-off section for reviewer accountability
• Reference links to detailed documentation

Use this checklist when:

• Reviewing code changes from team members
• Preparing to merge PRs to master
• Verifying security practices in new code
• Training new reviewers on security standards

Pre-Release Security Checklist

For: DevOps teams, SRE, and release managers
When: 1-2 days before every production release
Duration: 30-60 minutes per release
Purpose: Ensure all security controls are active and verified before production deployment

Key Areas Covered:

• ✅ HTTPS & TLS Security (certificates, protocols, cipher suites, HSTS)
• ✅ Security Headers Configuration (CSP, X-Frame-Options, HSTS, Referrer-Policy)
• ✅ Environment & Secrets Configuration (environment variables, API keys, secret rotation)
• ✅ Authentication & Authorization (token validation, login security, RBAC)
• ✅ CORS & Cross-Origin Security (allowed origins, headers, preflight handling)
• ✅ Data Protection & Privacy (encryption, logging, audit trails)
• ✅ Dependencies & Vulnerabilities (npm audit, vulnerability assessment, build security)
• ✅ Deployment & Infrastructure (web server config, access controls, network security)
• ✅ Deployment Verification (health checks, security header validation, SSL/TLS testing)
• ✅ Rollback & Contingency (rollback procedures, incident response)

Checklist Structure:

• 10 major categories
• 60+ specific items to verify
• Multi-phase approach (pre-deployment, deployment day, post-deployment)
• Sign-off section with team accountability
• Post-deployment metrics to monitor

Use this checklist when:

• Preparing for production deployment
• Setting up new environments
• Verifying configuration before release
• Compliance audits and security reviews
• Infrastructure changes or updates

🎯 Checklist Selection Guide

Based on Your Role

👨‍💼 Code Reviewer / Developer → Use: PR Security Review Checklist

• Quick review of code changes
• Before approving PRs to master
• ~5-15 minutes per PR

🚀 DevOps / SRE / Release Manager → Use: Pre-Release Security Checklist

• Before production releases
• Environment configuration verification
• ~30-60 minutes per release

🔐 Security Team Lead → Use: Both checklists

• During code reviews
• Before releases
• Quarterly audits

📋 QA / Testing → Use: PR Security Review (H1-H2 sections only)

• Security test coverage verification
• Test execution validation

🔄 How to Use These Checklists

For Pull Request Reviews

1. Copy the PR Security Review Checklist into a GitHub comment or local document
2. Work through each section systematically:
   • Skip items marked N/A (e.g., if PR doesn't touch API)
   • ✅ Check items that pass
   • ⚠️ Note items that need attention
   • ❌ Block PR if critical issues found
3. Document findings with specific code references
4. Sign off with reviewer name and date
5. Approve or request changes in GitHub

For Pre-Release Verification

1. Schedule 1-2 days before planned release
2. Gather team (DevOps lead, security lead, product manager)
3. Work through each section on deployment/staging environment:
   • Test actual configurations
   • Run validation scripts (SSL Labs, curl tests, etc.)
   • Verify monitoring and alerting
4. Document any exceptions with risk assessment
5. Get sign-offs from all required stakeholders
6. Execute deployment with team monitoring
7. Run post-deployment validation within 24 hours

📊 Checklist Statistics

PR Security Review Checklist

Pre-Release Security Checklist

🚀 Checklist Implementation

Integrating into Workflow

GitHub Branch Protection Rules

# Require security checklist to be completed
Required status checks:
  - "Security Review Complete" (comment from reviewer)

CODEOWNERS:
  /src/ @security-team

Release Procedure

Release Process:
  1. Code → PR with security review ✅
  2. Staging deployment
  3. Pre-release security checklist ✅
  4. Production deployment
  5. Post-deployment verification ✅

CI/CD Integration

# Example GitHub Actions workflow trigger
name: Pre-Release Security Check
on:
  workflow_dispatch:  # Manual trigger before release
jobs:
  security-check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: SSL/TLS Validation
        run: npm run security:check:tls
      - name: Security Headers Check
        run: npm run security:check:headers
      - name: Dependency Scan
        run: npm audit --audit-level=high

📈 Metrics & Tracking

Track These Metrics

PR Review Metrics
├─ PRs reviewed with checklist: 100%
├─ Average review time: < 15 min
├─ Security issues caught in review: [track trends]
└─ False positives: [track trends]

Release Metrics
├─ Pre-release checklists completed: 100%
├─ Release duration: < 30 min
├─ Security issues in production: 0
└─ Post-release rollbacks due to security: 0

Dashboard Example

Security Checklist Compliance
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

PR Security Reviews:
  Last 30 days: 45 PRs reviewed
  Completion rate: 100% ✅
  Average score: 95%
  Issues found: 12
  Issues resolved: 11
  
Pre-Release Checklists:
  Last 5 releases: 100% completion
  Average time: 42 minutes
  No security issues in production ✅
  
Team Training:
  New reviewers trained: 8
  Avg reviewer confidence: 8.5/10

🔄 Maintaining Checklists

Update Checklist When:

• ✅ New security threat emerges
• ✅ New tools or technologies are adopted
• ✅ Security incident occurs (add lessons learned)
• ✅ Compliance requirements change
• ✅ Quarterly security review (planned)
• ✅ Major architecture changes

Versioning

Current Version: 1.0.0 (November 13, 2025)

Changes are tracked in:

• Commit messages in git history
• Version history in each checklist file
• Security team meeting minutes

📚 Integration with Other Documentation

These checklists reference and support:

• PR Security Review ← Links to:

  • API Security Guide
  • Authentication & Authorization
  • XSS Prevention
  • Error Logging

• Pre-Release Checklist ← Links to:

  • Security Headers
  • CI/CD Security
  • Dependency Management
  • Compliance & Standards

❓ FAQ

Q: Should we skip items marked N/A?

A: Yes. If a PR only changes documentation, you can skip code-related items. Document which items were skipped and why.

Q: How long should a PR review take?

A: 5-15 minutes depending on complexity. Use this as a guide—quality matters more than speed.

Q: What if we find a security issue?

A: Assign an issue, discuss with the author, and re-review after fixes. Block merge until resolved (unless accepted risk).

Q: Can we customize the checklists?

A: Yes! Customize based on your team's needs, but maintain consistency. Document customizations in your security documentation.

Q: How often should we update the checklists?

A: Quarterly reviews at minimum. Update immediately if new threats or incidents occur.

🤝 Contributing

Found an issue or want to improve a checklist?

1. Create an issue describing the change
2. Reference the specific checklist and item
3. Include evidence of the security concern
4. Request review from security team

📞 Support & Questions

For questions about using these checklists:

• For PR reviews: Ask in #security channel or mention @security-team
• For releases: Contact DevOps lead or security team
• For updates: Submit issue or PR with proposed changes

🔐 Compliance & Standards

These checklists implement controls from:

• OWASP ASVS v4.0 — Level 2 standard controls
• OWASP Top 10 2021 — All 10 vulnerabilities
• GDPR — Data protection requirements
• PCI DSS — Payment security (where applicable)
• SOC 2 — Security controls

See Compliance & Standards for detailed mapping.

📋 Checklist Templates

Minimal PR Review (For docs-only PRs)

## Security Review (Docs-Only)

- [ ] No hardcoded secrets in documentation
- [ ] Security information is accurate
- [ ] No sensitive examples or real credentials
- [ ] Links to security docs are correct

Reviewed by: _________________ Date: _________

Standard PR Review (Code changes)

→ Use full PR Security Review Checklist

Quick Pre-Release Check (Minor update)

## Quick Pre-Release Check

- [ ] npm audit passes (no high/critical)
- [ ] Security headers verified (curl -I)
- [ ] 401/403 error handling works
- [ ] No console errors in production

Verified by: _________________ Date: _________

Full Pre-Release Check (Major release)

→ Use full Pre-Release Security Checklist

Last Updated: November 13, 2025
Version: 1.0.0
Maintained By: StockEase Security Team
Review Cycle: Quarterly
Classification: Internal - Security Team & Developers