Frontend Security

Frontend Security

Browser-side hardening: XSS, CSP, CORS, SRI, DOM clobbering, iframe sandboxing, Trusted Types

ALWAYS

• Treat all user/URL/storage data as untrusted. Render via framework escaping ({} in JSX/Vue/Svelte, {{ }} in templating). For raw HTML use a vetted sanitizer (DOMPurify) with a strict allowlist.
• Send a strict Content-Security-Policy header. Minimum production baseline: default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' 'nonce-'; object-src 'none'; base-uri 'self'; frame-ancestors 'none'; form-action 'self'; upgrade-insecure-requests. Use nonces or hashes — never 'unsafe-inline' for script-src.
• Set Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=63072000; includeSubDomains; preload, X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff, Referrer-Policy: no-referrer-when-downgrade or stricter, and Permissions-Policy to drop unused features.
• Add integrity="sha384-..." crossorigin="anonymous" to every ` and ` loaded from a CDN.
• Add sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin" (only the attributes you need) to every ``. Default to no allow flags.
• Use cookies with Secure; HttpOnly; SameSite=Lax (or Strict for sensitive flows). __Host- prefix when there's no subdomain sharing.
• Enable Trusted Types where browser support allows (Content-Security-Policy: require-trusted-types-for 'script') so DOM-sink assignments (innerHTML, setAttribute('src', ...) for scripts) must be routed through a typed policy.

NEVER

• Use dangerouslySetInnerHTML, v-html, {@html ...}, innerHTML =, or document.write with untrusted input.
• Use eval, new Function, setTimeout(string), setInterval(string), or Function('return x').
• Inject user input into href, src, formaction, action, or any URL-bearing attribute without scheme validation (block javascript:, data:, vbscript:).
• Use target="_blank" without rel="noopener noreferrer" — leaks window.opener.
• Trust DOM nodes by id alone. DOM clobbering: an attacker-controlled ` shadows window.config`.
• Use postMessage without checking event.origin against an allowlist.
• Store JWTs, refresh tokens, or PII in localStorage / sessionStorage — any XSS exfiltrates them. Prefer HttpOnly cookies.
• Read or write document.cookie from JavaScript for auth cookies — they should be HttpOnly anyway.
• Treat tightening the HTML sanitizer as the fix when the exploit rides on content the sanitizer allows by design — a valid `, an , or a permitted attribute. The sanitizer is working; the vulnerable behaviour is **downstream** (in-app navigation, a shell / openExternal` sink, an over-privileged renderer or IPC bridge, a URL sink). Fix the sink / context, not the markup allowlist.

KNOWN FALSE POSITIVES

• Internal admin tools deliberately rendering Markdown / rich text from trusted authors may use dangerouslySetInnerHTML after a sanitizer pass; document the sanitizer call inline.
• Browser extensions sometimes need 'unsafe-eval' in the extension CSP; user-facing web app CSP should still forbid it.
• WebSocket connections to non-same-origin endpoints are fine when the server performs origin validation.
• A native / WASM codec, decoder, or loader that is merely registered or referenced (setDRACOLoader(...), a plugin registration, a lazy import) is not an active attack surface unless its binary / asset is actually shipped and the module initialized at runtime. Verify asset-present + module-init + reachable input format before flagging — wiring alone is a false positive (inputs needing the missing decoder simply fail to load).

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: ShieldNet-360
• Source: ShieldNet-360/secure-vibe
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.