Several months ago, Darcy Clarke, a former Staff Engineering Manager at GitHub, discovered the “Manifest Confusion” bug in the npm ecosystem. The bug was caused by the npm registry not validating whether the manifest file contained in the tarball (package.json) matches the manifest data published to the npm server. Clarke claims this to be a large threat, allowing malicious actors to deceive developers and hide harmful code from detection.

As backend developers, we are tasked with the crucial role of ensuring the security of our applications. Node.js is not exempt from this responsibility and its growing popularity makes it a lucrative target for hackers, making it imperative to follow best security practices when working with Node.js. In this blog post, we will be exploring some essential Node.js security code snippets every backend developer should know in 2024.

Server-side request forgery (SSRF) is a common vulnerability that can crop up unknowingly in any Node.js application. It poses a significant threat because attackers can manipulate a server into making unintended requests to both internal and external resources. This article will explore SSRF, its potential risks, and the strategies to mitigate SSRF in Node.js applications.

As reliance on software systems continues to grow, so does the emergence of numerous security threats. One notable threat for developers, especially those working with Node.js, is SQL injection. SQL injection is a malicious attack where nefarious SQL code is injected into a system, exposing sensitive information, corrupting or deleting data, and sometimes, granting unauthorized access to attackers.

A cross-site request forgery attack (CSRF) attack is a security vulnerability capitalizing on trust between a web browser and a legitimate website. Crafty attackers manipulate browsers into executing malicious actions on websites where users authenticate themselves and log in. Often, these attacks start when users click a link attached to a deceptive email or land on a compromised website, unaware of the logic executing in the background.

JavaScript runtimes help you build advanced, server-driven JavaScript projects that aren't dependent on the user's browser to run. There are several choices of runtimes available, with the supremacy of the old stalwart Node.js being challenged by Deno and Bun. Deno is the latest project produced by the same developer who originally created Node.js, Ryan Dahl, back in 2009.

With threat actors performing man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, having an SSL/TLS certificate is no longer a valid reason to trust an incoming connection. Consequently, developers are increasingly adopting SSL/TLS pinning, also known as certificate or public key pinning, as an additional measure to prove the authenticity and integrity of a connection.