Top 10 Node.js Security Best Practices

When it comes to a web development project, open-source technologies are the go-to choice of companies. According to a study, 76% of people in 2021 have utilized open-source technologies for their projects. However, security and cyberattacks remain to be their major concerns. Node.js is one such technology that every web developer uses for web app development. 

Every Nodejs developer understands the risk hackers pose to user data. Keeping Node.js's security and risk in mind, the blog will focus on the best practices the developers can use to improve their web app security.

Every one of you may have experienced in the past when your clients were worried if a specific framework like Nodejs was secure. Unfortunately, a simple answer to this question is each technology or device's information can be hacked and exploited via some resources. 

As per a survey, 14% of Node Package Manager system is vulnerable to security threats. While it is difficult to anticipate the risk, it is always best to follow some Node.js practices that ensure you security of your app, data, server, and platform. These are as follows

1. Keep track of logging and supervising 

Inconsistent logging and supervising can impose many types of security issues which may have implications on the cost of your firm. The memory leak causes trouble for your application which consistently receives huge data inputs from users.  

The Nodejs development company you hire for your business gathers metrics along with real-time information. Following good logging practices and monitoring helps the developers troubleshoot the Nodejs servers and track errors in the application.

2. Use flat Promise chains to evade nesting layers

Asynchronous callbacks are a better feature of Node.js than former callback features. However, the feature can also become your worst nightmare if its nesting layers increase. For example, the nesting layer reaching above 10, will create an error, because of which the results might be lost in asynchronous callbacks. 

3. Stop blocking the event loop for good performance

While no intrinsic danger is evident to Node.js's singular-thread event-driven architectures, it might be complicated when you execute the CPU-intensive JS operation in the system. 

Even if a new client communicates with the app, the Event Loop sends the feedback to the user. It is not only for newer connections, for each outgoing and incoming request passes via Event Loop. 

Hence, in different circumstances, when the Event Loop is blocked, the current and the new clients won't get an opportunity to set up a newer connection with the software app. This concept is called blocking, which gives rise to a threat during consistent resolving expression. 

Thus, a block within the event loop will generate higher potentialities of a security breach. Ensure that you avoid blocking for good performance and improved security. 

4. Handling uncaught exceptions to stop security loopholes 

The Nodejs's open-source framework prints the present stack trace and removes the complete thread. All the uncaught exceptions of the framework will not be susceptible to security; it allows behavioral customization via an EventEmitter object. 

The unmanaged code rejections create security loopholes. The resource allocation and improper handlers over the unrequired features can lead to an uncaught exception, making the app susceptible to risks. In dealing with it, "triggerUncaughtException<" warns developers and identifies errors in the programming syntax in real-time. 

5. Design strict authentication policies

A strong authentication policy is another best Nodejs practice a Nodejs development company applies in the ecosystem to improve security. A weak, broken, and incomplete authentication system is the main cause of the security issues. Thus, a Nodejs development company makes robust and high-level authentication policies for the website application. 

Generally, the developers think the app is strongly protected while it does not require any more security layer. Although, when the information gets hacked, they do not have any choice. This is the reason that security experts usually design strong authentication policies. Strong policies help firms to have a more secure and robust environment and prevent any security issues. 

6. Removing unnecessary routes 

A web should not build pages that the end-users will rarely visit; however, if they do so, it might enhance threat attacks. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the unnecessary API route. To do so, you will have to learn the libraries and frameworks and the route the Nodejs generates. Not just that, you must verify the mechanisms for disabling threats and attacking routes.

7. Handle errors to stop unauthorized attacks 

An app might outflow sensitive data during an error. When the hackers know the vulnerability of the apps, they may send frequent requests that cause the app to crash. To avoid such issues, many real-time geospatial apps send notifications to users and drivers to foster easy connections through road mapping and matchmaking. The applications will realize errors in Nodejs which is completely flawless. Apart from this, the framework of Nodejs enables the deployment of fast codes that protect the app from frequent false requests. 

8. You must send only important information to avoid data leakage 

Data leakage is a common issue every Nodejs development company deals with. Hence, you should ensure control over the data which is sent to the front end. In 2021, Byjus- a popular EdTech platform, faced information leakage and depended on 'Salesken.ai' for Customer Service Management. In this view, Salesken’s servers were not secured, which made it easier for hackers to attack, and over 20 thousand information about students were compromised that year. This taught the lesson to every firm to only send the necessary information. For instance, if you wish to exhibit only the first name, ensure you request the same. For this, the Nodejs developers are required to write the SQL statements and database queries to prevent information leaks. 

9. Limiting request size to avoid DOS attacks 

Ensuring the request size has been restricted to avoid extensive request bodies is another necessary security concern within Node.js. Remember that a huge body size poses difficulty in proceeding with the request.

As a result of the event, the hackers send extensive requests that cause a service denial, fill up disk space, crash the app, or evacuate the server memory. This is where the Nodejs framework comes in, which helps the firms limit their request with its programming and enhances the overall scalability and performance of your application. 

10. Setting up Cookie flags for managing session 

Session management is an important web aspect of the application that manages security and multiple requests. The data relating to the session management is sent via cookies, and improper usage of HTTP cookies leads to security vulnerabilities. This calls for the need to ensure that the domain matches with the server through which the Uniform Resource Locator has requested. 

Conclusion 

Security vulnerabilities cost companies thousands of dollars. The firms might not be able to stop every attack but can surely ensure that their carelessness does not cause huge damage. By following the checklist mentioned above, a Nodejs development company can ensure high-end security in the web application and improve its overall performance. 

This is a guest post by Harikrishna Kundariya:
Harikrishna Kundariya, is a Director of a software development company, SparkBiz Technologies. His 10+ years of experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and CharBot.