Vibe Coding Security Vulnerabilities: risks, examples, and guardrails

What is "vibe coding" and why security teams care

"Vibe coding" is the practice of building software primarily through natural-language prompts and AI code generation instead of writing every line by hand. It boosts delivery speed and lowers the barrier to entry, but the same speed and abstraction can hide security risk. Major vendors explicitly call out the need for a security review step in the AI-assisted dev loop (Google Cloud, IBM).

The empirical risk

Independent measurements consistently show high rates of insecure completions: Veracode reports that nearly half of AI-generated code tasks contain security issues (~45%) (Business Wire), and an earlier academic evaluation of GitHub Copilot found roughly 40% of generated programs were vulnerable across high-risk CWEs (arXiv). These failures map directly to common OWASP categories: input validation (SQL injection, XSS), auth/authorization, insecure data handling, and dependency risks (Business Wire).

Failure modes you’ll actually see in PRs

Input validation problems (SQLi, XSS): Unsanitized concatenated queries, improper HTML escaping, unsafe template rendering (TechRepublic, Snyk).
AuthN/AuthZ omissions: Missing auth checks on new endpoints; role checks that can be bypassed (Cybernews, TechRepublic).
Secrets in code and config drift: Hardcoded tokens, keys in .env committed by accident, and drift between local and prod configs (Software Mind, GitGuardian).
Dangerous deserialization and memory-unsafe patterns: In Python, pickle loaders wired to untrusted input; in C/C++, buffer and integer overflows from unsafe APIs (Databricks, heise online).
Supply-chain via hallucinated packages ("slopsquatting"): LLM suggests a non-existent dependency; an attacker registers it under that name to get code execution in your build or runtime (TechRadar, SecurityWeek).

Common frontend vulnerabilities in AI-generated code

AI code generation excels at creating functional interfaces quickly, but often misses critical security fundamentals that experienced developers take for granted. Let's explore the most common frontend security gaps you'll encounter.

1. Insecure HTTP connections

Vulnerability: Missing HTTPS enforcement AI-generated applications frequently default to HTTP during development and fail to enforce HTTPS in production. This leaves all communication vulnerable to eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle attacks, and credential theft. Even worse, many developers deploy these applications without configuring proper TLS redirects or security headers.

// Vulnerable: No HTTPS enforcement
app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Server running on http://localhost:3000');
});

How to fix this vulnerability

Always enforce HTTPS in production and set proper security headers. Configure automatic redirects from HTTP to HTTPS, and implement HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) to prevent protocol downgrade attacks.

// Secure: Enforce HTTPS with proper headers
import helmet from 'helmet';

app.enable('trust proxy');
app.use((req, res, next) => {
  const isHttps = req.secure || req.headers['x-forwarded-proto'] === 'https';
  if (isHttps) return next();
  res.redirect(301, 'https://' + req.headers.host + req.url);
});
app.use(helmet.hsts({ maxAge: 31536000, includeSubDomains: true, preload: true }));

Other tips for preventing insecure connections:

Use Let's Encrypt or cloud provider certificates for free TLS
Test your HTTPS configuration with SSL Labs
Never mix HTTP and HTTPS resources on the same page

2. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities

Vulnerability: Insufficient input validation AI-generated forms and search functionality often lack proper input validation and output encoding. This creates XSS vulnerabilities where malicious scripts can be injected and executed in other users' browsers, potentially stealing credentials, session tokens, or performing actions on behalf of victims.

// Vulnerable: Direct insertion without validation
app.get('/search', (req, res) => {
  const query = req.query.q;
  // Dangerous: directly inserting user input into response
  res.send(`<h1>Results for: ${query}</h1>`);
});

How to fix this vulnerability

Implement comprehensive input validation on all user-provided data. Validate data types, formats, and ranges before processing. Use established validation libraries rather than rolling your own.

// Secure: Proper validation and sanitization
import { z } from 'zod';
import escapeHtml from 'escape-html';

const querySchema = z.object({
  q: z.string().min(1).max(100).regex(/^[a-zA-Z0-9\s]+$/),
  page: z.coerce.number().int().min(1).max(100).default(1)
});

app.get('/search', (req, res) => {
  const parsed = querySchema.safeParse(req.query);
  if (!parsed.success) {
    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Invalid search parameters' });
  }

  const safeQuery = escapeHtml(parsed.data.q);
  res.send(`<h1>Results for: ${safeQuery}</h1>`);
});

Other tips for preventing XSS:

Use Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution
Encode output appropriately for the context (HTML, JavaScript, CSS, URL)
Never insert user data directly into script tags or event handlers

3. Insecure client-side data storage

Vulnerability: Sensitive data in browser storage AI-generated authentication flows commonly store JWT tokens, API keys, or user data in localStorage or sessionStorage. This data is accessible to any JavaScript running on the page, making it vulnerable to XSS attacks and browser extensions with malicious intent.

// Vulnerable: Sensitive data exposed to scripts
function loginUser(credentials) {
  fetch('/api/login', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify(credentials) })
    .then(res => res.json())
    .then(data => {
      // Dangerous: Token accessible to any script
      localStorage.setItem('authToken', data.token);
      localStorage.setItem('userInfo', JSON.stringify(data.user));
    });
}

How to fix this vulnerability

Use secure, HttpOnly cookies for authentication tokens. Store only non-sensitive data in browser storage, and ensure sensitive operations always validate server-side.

// Secure: Server sets HttpOnly cookies
// Client-side: No token handling needed
function loginUser(credentials) {
  fetch('/api/login', {
    method: 'POST',
    credentials: 'include', // Include cookies
    body: JSON.stringify(credentials)
  })
    .then(res => res.json())
    .then(data => {
      // Only store non-sensitive display data
      localStorage.setItem('username', data.username);
      // Server automatically sets secure cookie
      window.location.href = '/dashboard';
    });
}

// Server-side: Secure cookie configuration
app.post('/api/login', async (req, res) => {
  // ... validate credentials ...

  res.cookie('session', jwtToken, {
    httpOnly: true,      // Not accessible to JavaScript
    secure: true,        // Only sent over HTTPS
    sameSite: 'Lax',     // CSRF protection
    path: '/',
    maxAge: 60 * 60 * 1000  // 1 hour
  });

  res.json({ username: user.username });
});

Other tips for secure data storage:

Never store passwords, tokens, or API keys in browser storage
Use secure cookie flags: HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite
Implement proper session management with server-side validation

Critical backend vulnerabilities in vibe-coded applications

Backend security is where AI-generated code shows its most dangerous gaps. While AI excels at creating functional APIs, it consistently misses authorization checks, proper authentication, and secure data handling practices that prevent serious breaches.

4. Weak password storage and authentication

Vulnerability: Insecure password handling AI-generated authentication systems frequently use weak hashing algorithms like MD5 or SHA-1, or even store passwords in plain text. Some implement custom authentication schemes that bypass established security practices, creating easy targets for credential-based attacks.

// Vulnerable: Weak password storage
app.post('/register', async (req, res) => {
  const { username, password } = req.body;

  // Dangerous: Plain text storage
  const user = await db.users.create({
    username,
    password: password  // Stored in plain text!
  });

  res.json({ message: 'User created' });
});

How to fix this vulnerability

Always use modern, robust password hashing algorithms designed for password storage. Argon2id is currently the gold standard, offering excellent protection against both online and offline attacks.

// Secure: Proper password hashing
import argon2 from 'argon2';

app.post('/register', async (req, res) => {
  const { username, password } = req.body;

  // Validate password strength first
  if (password.length < 12) {
    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Password must be at least 12 characters' });
  }

  try {
    // Secure: Argon2id hashing with automatic salt
    const passwordHash = await argon2.hash(password, {
      type: argon2.argon2id,
      memoryCost: 2 ** 16,  // 64 MB
      timeCost: 3,
      parallelism: 1
    });

    const user = await db.users.create({
      username,
      passwordHash  // Store hash, never plaintext
    });

    res.json({ message: 'User created successfully' });
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: 'Registration failed' });
  }
});

// Verification during login
app.post('/login', async (req, res) => {
  const { username, password } = req.body;
  const user = await db.users.findOne({ username });

  if (!user || !await argon2.verify(user.passwordHash, password)) {
    return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid credentials' });
  }

  // Set secure session...
});

Other tips for secure authentication:

Never roll your own crypto - use established libraries
Implement account lockout after failed attempts
Require strong passwords and consider implementing MFA

5. Missing authorization checks

Vulnerability: Broken function-level authorization AI-generated API endpoints often assume that authentication equals authorization. They verify that a user is logged in but fail to check whether that specific user should be allowed to perform the requested action, leading to privilege escalation vulnerabilities.

// Vulnerable: No authorization checks
app.delete('/api/users/:userId', authMiddleware, async (req, res) => {
  const { userId } = req.params;

  // Dangerous: Any authenticated user can delete any user
  await db.users.delete({ id: userId });
  res.json({ message: 'User deleted' });
});

How to fix this vulnerability

Implement proper role-based access control (RBAC) that checks both authentication and authorization for every protected action. Always verify that the current user has permission to access the requested resource.

// Secure: Proper authorization with role checks
function requireRole(allowedRoles: string[]) {
  return (req: any, res: any, next: any) => {
    if (!req.user) {
      return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Authentication required' });
    }

    const userRoles = req.user.roles || [];
    const hasPermission = allowedRoles.some(role => userRoles.includes(role));

    if (!hasPermission) {
      return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Insufficient permissions' });
    }

    next();
  };
}

// Protected endpoint with proper authorization
app.delete('/api/users/:userId',
  authMiddleware,
  requireRole(['admin']),
  async (req, res) => {
    const { userId } = req.params;

    // Additional check: admins can't delete other admins without super-admin role
    const targetUser = await db.users.findById(userId);
    if (targetUser.roles.includes('admin') && !req.user.roles.includes('super-admin')) {
      return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Cannot delete admin user' });
    }

    await db.users.delete({ id: userId });
    res.json({ message: 'User deleted successfully' });
  }
);

Other tips for preventing authorization bypasses:

Implement the principle of least privilege
Use deny-by-default policies (whitelist permissions)
Regularly audit user permissions and roles

6. SQL injection vulnerabilities

Vulnerability: Dynamic SQL construction AI-generated database queries often concatenate user input directly into SQL strings, creating classic SQL injection vulnerabilities. This happens most frequently in search functionality, filtering, and dynamic query construction.

// Vulnerable: String concatenation in SQL
app.get('/api/users/search', async (req, res) => {
  const { name, department } = req.query;

  // Dangerous: Direct string interpolation
  const query = `SELECT * FROM users WHERE name LIKE '%${name}%' AND department = '${department}'`;
  const users = await db.raw(query);

  res.json(users);
});

How to fix this vulnerability

Always use parameterized queries or prepared statements that separate SQL logic from user data. This prevents injection attacks by ensuring user input is treated as data, never as executable code.

// Secure: Parameterized queries
app.get('/api/users/search', async (req, res) => {
  const { name, department } = req.query;

  // Validate input first
  if (!name || typeof name !== 'string' || name.length > 100) {
    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Invalid name parameter' });
  }

  if (!department || !['engineering', 'sales', 'marketing'].includes(department)) {
    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Invalid department parameter' });
  }

  // Secure: Parameterized query with placeholders
  const users = await db.query(
    'SELECT id, name, email, department FROM users WHERE name ILIKE $1 AND department = $2',
    [`%${name}%`, department]
  );

  res.json(users);
});

Other tips for preventing SQL injection:

Use ORM libraries that provide built-in parameterization
Never use dynamic SQL construction with user input
Apply input validation and sanitization before database operations
Use stored procedures where appropriate

Operational security gaps in vibe-coded projects

Beyond code-level vulnerabilities, AI-generated applications often miss crucial operational security practices. These gaps can turn minor issues into major breaches.

7. Information disclosure through error handling

Vulnerability: Verbose error messages AI-generated error handling frequently exposes sensitive information like database schema details, file paths, internal server configuration, or stack traces. This information helps attackers understand your system's architecture and identify additional attack vectors.

// Vulnerable: Exposing internal details
app.post('/api/users', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const user = await db.users.create(req.body);
    res.json(user);
  } catch (error) {
    // Dangerous: Exposes database errors and internal paths
    res.status(500).json({
      error: error.message,
      stack: error.stack,
      query: error.sql
    });
  }
});

How to fix this vulnerability

Implement proper error handling that logs detailed information server-side while returning generic, non-revealing messages to clients. Use error tracking services for debugging without exposing internals.

// Secure: Safe error handling with logging
import crypto from 'crypto';

app.use((err: any, req: any, res: any, next: any) => {
  const requestId = crypto.randomUUID();

  // Detailed logging server-side for debugging
  console.error({
    requestId,
    error: err.message,
    stack: err.stack,
    url: req.url,
    method: req.method,
    userAgent: req.get('User-Agent'),
    ip: req.ip
  });

  // Generic response to client
  res.status(500).json({
    error: 'Internal Server Error',
    requestId // For support correlation only
  });
});

app.post('/api/users', async (req, res, next) => {
  try {
    const user = await db.users.create(req.body);
    res.json(user);
  } catch (error) {
    next(error); // Let error middleware handle it
  }
});

Other tips for secure error handling:

Never expose stack traces, SQL queries, or file paths in responses
Use centralized error handling middleware
Implement proper logging and monitoring for security events

8. Uncontrolled file uploads

Vulnerability: Insufficient file validation AI-generated file upload features often accept any file type and size, creating opportunities for malware uploads, storage exhaustion attacks, and potential code execution if files are served from the same domain.

// Vulnerable: No file validation
app.post('/upload', async (req, res) => {
  const file = req.files.upload;

  // Dangerous: No validation, any file type/size accepted
  await file.mv(`./uploads/${file.name}`);
  res.json({ message: 'File uploaded successfully' });
});

How to fix this vulnerability

Implement comprehensive file validation including type checking, size limits, content scanning, and secure storage practices. Never trust client-provided file information.

// Secure: Comprehensive file upload security
import multer from 'multer';
import path from 'path';
import crypto from 'crypto';

const storage = multer.diskStorage({
  destination: './uploads/',
  filename: (req, file, cb) => {
    // Generate secure random filename
    const ext = path.extname(file.originalname);
    const filename = crypto.randomUUID() + ext;
    cb(null, filename);
  }
});

const upload = multer({
  storage,
  limits: {
    fileSize: 5 * 1024 * 1024, // 5MB limit
    files: 1 // Only one file per request
  },
  fileFilter: (req, file, cb) => {
    // Whitelist allowed MIME types
    const allowedTypes = ['image/png', 'image/jpeg', 'application/pdf'];

    if (!allowedTypes.includes(file.mimetype)) {
      return cb(new Error('File type not allowed'));
    }

    // Additional extension check
    const allowedExtensions = ['.png', '.jpg', '.jpeg', '.pdf'];
    const ext = path.extname(file.originalname).toLowerCase();

    if (!allowedExtensions.includes(ext)) {
      return cb(new Error('File extension not allowed'));
    }

    cb(null, true);
  }
});

app.post('/upload', authMiddleware, upload.single('file'), async (req, res) => {
  if (!req.file) {
    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'No file uploaded' });
  }

  try {
    // Additional security: scan file content
    // In production, integrate with antivirus API
    const fileBuffer = await fs.readFile(req.file.path);

    // Store file metadata securely
    const fileRecord = await db.files.create({
      userId: req.user.id,
      filename: req.file.filename,
      originalName: req.file.originalname,
      mimetype: req.file.mimetype,
      size: req.file.size,
      uploadedAt: new Date()
    });

    res.json({
      message: 'File uploaded successfully',
      fileId: fileRecord.id
    });
  } catch (error) {
    // Clean up file on error
    await fs.unlink(req.file.path).catch(console.error);
    next(error);
  }
});

Other tips for secure file uploads:

Store files outside the web root or use cloud storage
Implement virus scanning for uploaded files
Use Content-Disposition headers to prevent execution
Set up proper access controls for stored files

9. Lack of security monitoring

Vulnerability: No security event tracking AI-generated applications rarely include security monitoring, logging of suspicious activities, or alerting mechanisms. This makes it difficult to detect attacks in progress or investigate security incidents.

// Vulnerable: No security logging
app.post('/api/login', async (req, res) => {
  const { username, password } = req.body;
  const user = await db.users.findOne({ username });

  if (!user || !await verifyPassword(password, user.hash)) {
    // No logging of failed attempts
    return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid credentials' });
  }

  // No logging of successful logins
  res.json({ token: generateToken(user) });
});

How to fix this vulnerability

Implement comprehensive security logging and monitoring that tracks authentication events, authorization failures, and suspicious activities. Set up alerting for potential attacks.

// Secure: Comprehensive security monitoring
function logSecurityEvent(event: string, details: any, req: any) {
  const logEntry = {
    timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
    event,
    ip: req.ip,
    userAgent: req.get('User-Agent'),
    url: req.url,
    ...details
  };

  // Log to security monitoring system
  console.log('[SECURITY]', JSON.stringify(logEntry));

  // Send to SIEM/monitoring service in production
  // await securityLogger.log(logEntry);
}

app.post('/api/login', rateLimit({ windowMs: 15*60*1000, max: 5 }), async (req, res) => {
  const { username, password } = req.body;
  const user = await db.users.findOne({ username });

  if (!user) {
    logSecurityEvent('LOGIN_ATTEMPT_INVALID_USER', { username }, req);
    return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid credentials' });
  }

  if (!await verifyPassword(password, user.hash)) {
    logSecurityEvent('LOGIN_ATTEMPT_WRONG_PASSWORD', {
      userId: user.id,
      username: user.username
    }, req);
    return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid credentials' });
  }

  // Log successful authentication
  logSecurityEvent('LOGIN_SUCCESS', {
    userId: user.id,
    username: user.username
  }, req);

  res.json({ token: generateToken(user) });
});

// Monitor for suspicious patterns
app.use('/api', (req, res, next) => {
  // Log all API access with user context
  if (req.user) {
    logSecurityEvent('API_ACCESS', {
      userId: req.user.id,
      endpoint: req.path,
      method: req.method
    }, req);
  }
  next();
});

Other tips for security monitoring:

Implement dependency scanning and automated updates
Set up intrusion detection systems
Monitor for unusual access patterns and data access
Create incident response procedures

Guardrails that actually work in vibe-coding workflows

Vidoc Security Lab: Automatically detect the vulnerability patterns covered in this guide-from hardcoded secrets and broken authorization to SQL injection and supply-chain risks. Try Vidoc Security Lab for free and secure your code at the speed of vibe coding.
Ownership and mandatory review for risky areas: Auth flows, payments, and data-handling code should never merge on AI output alone. Require domain owners for approval (Software Mind).
Secret hygiene: Organization-wide secret scanning (repos, wikis, tickets, chat), automatic revocation/rotation SLAs, and pre-commit hooks (GitGuardian).
Dependency policy: Allowlist new packages, require integrity (hashes/signatures), prefer verified publishers, monitor SBOM for drift, and alert on trust changes (TechRadar, SecurityWeek).
Security step in the vibe loop: Treat AI output like a junior's draft-write tests, fuzz critical inputs, validate threat models, and only then deploy (Google Cloud, IBM).

Secure your vibe-coded applications with automated security reviews

If you've made it this far, you understand that vibe coding requires security guardrails to be truly effective. Vidoc Security Lab addresses exactly this challenge with automated security code review designed for AI-accelerated development.

Our AI Security Engineer integrates directly into your development pipeline, automatically detecting the vulnerability patterns covered in this guide-from hardcoded secrets and broken authorization to SQL injection and supply-chain risks.

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