Curated by Matt Perry

CTO

23 March 2026

Vibe coding tools like Lovable, Bolt, Cursor, and v0 have changed the game. You can go from idea to working prototype in hours. That speed is genuinely exciting.

But there is a problem. These tools are optimised for building, not for securing. They generate code that works, looks good, and demos well. What they do not do is think about what happens when real users start poking at your application.

Before you deploy anything built with vibe coding tools to production, you need to run through this checklist. These are not theoretical risks. They are the exact issues we find when auditing vibe-coded applications for clients.

The Vibe Coding Security Checklist

1. Authentication and Session Management

This is the most common issue we see. AI-generated code often includes hardcoded tokens, default credentials, or weak session handling.

Check for:

• Hardcoded API tokens or passwords anywhere in your codebase
• Sessions that never expire
• Authentication logic that lives entirely on the client side
• Missing password hashing
• No account lockout after failed login attempts

Session tokens should be rotated after login. Passwords must be hashed with bcrypt or argon2. Authentication checks should always happen server-side.

2. API Keys and Secrets

When you prompt Cursor or Bolt to connect to a third-party service, the generated code often drops API keys directly into client-side JavaScript.

• Search your entire codebase for API keys, tokens, and connection strings
• Make sure nothing sensitive appears in files shipped to the browser
• Move all secrets to environment variables on the server
• Check your git history for accidentally committed secrets
• Add a .gitignore entry for .env files

3. Input Validation and Sanitisation

AI-generated code is remarkably trusting. It tends to accept whatever input users provide without checking whether it is safe.

• Are all form inputs validated on the server, not just the client?
• Are database queries parameterised?
• Is user-generated content sanitised before being rendered in HTML?
• Are file paths constructed safely?

Use parameterised queries for all database access. Sanitise HTML output with a library like DOMPurify. Never trust anything from the browser.

4. CORS Configuration

Vibe coding tools almost always set CORS to *, which means any website can call your endpoints.

• Check your CORS headers. If you see Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *, fix it
• Restrict allowed origins to your actual frontend domain
• Be specific about which HTTP methods and headers you allow

5. Rate Limiting and Abuse Prevention

AI code generators almost never include rate limiting. Without it, your application is vulnerable to brute force attacks and denial-of-service attempts.

Add rate limiting to login routes, password reset flows, email-sending endpoints, and expensive API operations. Tools like express-rate-limit or django-ratelimit make this simple.

6. Database Security

When Lovable or v0 scaffolds a database, it typically creates a single connection with full administrative privileges.

• Is your database connection string stored securely?
• Does your application use a database user with minimal privileges?
• If using Supabase, have you enabled Row Level Security (RLS)?
• Are database backups configured?
• Is your database accessible from the public internet?

Row Level Security is particularly important for Supabase applications. Without RLS policies, any authenticated user can potentially read or modify any row in your database.

7. File Upload Handling

If your application accepts file uploads, this needs careful attention.

• Server-side file type validation (do not rely on file extensions alone)
• Maximum file size limits on both client and server
• Uploaded files stored outside your web root
• Unique, randomised filenames
• Malware scanning for files served to other users

8. Error Handling and Information Leakage

Detailed error messages are helpful during development. In production, they are a gift to attackers.

• Are stack traces visible to users in production?
• Do error responses include database query details?
• Is debug mode disabled?

Set up error handling middleware that returns generic messages to clients. Log full details server-side only.

9. HTTPS and Transport Security

• Your application is served over HTTPS with a valid certificate
• HTTP requests redirect to HTTPS automatically
• Cookies are set with Secure and HttpOnly flags
• Appropriate security headers are set (Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options)

Platforms like Vercel and Netlify handle certificates, but they do not automatically set security headers or configure cookies correctly.

10. Dependency Audit

Vibe coding tools install packages liberally. A simple Lovable project can end up with hundreds of npm dependencies.

• Run npm audit or pnpm audit for JavaScript projects
• Run pip audit for Python projects
• Review high and critical vulnerabilities
• Remove packages you are not actually using
• Set up automated scanning with Dependabot or Snyk

What to Do If You Find Issues

If you have worked through this checklist and found problems, do not panic. Most of these issues are fixable in a day or two.

1. Fix it yourself. Use this checklist as a guide and work through each item. OWASP and framework documentation walk through each fix in detail.
2. Get professional help. A security review before launch is significantly cheaper than dealing with a breach after one.

We Can Help

At Original Objective, we work with businesses that have built applications using vibe coding tools and need them production-ready. Our vibe coding production support service covers security auditing, performance testing, and ongoing maintenance.

We do not charge you to rebuild from scratch. We take what you have built, fix the security and reliability gaps, and make sure it is safe to run with real users.

If you have built something and want a second pair of eyes before you go live, book an intro call with us.

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