> **USE WHEN:** Securing PHP applications, reviewing code for vulnerabilities, or implementing security best practices. > **DO NOT USE FOR:** Code quality issues (use php-quality), general PHP development patterns.
Scanned 9/8/2026
Install to Claude Code
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# PHP Security Skill
> **USE WHEN:** Securing PHP applications, reviewing code for vulnerabilities, or implementing security best practices.
> **DO NOT USE FOR:** Code quality issues (use php-quality), general PHP development patterns.
## OWASP Top 10 for PHP
### A01: Broken Access Control
```php
// Bad: IDOR vulnerability
public function getOrder(int $orderId): Order {
return $this->orderRepository->find($orderId); // No ownership check!
}
// Good: Ownership verification
public function getOrder(int $orderId, User $currentUser): Order {
$order = $this->orderRepository->find($orderId);
if ($order->getUserId() !== $currentUser->getId() &&
!$currentUser->hasRole('ADMIN')) {
throw new AccessDeniedException('Cannot access this order');
}
return $order;
}
// Good: Using Symfony voters
#[IsGranted('VIEW', subject: 'order')]
public function show(Order $order): Response {
return $this->render('order/show.html.twig', ['order' => $order]);
}
```
### A03: Injection
```php
// Bad: SQL Injection
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = " . $_GET['id'];
$result = $pdo->query($query);
// Good: Prepared statements (PDO)
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = :id");
$stmt->execute(['id' => $_GET['id']]);
// Good: Doctrine DQL
$user = $entityManager->createQuery(
'SELECT u FROM User u WHERE u.email = :email'
)->setParameter('email', $email)->getOneOrNullResult();
// Bad: Command injection
exec("ls " . $_GET['dir']);
// Good: escapeshellarg or avoid shell entirely
$dir = escapeshellarg($_GET['dir']);
exec("ls $dir");
// Better: Use PHP functions instead of shell
$files = scandir($_GET['dir']); // Still validate path!
```
### A04: Cryptographic Failures
```php
// Bad: MD5 for passwords
$hash = md5($password);
// Good: password_hash with Argon2id
$hash = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_ARGON2ID, [
'memory_cost' => 65536,
'time_cost' => 4,
'threads' => 3,
]);
// Verify password
if (!password_verify($inputPassword, $storedHash)) {
throw new AuthenticationException('Invalid credentials');
}
// Good: Secure random generation
$token = bin2hex(random_bytes(32));
$apiKey = base64_encode(random_bytes(24));
// Good: Encryption with libsodium
$key = sodium_crypto_secretbox_keygen();
$nonce = random_bytes(SODIUM_CRYPTO_SECRETBOX_NONCEBYTES);
$encrypted = sodium_crypto_secretbox($plaintext, $nonce, $key);
$decrypted = sodium_crypto_secretbox_open($encrypted, $nonce, $key);
```
### A05: XSS Prevention
```php
// Bad: Direct output
echo "<div>" . $_GET['name'] . "</div>";
// Good: Escape output
echo "<div>" . htmlspecialchars($_GET['name'], ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8') . "</div>";
// Good: Twig auto-escaping (enabled by default)
{{ user.name }} {# Automatically escaped #}
{{ user.bio|raw }} {# Only use raw when content is trusted #}
// Good: Content Security Policy
header("Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'");
```
### A07: Authentication Failures
```php
// Good: Secure session configuration
ini_set('session.cookie_httponly', 1);
ini_set('session.cookie_secure', 1);
ini_set('session.cookie_samesite', 'Strict');
ini_set('session.use_strict_mode', 1);
ini_set('session.sid_length', 48);
// Good: Session regeneration after login
session_regenerate_id(true);
// Good: Rate limiting with Symfony
use Symfony\Component\RateLimiter\RateLimiterFactory;
public function login(RateLimiterFactory $loginLimiter): Response {
$limiter = $loginLimiter->create($request->getClientIp());
if (!$limiter->consume()->isAccepted()) {
throw new TooManyRequestsHttpException();
}
// Process login
}
// Good: Timing-safe comparison
if (!hash_equals($storedToken, $inputToken)) {
throw new InvalidTokenException();
}
```
### A08: Software Integrity
```php
// Good: Verify file uploads
$allowedMimeTypes = ['image/jpeg', 'image/png', 'image/gif'];
$finfo = new finfo(FILEINFO_MIME_TYPE);
$mimeType = $finfo->file($_FILES['upload']['tmp_name']);
if (!in_array($mimeType, $allowedMimeTypes, true)) {
throw new InvalidArgumentException('Invalid file type');
}
// Good: Secure deserialization - NEVER unserialize untrusted data
// Use JSON instead
$data = json_decode($input, true, 512, JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
// If you must use unserialize, use allowed_classes
$data = unserialize($input, ['allowed_classes' => [AllowedClass::class]]);
```
## Framework-Specific Security
### Laravel Security
```php
// CSRF protection (automatic in forms)
@csrf
// Mass assignment protection
class User extends Model {
protected $fillable = ['name', 'email']; // Whitelist
// OR
protected $guarded = ['id', 'is_admin']; // Blacklist
}
// Query scopes for authorization
public function scopeForUser(Builder $query, User $user): Builder {
return $query->where('user_id', $user->id);
}
// Validation
$validated = $request->validate([
'email' => 'required|email:rfc,dns|unique:users',
'password' => 'required|min:12|confirmed',
]);
// Encryption
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Crypt;
$encrypted = Crypt::encryptString($data);
$decrypted = Crypt::decryptString($encrypted);
```
### Symfony Security
```php
// Security configuration
# config/packages/security.yaml
security:
password_hashers:
Symfony\Component\Security\Core\User\PasswordAuthenticatedUserInterface:
algorithm: argon2id
firewalls:
main:
lazy: true
provider: app_user_provider
custom_authenticator: App\Security\LoginAuthenticator
logout:
path: app_logout
access_control:
- { path: ^/admin, roles: ROLE_ADMIN }
- { path: ^/api, roles: ROLE_API }
// Voters for fine-grained access
class OrderVoter extends Voter {
protected function supports(string $attribute, mixed $subject): bool {
return $subject instanceof Order && in_array($attribute, ['VIEW', 'EDIT']);
}
protected function voteOnAttribute(string $attribute, mixed $subject, TokenInterface $token): bool {
$user = $token->getUser();
return $subject->getUser() === $user;
}
}
```
## Security Headers
```php
// Comprehensive security headers
header('X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff');
header('X-Frame-Options: DENY');
header('X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block');
header('Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin');
header('Permissions-Policy: geolocation=(), microphone=(), camera=()');
// CSP with nonce
$nonce = base64_encode(random_bytes(16));
header("Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' 'nonce-$nonce'");
// Strict Transport Security
header('Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload');
```
## Input Validation
```php
// Validation class
class InputValidator {
public static function email(string $input): string {
$email = filter_var($input, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL);
if ($email === false) {
throw new ValidationException('Invalid email');
}
return $email;
}
public static function integer(mixed $input, int $min = PHP_INT_MIN, int $max = PHP_INT_MAX): int {
$value = filter_var($input, FILTER_VALIDATE_INT, [
'options' => ['min_range' => $min, 'max_range' => $max]
]);
if ($value === false) {
throw new ValidationException("Invalid integer");
}
return $value;
}
public static function url(string $input): string {
$url = filter_var($input, FILTER_VALIDATE_URL);
if ($url === false || !in_array(parse_url($url, PHP_URL_SCHEME), ['http', 'https'])) {
throw new ValidationException('Invalid URL');
}
return $url;
}
}
```
## File Upload Security
```php
class SecureUploader {
private const MAX_SIZE = 5 * 1024 * 1024; // 5MB
private const ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS = ['jpg', 'jpeg', 'png', 'pdf'];
private const ALLOWED_MIMES = [
'image/jpeg', 'image/png', 'application/pdf'
];
public function upload(UploadedFile $file): string {
// Check size
if ($file->getSize() > self::MAX_SIZE) {
throw new FileTooLargeException();
}
// Check extension
$extension = strtolower($file->getClientOriginalExtension());
if (!in_array($extension, self::ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS, true)) {
throw new InvalidFileTypeException();
}
// Check MIME type (from file content, not header)
$finfo = new finfo(FILEINFO_MIME_TYPE);
$mimeType = $finfo->file($file->getPathname());
if (!in_array($mimeType, self::ALLOWED_MIMES, true)) {
throw new InvalidFileTypeException();
}
// Generate safe filename
$filename = bin2hex(random_bytes(16)) . '.' . $extension;
// Store outside web root
$file->move('/var/uploads/', $filename);
return $filename;
}
}
```
## Security Scanning
```bash
# Composer audit
composer audit
# PHPCS Security rules
composer require --dev pheromone/phpcs-security-audit
./vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=Security src/
# Psalm security analysis
composer require --dev psalm/plugin-security
./vendor/bin/psalm --taint-analysis
# Local-PHP-Security-Checker
local-php-security-checker
# RIPS (commercial) or Progpilot (open source)
./vendor/bin/progpilot src/
```
## CI/CD Security Integration
```yaml
name: Security Scan
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
security:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Setup PHP
uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
with:
php-version: '8.2'
- name: Install dependencies
run: composer install
- name: Composer Audit
run: composer audit --format=json > audit.json
- name: PHPCS Security
run: ./vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=Security src/
- name: Psalm Taint Analysis
run: ./vendor/bin/psalm --taint-analysis
- name: Check for secrets
uses: trufflesecurity/trufflehog@main
with:
path: ./
```
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