Security is one of the most important aspects of software development. Even a small vulnerability can lead to data breaches, financial loss, and reputational damage.
ChatGPT can assist developers in reviewing code, identifying potential vulnerabilities, and suggesting best practices. However, AI suggestions must always be verified by developers.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to use ChatGPT for security review and improvement.
1. Reviewing Code for Security Issues
Example Prompt:
Act as a security expert. Review the following PHP login code and identify potential vulnerabilities. Suggest improvements.
[paste code]
ChatGPT can identify:
- Missing input validation
- SQL injection risks
- Weak password handling
- Lack of CSRF protection
Always verify and test fixes.
2. Preventing SQL Injection
Example Prompt:
Improve this MySQL query to prevent SQL injection using prepared statements.
[paste code]
ChatGPT can suggest:
- Prepared statements
- Parameter binding
- ORM usage
Never use raw user input in queries.
3. Improving Password Security
Example Prompt:
Rewrite this authentication code to use secure password hashing in PHP.
ChatGPT may suggest:
- password_hash()
- password_verify()
- Proper hashing algorithm
Never store plain-text passwords.
4. Securing Forms
Example Prompt:
Add proper validation and CSRF protection to this form handling code.
[paste code]
Security improvements may include:
- Input sanitization
- CSRF tokens
- Server-side validation
Always validate both client-side and server-side.
5. Improving Session Security
Example Prompt:
Suggest best practices to secure user sessions in a Laravel application.
ChatGPT may suggest:
- Regenerate session ID after login
- Use secure cookies
- Set HTTPOnly and Secure flags
- Proper logout handling
Session security is critical.
6. Identifying XSS Vulnerabilities
Example Prompt:
Check this HTML/PHP code for potential XSS vulnerabilities and suggest fixes.
[paste code]
ChatGPT may recommend:
- Escaping output
- Using htmlspecialchars()
- Validating input
Always sanitize user-generated content.
7. API Security Best Practices
Example Prompt:
Suggest security best practices for REST APIs built with PHP.
ChatGPT may include:
- Authentication tokens
- Rate limiting
- Input validation
- HTTPS enforcement
- Proper error handling
API security is essential.
8. General Security Checklist
You can ask:
Create a security checklist for deploying a web application.
ChatGPT may suggest:
- HTTPS enabled
- Database credentials secured
- Error reporting disabled in production
- Strong password policies
- Regular backups
- Logging enabled
Use checklist before production release.
9. Understanding Security Concepts
Example Prompt:
Explain CSRF and XSS attacks with examples in simple language.
Understanding concepts helps prevent mistakes.
10. Important Security Warning
Never:
- Trust AI blindly
- Skip manual security testing
- Deploy without verification
- Ignore penetration testing
Security must be validated through testing and review.
Strong Security Review Prompt Example
Act as a cybersecurity specialist. Review this CodeIgniter 3 authentication system and identify security risks. Suggest improvements following industry best practices.
Structured prompts improve review quality.
Benefits of Using ChatGPT for Security Review
- Identifies common vulnerabilities
- Suggests best practices
- Improves awareness
- Speeds up review process
- Helps junior developers learn security
But final responsibility is always with the developer.
Summary
ChatGPT can assist in reviewing code security, preventing SQL injection, improving authentication, securing sessions, and identifying vulnerabilities like XSS and CSRF.
However, security must always be tested and validated manually before deploying applications.
With this, we have successfully completed Chapter 6: ChatGPT for Developers.