The 30-Minute Security Audit: Onboarding a New Codebase

The Old Way: Pain ## The 30-Minute Approach ## Step 1: Install (2 minutes) ## Step 2: Configure for Maximum Detection (3 minutes) ## Step 3: Run the Audit (5 minutes) ## Step 4: Analyze and Prioritize (20 minutes) ## What This Tells You ## Bonus: Let AI Fix It ## What's Next? ## Quick Install You just inherited a codebase. Maybe it's an acquisition. Maybe a departing senior engineer. Maybe you're the new CTO and nobody can explain why there's a utils/legacy_auth.js file with 3,000 lines. You need to know: How bad is it? Traditionally, security audits take weeks. You bring in consultants. They run tools. They produce a 200-page PDF. You file it and forget. But you don't have weeks. You need a pulse check today. Here's how I assess a new codebase in under 30 minutes. The strict preset enables all 75 secure-coding rules as errors—perfect for an initial scan. You'll see violations like: Parse the output by rule to build your risk heatmap: You now have a prioritized list: In 30 minutes, you know: This isn't a replacement for a full penetration test. But it's a data-driven starting point for your first board meeting. The structured error messages are designed for AI coding assistants. Once you've identified your top issues, let the AI suggest fixes—most can be resolved with a single keystroke. 📦 eslint-plugin-secure-coding — 75 security rules 📦 eslint-plugin-pg — PostgreSQL security 📦 eslint-plugin-crypto — Cryptography security 🚀 What's the worst thing you've found inheriting a codebase? Share your horror stories! Templates let you quickly answer FAQs or store snippets for re-use. Are you sure you want to hide this comment? It will become hidden in your post, but will still be visible via the comment's permalink. Hide child comments as well For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse COMMAND_BLOCK: npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-secure-coding npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-pg npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-crypto Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode COMMAND_BLOCK: npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-secure-coding npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-pg npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-crypto COMMAND_BLOCK: npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-secure-coding npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-pg npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-crypto CODE_BLOCK: // eslint.config.js import secureCoding from 'eslint-plugin-secure-coding'; import pg from 'eslint-plugin-pg'; import crypto from 'eslint-plugin-crypto'; export default [ secureCoding.configs.strict, pg.configs.recommended, crypto.configs.recommended, ]; Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode CODE_BLOCK: // eslint.config.js import secureCoding from 'eslint-plugin-secure-coding'; import pg from 'eslint-plugin-pg'; import crypto from 'eslint-plugin-crypto'; export default [ secureCoding.configs.strict, pg.configs.recommended, crypto.configs.recommended, ]; CODE_BLOCK: // eslint.config.js import secureCoding from 'eslint-plugin-secure-coding'; import pg from 'eslint-plugin-pg'; import crypto from 'eslint-plugin-crypto'; export default [ secureCoding.configs.strict, pg.configs.recommended, crypto.configs.recommended, ]; COMMAND_BLOCK: npx eslint . --format=json > security-audit.json Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode COMMAND_BLOCK: npx eslint . --format=json > security-audit.json COMMAND_BLOCK: npx eslint . --format=json > security-audit.json CODE_BLOCK: src/auth/login.ts 18:5 error 🔒 CWE-798 OWASP:A07-Auth-Failures CVSS:7.5 | Hardcoded API key detected | HIGH Fix: Move to environment variable: process.env.STRIPE_API_KEY src/utils/crypto.ts 42:10 error 🔒 CWE-327 OWASP:A02-Crypto-Failures CVSS:7.5 | Weak algorithm (MD5) | HIGH Fix: Use a strong algorithm: crypto.createHash('sha256') Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode CODE_BLOCK: src/auth/login.ts 18:5 error 🔒 CWE-798 OWASP:A07-Auth-Failures CVSS:7.5 | Hardcoded API key detected | HIGH Fix: Move to environment variable: process.env.STRIPE_API_KEY src/utils/crypto.ts 42:10 error 🔒 CWE-327 OWASP:A02-Crypto-Failures CVSS:7.5 | Weak algorithm (MD5) | HIGH Fix: Use a strong algorithm: crypto.createHash('sha256') CODE_BLOCK: src/auth/login.ts 18:5 error 🔒 CWE-798 OWASP:A07-Auth-Failures CVSS:7.5 | Hardcoded API key detected | HIGH Fix: Move to environment variable: process.env.STRIPE_API_KEY src/utils/crypto.ts 42:10 error 🔒 CWE-327 OWASP:A02-Crypto-Failures CVSS:7.5 | Weak algorithm (MD5) | HIGH Fix: Use a strong algorithm: crypto.createHash('sha256') CODE_BLOCK: cat security-audit.json | jq '.[] | .messages[] | .ruleId' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode CODE_BLOCK: cat security-audit.json | jq '.[] | .messages[] | .ruleId' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn CODE_BLOCK: cat security-audit.json | jq '.[] | .messages[] | .ruleId' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn - 15 hits on pg/no-unsafe-query = 🔴 Critical - 8 hits on secure-coding/no-hardcoded-credentials = 🔴 Critical - 3 hits on crypto/no-weak-hash = 🟡 Medium - The attack surface — Which OWASP categories are most exposed - The hotspots — Which files have the most issues - The culture — Did the previous team care about security or not? - Enforce it — Add the plugin to your CI to block new issues - Automate compliance — Use the built-in SOC2/PCI tags for audit evidence - Track progress — Re-run weekly to measure remediation velocity