Industry Analysis
In-depth guides and analysis on industry analysis from the Safeguard engineering team.
294 articles
XXE Prevention in Java: Hardening DocumentBuilderFactory
Java's DocumentBuilderFactory parses XML with external entities on by default, turning XML uploads into file-read and SSRF vectors. Here is how to lock it down.
XXE Prevention in C# by Disabling XmlResolver/DTD Processing
XXE in C# lives at the XmlResolver and DtdProcessing settings. Here's how .NET's defaults evolved since 2014 and exactly how to lock down XmlDocument, XmlTextReader, and XmlReaderSettings.
XXE Prevention in Go with decoder.DisallowDTD
Go's standard XML parser resists classic XXE by design, but cgo bindings and SAML libraries can reopen it. Here's how the DisallowDTD pattern closes the gap.
XXE Prevention in PHP with libxml_disable_entity_loader
libxml_disable_entity_loader() looked like the fix for XXE in PHP, but PHP 8.0 deprecated it. Here's what it did, why it broke, and what to use now.
Insecure Deserialization Prevention in Java with Deserial...
Java deserialization RCEs still hit production years after JEP 290 shipped filters. Here's how JEP 290/415 filters work, common rollout mistakes, and how Safeguard closes the gaps.
Insecure Deserialization Prevention in JavaScript: Avoidi...
How the node-serialize RCE flaw (CVE-2017-5941) works, why unsafe JS deserialization patterns persist, and concrete steps—plus how Safeguard catches them in CI.
Insecure Deserialization Prevention in Python: yaml.safe_...
Why yaml.load() and pickle.load() became RCE vectors in Python, the CVEs behind them, and how safe_load() closes the gap — plus how Safeguard catches unsafe deserialization before it ships.
Secure Random Number Generation in JavaScript with crypto...
Math.random() is predictable and unsafe for security tokens. Here's why Node's crypto.randomBytes() is the standard for secure JavaScript randomness.
Secure Random Number Generation in Python with the secret...
Python's random module is predictable, not secure. Here's why CWE-338 matters, when the secrets module (PEP 506, Python 3.6) fixed it, and how to generate tokens safely.
Secure Random Number Generation in Ruby with SecureRandom
Ruby's built-in rand() uses a predictable Mersenne Twister and should never generate tokens, passwords, or session IDs. Here's how SecureRandom fixes that.
Secure Random Number Generation in PHP with random_bytes
PHP's mt_rand() has a 32-bit seed space attackers can crack in seconds. Here's why random_bytes() and random_int() replaced it in PHP 7.0, and how weak randomness still causes breaches.
Secure Random Number Generation in Go with crypto/rand
Go's math/rand is fast but predictable. Here's why crypto/rand is the only safe choice for tokens, keys, and nonces -- and what changed in Go 1.20-1.24.