A secure design review can be organized around five areas: context, components, connections, code and configuration. These are the focus areas in the OWASP Secure Product Design Cheat Sheet. Each one gets a few questions, and the whole review fits in an hour for most features.
Context
Where does this fit in the organization? Who uses it, what data does it hold and what is its risk profile? OWASP says to use threat modeling to add security stories in each delivery iteration, and warns against both over-engineering and under-engineering security.
- What is the worst thing that could happen with this data?
- Who are the legitimate users, and who might abuse it?
Components
Are the libraries and external services chosen following your secure patterns? The cheat sheet mentions Golden Path or Paved Road guidance and says to evaluate licensing, maintenance and usage limits.
- Are we using the standard library for authentication, or rolling our own?
- Is each dependency maintained, and who owns upgrading it?
Connections
How does the application interact with components and services, and where is data stored and accessed? Segregate tiers and, where needed, tenants. The cheat sheet also notes that an intentional lack of connection is a design decision.
- Which flows cross a trust boundary?
- Could any connection be removed?
Code
OWASP lists basics such as validating input, handling errors without leaking detail, strong authentication and authorization, cryptography for data in transit and at rest, least privilege, keeping secrets out of code, security testing during development, regular review, and keeping code and dependencies current.
- Where is input validated, and against what rules?
- Which tests verify the threat mitigations?
Configuration
Secure configuration keeps a secure build secure. The cheat sheet points to minimum permissions, secure defaults, encryption and backup with retention periods, failing into a secure state, secure protocols, patched or hardened images, and a rehearsed incident response plan.
- Are defaults safe, or does the user have to harden it?
- What happens when a component fails?
Running the review
Send the design doc a day ahead. Start the meeting by having the author walk through the diagram. Go through the five areas in order and record each question with an answer or an action. Keep a decision log of changes agreed.
Writing down outcomes
End the review with three lists: changes agreed, questions still open and risks accepted with an owner. Share them the same day. If nothing came up, say so, because a recorded clean review is useful evidence when someone later asks whether the design was reviewed. Keep the checklist in the repository next to the design doc so it improves as the team learns.
Quick check
Who should be in the room?
The author, one other developer, someone who owns operations or configuration, and a security contact or champion. Keep it small.
Is this a gate that blocks release?
It does not have to be. Many teams run it as a conversation that produces tasks, and only block on unresolved high risk items.
Sources
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
