So, I’m in the middle of learning my way around Node.JS, and so far I’m loving it. I’ve got a couple projects already at work that I think I can utilize nodejs in.
I’m worried, though, about security. If I write a custom webserver using Node.JS’s http module, am I likely to be super vulnerable to attacks? Apache/IIS have had years (and years and years) of professional teams building security into their webservers, and still people continue to find holes.. Is it likely that my homebrewed webserver will be much more open to attack?
What things can I focus on to build a good layer of security into my webserver? Are there any good articles out there that cover the topic?
I agree with anm and schaermu about using a reverse proxy so that your application is not directly accessed by your visitors, even if that really has more to do with stability than security.
I want to add that you also have to think about safely installing the Node itself and its modules. In particular, never install npm using this method:
This is basically giving root shell to anything that you get from the network using insecure HTTP with no verification at all, not even knowing who are you talking to. This can lead to a serious compromise of your entire system using very basic and widely known methods, and if your system is compromised then it doesn’t matter if your application is behind a reverse proxy, firewall or anything. See this answer for a more comprehensive explanation.