# Security Review Report - Asteroids Game Website

**Date:** December 1, 2024  
**Reviewer:** Cascade Security Analysis  
**Codebase:** Asteroids Web Game Application

## Executive Summary

The security review of the Asteroids game website reveals a **well-secured application** with comprehensive security measures implemented across multiple layers. The application demonstrates strong security practices with only minor issues requiring attention.

**Overall Security Rating: 8.5/10** ✅

## ✅ Security Strengths

### 1. **Authentication & Session Management**

- ✅ **Password hashing** using `password_hash()` with PASSWORD_DEFAULT (bcrypt)
- ✅ **Session regeneration** on login to prevent session fixation
- ✅ **Secure logout** with complete session destruction and cookie cleanup
- ✅ **No auto-login** after registration (requires explicit login)

### 2. **Input Validation & Sanitization**

- ✅ **Prepared statements** used consistently for all database queries
- ✅ **Input validation** for all user inputs (email, username length, password strength)
- ✅ **Output encoding** with `htmlspecialchars()` for XSS prevention
- ✅ **Game data validation** with reasonable limits and progression checks

### 3. **CSRF Protection**

- ✅ **CSRF tokens** implemented for all POST forms
- ✅ **Token validation** using `hash_equals()` for timing attack prevention
- ✅ **Automatic token generation** per session

### 4. **Rate Limiting**

- ✅ **Comprehensive rate limiter** class with database-backed tracking
- ✅ **IP-based limiting** with proxy detection support
- ✅ **Multiple action types** supported (login, register, game_action)
- ✅ **Automatic cleanup** of old attempts

### 5. **Security Headers**

- ✅ **Content Security Policy (CSP)** configured with appropriate directives
- ✅ **X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff** to prevent MIME sniffing
- ✅ **X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN** to prevent clickjacking
- ✅ **X-XSS-Protection** enabled
- ✅ **Referrer-Policy** set to strict-origin-when-cross-origin
- ✅ **Permissions-Policy** restricting access to sensitive APIs

### 6. **Database Security**

- ✅ **Configuration externalized** to `config.env` file
- ✅ **config.env properly gitignored** preventing credential exposure
- ✅ **PDO with exceptions** enabled for proper error handling
- ✅ **UTF-8mb4 charset** for proper Unicode support

### 7. **Game Security**

- ✅ **Game ownership verification** before saving scores
- ✅ **Score progression validation** to detect cheating attempts
- ✅ **Round progression checks** to prevent skipping
- ✅ **Maximum limits** on scores and game statistics

### 8. **Server Configuration (.htaccess)**

- ✅ **Sensitive file protection** (`*.sql`, `*.log`, `*.env`, `*.bak`)
- ✅ **db.php specifically blocked** from direct access
- ✅ **Directory browsing disabled**
- ✅ **HTTPS redirect configured** (currently active)
- ✅ **Compression enabled** for performance
- ✅ **Browser caching** configured appropriately

## ⚠️ Security Issues & Recommendations

### 1. **CRITICAL - Direct Database Access Protection** 🔴

**Issue:** While `db.php` is blocked in `.htaccess`, it should also check for direct access in PHP.

**Recommendation:** Add this to the top of `db.php`:

```php
<?php
// Prevent direct access
if (basename($_SERVER['PHP_SELF']) == basename(__FILE__)) {
    http_response_code(403);
    die('Direct access forbidden');     // Prevent direct access
}
```

### 2. **HIGH - CSP Contains 'unsafe-inline' and 'unsafe-eval'** 🟠

**Issue:** The Content Security Policy allows unsafe inline scripts and eval, which weakens XSS protection.

**Location:** `security_headers.php` lines 9-10

```php
$csp .= "script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' 'unsafe-eval' ";
```

**Recommendation:**

- Move inline scripts to external files
- Use nonces or hashes for necessary inline scripts
- Remove 'unsafe-eval' if not required

### 3. **MEDIUM - Missing Password Complexity Requirements** 🟡

**Issue:** Registration only checks password length (6 chars minimum), not complexity.

**Location:** `register.php` line 31

**Recommendation:** Implement stronger password requirements:

```php
function validatePassword($password) {
    if (strlen($password) < 8) return false;
    if (!preg_match('/[A-Z]/', $password)) return false; // uppercase
    if (!preg_match('/[a-z]/', $password)) return false; // lowercase
    if (!preg_match('/[0-9]/', $password)) return false; // number
    return true;
}
```

### 4. **MEDIUM - No Account Lockout After Failed Attempts** 🟡

**Issue:** While rate limiting is implemented, accounts are not temporarily locked after multiple failed attempts.

**Recommendation:** Implement account-specific lockouts after 5 failed attempts.

### 5. **LOW - AdSense Publisher ID Exposed** 🟢

**Issue:** The AdSense publisher ID is hardcoded in `adsense_config.php`.

**Location:** `adsense_config.php` line 10

**Recommendation:** Move to environment configuration:

```php
define('ADSENSE_PUBLISHER_ID', getConfig('ADSENSE_PUBLISHER_ID', 'ca-pub-default'));
```

### 6. **LOW - Missing Security Headers in AJAX Responses** 🟢

**Issue:** `save_game.php` returns JSON without setting `Content-Type` header.

**Recommendation:** Add to `save_game.php`:

```php
header('Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8');
```

### 7. **INFO - HTTPS Redirect Always Active** ℹ️

**Issue:** The `.htaccess` file has HTTPS redirect uncommented and active.

**Location:** `.htaccess` lines 67-68

**Note:** This is good for production but may cause issues in local development.

## 🔒 Additional Security Recommendations

### 1. **Implement Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)**

Consider adding optional 2FA for user accounts using TOTP.

### 2. **Add Security Logging**

Implement logging for:

- Failed login attempts
- Password changes
- Game score anomalies
- Rate limit violations

### 3. **Implement CAPTCHA**

Add CAPTCHA to registration and after 3 failed login attempts.

### 4. **Add Database Backup Strategy**

Ensure regular automated backups of the database.

### 5. **Security Monitoring**

Consider implementing:

- Failed login monitoring
- Unusual score pattern detection
- IP-based anomaly detection

### 6. **Add Password Reset Functionality**

Currently missing password reset feature - should be implemented with secure tokens.

### 7. **Implement Content Security Policy Reporting**

Add CSP reporting to monitor violations:

```php
$csp .= "report-uri /csp-report.php;";
```

## 📊 Security Metrics

| Category | Score | Status |
|----------|-------|--------|
| Authentication | 9/10 | ✅ Excellent |
| Input Validation | 9/10 | ✅ Excellent |
| SQL Injection Protection | 10/10 | ✅ Perfect |
| XSS Protection | 7/10 | ⚠️ Good (CSP needs improvement) |
| CSRF Protection | 10/10 | ✅ Perfect |
| Rate Limiting | 9/10 | ✅ Excellent |
| Session Security | 9/10 | ✅ Excellent |
| Configuration Security | 8/10 | ✅ Good |
| Game Logic Security | 9/10 | ✅ Excellent |
| Server Configuration | 8/10 | ✅ Good |

## 🎯 Priority Action Items

1. **Immediate (Critical)**
   - Add direct access protection to `db.php`

2. **Short-term (1-2 weeks)**
   - Strengthen CSP by removing 'unsafe-inline' and 'unsafe-eval'
   - Implement stronger password requirements
   - Add account lockout mechanism
   - Set proper Content-Type headers for AJAX responses

3. **Medium-term (1 month)**
   - Implement password reset functionality
   - Add CAPTCHA for registration
   - Move AdSense ID to environment config
   - Add security logging system

4. **Long-term (3 months)**
   - Implement 2FA support
   - Add CSP reporting
   - Develop anomaly detection system
   - Create security monitoring dashboard

## ✅ Compliance Checklist

- [x] GDPR - User data protection
- [x] OWASP Top 10 - Major vulnerabilities addressed
- [x] PCI DSS - N/A (no payment processing)
- [x] Password Storage - Using bcrypt
- [x] Session Management - Secure implementation
- [x] Input Validation - Comprehensive
- [x] Output Encoding - Properly implemented

## 📝 Conclusion

The Asteroids game website demonstrates **strong security practices** with comprehensive protection against common web vulnerabilities. The application successfully implements:

- Strong authentication and session management
- Comprehensive input validation and sanitization
- Protection against SQL injection, XSS, and CSRF attacks
- Effective rate limiting and anti-cheat measures
- Proper security headers and server configuration

The identified issues are mostly minor and can be addressed with minimal effort. The most critical issue is adding direct access protection to `db.php`, which should be implemented immediately.

**The application is production-ready from a security perspective**, with the recommendation to address the critical issue and gradually implement the suggested improvements.

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*This security review was conducted through static code analysis. A penetration test is recommended for production deployment to identify any runtime vulnerabilities.*
