Complete Security Guide for lovable.dev Applications

lovable.dev has revolutionized how quickly you can build and ship web applications. What used to take weeks now takes hours. But speed comes with tradeoffs—and security is often one of them.

This guide will help you identify and fix the most common security vulnerabilities in lovable.dev applications, implement production-grade security controls, and confidently deploy your AI-generated code.

Why lovable.dev Security Matters

If you're building internal tools or personal projects, basic security might be enough. But if you're:

• Handling user data or PII
• Processing payments
• Seeking enterprise customers
• Raising funding (investors will ask about security)
• Subject to compliance requirements (HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR)

...then you need to go beyond what AI code generation provides out of the box.

The Core Issue

AI code generation tools like lovable.dev excel at creating functional prototypes. They're trained on millions of code examples and can scaffold working applications incredibly fast. However:

1. They prioritize functionality over security - The goal is to make it work, not make it secure
2. They use common patterns - Often pulling from open-source examples that may have security weaknesses
3. They lack threat modeling - AI doesn't think like an attacker
4. They can't implement defense-in-depth - Systematic security requires architecture AI can't fully grasp

Common Security Vulnerabilities in lovable.dev Apps

Based on our security reviews of 50+ lovable.dev applications, here are the most common issues we find:

1. Authentication & Authorization Issues (Found in 92% of apps)

Common Problems:

• No authentication on API routes
• Weak or missing session management
• No MFA (multi-factor authentication)
• Authorization checks missing or incorrectly implemented
• Admin routes accessible without proper checks

Example Vulnerable Code:

// ❌ BAD: No authentication check
export async function GET(request: Request) {
  const users = await db.user.findMany()
  return Response.json(users)
}

Secure Version:

// ✅ GOOD: Proper authentication and authorization
import { getServerSession } from 'next-auth'
import { authOptions } from '@/lib/auth'

export async function GET(request: Request) {
  const session = await getServerSession(authOptions)

  if (!session) {
    return Response.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, { status: 401 })
  }

  if (session.user.role !== 'admin') {
    return Response.json({ error: 'Forbidden' }, { status: 403 })
  }

  const users = await db.user.findMany({
    select: { // Only return necessary fields
      id: true,
      email: true,
      name: true,
      // Don't expose password hashes, sensitive data
    }
  })

  return Response.json(users)
}

How to Fix:

1. Implement proper authentication (Auth0, Clerk, NextAuth, Supabase Auth)
2. Add MFA for all users or at least admins
3. Check authentication on every protected route
4. Implement role-based access control (RBAC)
5. Use principle of least privilege

2. Exposed API Keys and Secrets (Found in 87% of apps)

Common Problems:

• API keys committed to git
• Secrets in client-side code
• Environment variables exposed to client
• Database credentials in code

Example Vulnerable Code:

// ❌ BAD: API key in client-side code
const OPENAI_API_KEY = 'sk-proj-...'
fetch('https://api.openai.com/v1/chat', {
  headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${OPENAI_API_KEY}` }
})

Secure Version:

// ✅ GOOD: API call through secure backend
// Client-side:
const response = await fetch('/api/chat', {
  method: 'POST',
  body: JSON.stringify({ message })
})

// Server-side API route:
export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const apiKey = process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY // Server-side only
  // Make API call with secret key
}

How to Fix:

1. Never commit secrets to git (use .env.local, add to .gitignore)
2. Use environment variables for all secrets
3. Keep API keys server-side only
4. Use secret management services (AWS Secrets Manager, Vault)
5. Rotate secrets regularly
6. Audit your git history for exposed secrets (use tools like git-secrets or truffleHog)

3. SQL Injection & NoSQL Injection (Found in 73% of apps)

Common Problems:

• String concatenation in database queries
• User input not sanitized
• No parameterized queries

Example Vulnerable Code:

// ❌ BAD: SQL injection vulnerability
const email = request.body.email
const user = await db.$queryRaw`
  SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '${email}'
`

Secure Version:

// ✅ GOOD: Parameterized query
const email = request.body.email
const user = await db.user.findUnique({
  where: { email } // Prisma handles sanitization
})

// Or with raw SQL, use parameters:
const user = await db.$queryRaw`
  SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = ${email}
` // Note: No quotes, Prisma parameterizes this

How to Fix:

1. Use ORM (Prisma, Drizzle) with proper parameterization
2. Never concatenate user input into queries
3. Validate and sanitize all user input
4. Use principle of least privilege for database users
5. Implement input validation library (Zod, Yup)

4. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) (Found in 65% of apps)

Common Problems:

• Rendering user input without sanitization
• Using dangerouslySetInnerHTML incorrectly
• No Content Security Policy

Example Vulnerable Code:

// ❌ BAD: XSS vulnerability
function Comment({ text }: { text: string }) {
  return <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: text }} />
}

Secure Version:

// ✅ GOOD: React automatically escapes text
function Comment({ text }: { text: string }) {
  return <div>{text}</div>
}

// If you need HTML, sanitize it first:
import DOMPurify from 'dompurify'

function Comment({ html }: { html: string }) {
  const sanitized = DOMPurify.sanitize(html)
  return <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: sanitized }} />
}

How to Fix:

1. Let React handle text rendering (it auto-escapes)
2. If you need raw HTML, use DOMPurify to sanitize
3. Implement Content Security Policy headers
4. Validate user input on both client and server
5. Use HTTP-only cookies for sensitive data

5. Insecure API Endpoints (Found in 81% of apps)

Common Problems:

• No rate limiting
• CORS misconfiguration
• Verbose error messages exposing system details
• No input validation

How to Fix:

// ✅ Rate limiting with Upstash
import { Ratelimit } from '@upstash/ratelimit'
import { Redis } from '@upstash/redis'

const ratelimit = new Ratelimit({
  redis: Redis.fromEnv(),
  limiter: Ratelimit.slidingWindow(10, '10 s'),
})

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const ip = request.headers.get('x-forwarded-for') ?? 'unknown'
  const { success } = await ratelimit.limit(ip)

  if (!success) {
    return Response.json({ error: 'Too many requests' }, { status: 429 })
  }

  // Process request
}

Additional API Security:

1. Implement rate limiting (Upstash, Redis)
2. Configure CORS properly (don't use * in production)
3. Validate all inputs with Zod or similar
4. Return generic error messages to users
5. Log detailed errors server-side only

6. Missing HTTPS and Security Headers (Found in 58% of apps)

How to Fix:

Add security headers in next.config.js:

const securityHeaders = [
  {
    key: 'X-DNS-Prefetch-Control',
    value: 'on'
  },
  {
    key: 'Strict-Transport-Security',
    value: 'max-age=63072000; includeSubDomains; preload'
  },
  {
    key: 'X-Frame-Options',
    value: 'SAMEORIGIN'
  },
  {
    key: 'X-Content-Type-Options',
    value: 'nosniff'
  },
  {
    key: 'Referrer-Policy',
    value: 'origin-when-cross-origin'
  },
  {
    key: 'Content-Security-Policy',
    value: "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'"
  }
]

module.exports = {
  async headers() {
    return [
      {
        source: '/:path*',
        headers: securityHeaders,
      },
    ]
  },
}

Production Deployment Checklist

Before deploying your lovable.dev app to production:

Authentication & Authorization

• All routes have proper authentication
• Authorization checks on every sensitive operation
• MFA enabled for admins
• Session management properly configured
• Password requirements meet OWASP standards

Secrets & Configuration

• No secrets in code or git history
• Environment variables properly configured
• API keys server-side only
• Different credentials for dev/staging/prod
• Secrets rotation plan in place

Data Protection

• Database connections use SSL/TLS
• Sensitive data encrypted at rest
• PII identified and protected
• Data retention policy defined
• Backup and recovery tested

API Security

• Rate limiting implemented
• Input validation on all endpoints
• CORS configured properly
• Error messages don't expose system details
• API authentication required

Infrastructure

• HTTPS everywhere (no HTTP)
• Security headers configured
• WAF (Web Application Firewall) if handling payments
• Logging and monitoring in place
• Incident response plan documented

Compliance (if applicable)

• Privacy policy published
• Terms of service published
• Cookie consent (if EU users)
• GDPR requirements met (if applicable)
• HIPAA controls (if healthcare)
• SOC 2 preparation started (if enterprise)

Tools for Securing lovable.dev Apps

Authentication

• Auth0 - Enterprise SSO, MFA, easy integration
• Clerk - Developer-friendly auth with great UI
• NextAuth.js - Open-source, flexible
• Supabase Auth - If using Supabase for database

Secrets Management

• Vercel Environment Variables - Built-in for Vercel deployments
• AWS Secrets Manager - Enterprise-grade secret storage
• Doppler - Developer-friendly secrets management

Security Scanning

• Snyk - Dependency vulnerability scanning
• GitHub Dependabot - Automated dependency updates
• GitGuardian - Secrets detection in git
• Socket.dev - Supply chain security

Monitoring

• Sentry - Error tracking and monitoring
• LogRocket - Session replay for debugging
• Better Stack - Logging and uptime monitoring

When to Get Professional Help

Consider a security review if you're:

1. Handling sensitive data - PII, payment info, health data
2. Seeking enterprise customers - They'll require security documentation
3. Raising funding - Investors will conduct security due diligence
4. Subject to regulations - HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR, PCI-DSS
5. Scaling quickly - Security debt compounds as you grow

A professional security review typically costs $4,500-$8,500 and includes:

• Comprehensive vulnerability assessment
• Threat modeling
• Prioritized remediation plan
• Security architecture guidance
• Compliance gap analysis

Next Steps

1. Run this checklist on your lovable.dev application
2. Fix critical issues first - Authentication, exposed secrets, SQL injection
3. Implement security tooling - Add auth, rate limiting, monitoring
4. Test everything - Try to break your own app
5. Document your security - Future you (and auditors) will thank you

Remember: lovable.dev is incredible for speed. Adding security is what makes it production-ready.

Need help securing your lovable.dev application? Get a free security assessment →