← Back to AI Security Resources

    AI Code Vulnerability Taxonomy

    Complete classification of security vulnerabilities found in AI-generated code. Understanding these vulnerability patterns is essential for securing applications built with Copilot, Cursor, and other AI coding assistants.

    AI-Generated Code Patterns

    AI coding tools excel at generating functional code quickly but often miss security nuances. They may produce syntactically correct code with critical vulnerabilities, especially around authentication, input validation, and cryptography.

    Injection Vulnerabilities

    SQL Injection

    Critical

    Unparameterized queries with user input directly concatenated into SQL statements

    NoSQL Injection

    Critical

    MongoDB or other NoSQL queries vulnerable to operator injection attacks

    Command Injection

    Critical

    Shell commands constructed with unsanitized user input

    LDAP Injection

    High

    LDAP queries built with unvalidated external data

    Authentication & Authorization

    Hardcoded Credentials

    Critical

    API keys, passwords, or tokens embedded directly in source code

    Weak Password Policies

    High

    No length requirements, complexity rules, or common password checks

    Missing Access Controls

    Critical

    Endpoints accessible without proper role or permission verification

    Insecure Session Management

    High

    Predictable session IDs or tokens stored insecurely

    Data Exposure

    Sensitive Data in Logs

    High

    Passwords, tokens, or PII written to application logs

    Excessive API Data

    Medium

    API responses include unnecessary sensitive fields

    Client-Side Secrets

    Critical

    API keys or credentials exposed in frontend JavaScript

    Debug Endpoints in Production

    High

    Development endpoints exposing system information left enabled

    Cryptography Flaws

    Weak Hashing Algorithms

    Critical

    Using MD5 or SHA-1 for password hashing instead of bcrypt/argon2

    Insecure Random Numbers

    High

    Using Math.random() or similar for security-critical operations

    Missing Encryption at Rest

    High

    Sensitive data stored unencrypted in databases

    Improper TLS Configuration

    Medium

    Weak cipher suites or outdated TLS versions

    Input Validation

    Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

    High

    User input rendered without sanitization or escaping

    Path Traversal

    Critical

    File paths constructed with unvalidated user input

    XML External Entity (XXE)

    High

    XML parsers configured to process external entities

    Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

    High

    Application makes requests to user-controlled URLs

    Logic & Business Flaws

    Race Conditions

    Medium

    Concurrent operations on shared resources without proper locking

    Missing Rate Limiting

    High

    No throttling on authentication or resource-intensive endpoints

    Insecure Deserialization

    Critical

    Deserializing untrusted data without validation

    Business Logic Bypass

    Critical

    Payment, discount, or workflow steps that can be skipped

    AI-Specific Vulnerability Patterns

    Hallucinated Security Functions

    Critical

    AI generates plausible-looking but non-existent security libraries or methods

    Incomplete Error Handling

    High

    Try-catch blocks with empty handlers or generic error messages that leak information

    Over-Permissive CORS

    High

    CORS configured with wildcard origins allowing any domain to access APIs

    Missing Input Length Limits

    Medium

    No maximum length constraints on user inputs, enabling DoS attacks

    Related Resources

    AI-Generated Code Risks

    Risk analysis by threat category and impact

    AI Code Review Guide

    Framework for reviewing AI-generated code

    Secure AI Coding Practices

    Prompts and practices for secure code generation

    GitHub Copilot Guide

    Complete guide to securing Copilot-generated code

    Scan for AI Code Vulnerabilities

    Automatically detect these vulnerabilities in your AI-generated codebase. VibeEval identifies security flaws specific to Copilot, Cursor, and other AI coding tools.

    Start Free Vulnerability Scan