authz-security-review

Auditing authorization in Next.js App Router involves inspecting route handlers to verify server-side session validation, DB-backed ownership checks, and service-layer admin role enforcement, ensuring access-control does not rely on middleware alone.

Relying on middleware alone for session validation creates authorization gaps because it bypasses service-level re-enforcement of admin roles and DB-backed ownership verification, allowing routes to trust client input instead of enforcing server-side database checks.

Verifying DB-backed ownership checks involves inspecting production routes that access user-owned data and confirming the service layer queries the database to validate ownership, rather than trusting client input or route-level parameters alone.

Enforcing admin access at the service layer involves re-enforcing admin permissions alongside route guards, ensuring production Next.js apps handle common authorization gaps by validating sessions and roles server-side before accessing user-owned data.

This authorization review process is specifically designed for production Next.js App Router SaaS platforms, focusing on auditing route handlers and services for session validation, DB-backed ownership checks, and admin access enforcement.

An authorization security review should be performed when your SaaS platform handles user-owned data and admin roles, ensuring route handlers and services properly enforce sessions, DB-backed ownership, and service-level admin access before production deployment.