👋 Hey there!

Today marks Day 1 of my deep dive into the world of source code auditing—a critical skill for anyone interested in cybersecurity, secure software development, or bug bounty hunting. And I couldn’t be more excited to begin this journey.

💡 What Is Source Code Auditing?

Source code auditing is the process of manually or automatically reviewing source code to find security flaws, bugs, or risky logic. It’s like playing detective—only instead of chasing criminals, you’re hunting vulnerabilities hidden in lines of code.

🧩 Think of it as reading someone else’s story and spotting all the plot holes that could lead to a disaster.

🚨 Why It Matters

In today’s tech-driven world, most attacks don’t happen with brute force—they happen through exploiting code-level weaknesses. Whether it’s:

Exposed credentials
Insecure input validation
Poor access control
Or misused libraries

...the smallest error in source code can be the gateway to a full system compromise.

And that’s where source code auditors come in—to catch those flaws before attackers do.

🔍 My Starting Point: OWASP Top 10 (2021)

To guide my learning, I’m starting with the OWASP Top 10—a list of the most common and critical web application security risks. These categories are not only high-impact but also extremely relevant to real-world software.

Here’s a snapshot of the OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities (2021 edition):

🔓 Broken Access Control
– Failures that allow users to act outside their intended permissions.
🧬 Cryptographic Failures (formerly Sensitive Data Exposure)
– Issues related to data encryption, storage, and transmission.
💉 Injection
– Including SQL, NoSQL, command injection, etc., where untrusted input gets executed.
🔧 Insecure Design
– Lack of security controls or flawed architecture/design decisions.
🔑 Security Misconfiguration
– Default settings, open cloud storage, error messages, unnecessary features enabled.
🧪 Vulnerable and Outdated Components
– Use of libraries or packages with known vulnerabilities.
🚧 Identification and Authentication Failures
– Weak authentication, session mismanagement, brute force risks.
🧰 Software and Data Integrity Failures
– Issues like insecure CI/CD pipelines, unsigned code, or untrusted updates.
📈 Security Logging and Monitoring Failures
– Lack of detection, alerting, and response for breaches.
⚙️ Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
– Server making unintended or malicious requests on behalf of the attacker.

📚 Want to Learn More About OWASP Top 10?

If you’re ready to dive deeper into practical security testing and understand how to spot the vulnerabilities in the OWASP Top 10, check out the official:

➡️ OWASP Web Security Testing Guide (WSTG)

It’s a comprehensive, free manual that covers everything from information gathering to input validation, access control, and more. Whether you're a beginner or aiming for a career in AppSec, this guide is gold. 💡

🎯 Why I’m Doing This

There are a few reasons why I’m diving into source code auditing:

I want to think like an attacker (and defend like one too).
I’m building real-world cybersecurity skills for roles like SOC Analyst, DevSecOpsEngineer, or Security Researcher.
I love the challenge. Every line of code is like a puzzle waiting to be solved.

🧭 What’s Next?

Tomorrow (Day 2), I’ll be setting up my minimalist code auditing workstation on Ubuntu with tools like:

Bandit for Python static analysis
Semgrep for rule-based code scanning
VS Code as my lightweight IDE

Clean setup. Powerful tools. No fluff.

🤝 Want to Join the Journey?

I’ll be posting daily lessons, tools, reflections, and mini-projects as I go.

🧰 Follow the tag #30DaysOfCodeAuditing
🔐 Drop your questions or suggestions in the comments!
💬 Let’s build secure software—and grow together.

📌 This post is part of my cybersecurity learning series: #30DaysOfCodeAuditing

🛡️ Day 1: Why I’m Learning Source Code Auditing