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Md.Shariful Islam
Md.Shariful Islam

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15 Laravel Security Best Practices in 2025

#laravel #php

Laravel is one of the most popular PHP frameworks, and for good reason—it's elegant, expressive, and comes with many built-in security features. But just because Laravel provides the tools doesn’t mean you’re automatically safe.

Whether you're building an MVP or maintaining a large-scale application, security must be a priority.

Here are 15 Laravel security best practices every developer should follow in 2025:

🔐 1. Keep Laravel and Dependencies Updated
Always keep Laravel, its dependencies, and PHP up to date.
Laravel releases often include security patches and improvements.

.
🔒 2. Prevent SQL Injection
Laravel's Eloquent ORM and query builder automatically use prepared statements.

✅ Safe:

$users = DB::table('users')->where('email', $email)->get();
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❌ Avoid:

DB::select("SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '$email'")
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🧼 3. Avoid Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

Escape all output using Blade syntax:

{{ $user->name }}  // Escapes HTML output
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.

🛡️ 4. CSRF Protection
Laravel includes CSRF protection middleware by default. Just don’t forget to include @csrf in your forms.

<form method="POST" action="/submit">
    @csrf
    <!-- form inputs -->
</form>
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👥 5. Use Built-In Auth & Authorization
Leverage Laravel Breeze, Fortify, or Jetstream. Use Gates and Policies to control access.

$this->authorize('update', $post);
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🗝️ 6. Store Passwords Securely
Never store plain text passwords. Laravel uses Bcrypt or Argon2 by default.

Hash::make('supersecret');
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🔑 7. Secure Your .env and Configs
Never commit .env files.
Set APP_DEBUG=false in production.
Use environment variables for credentials.
🔐 8. Force HTTPS
Force SSL in production.

// AppServiceProvider.php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\URL;

public function boot()
{
    if (app()->environment('production')) {
        URL::forceScheme('https');
    }
}
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🧾 9. Validate and Sanitize File Uploads
Validate file size and type.
Avoid storing files in /public if you don’t need public access.
Sanitize filenames.

$request->validate([
    'avatar' => 'required|file|mimes:jpg,jpeg,png|max:2048',
]);
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🍪 10. Secure Cookies & Sessions
In config/session.php, set secure defaults:

'secure' => env('SESSION_SECURE_COOKIE', true),
'http_only' => true,
'same_site' => 'lax',
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📈 11. Rate Limiting
Prevent brute force attacks using Laravel's rate limiter.

Route::middleware(['throttle:60,1'])->group(function () {
    // Protected routes
});
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🚫 12. Avoid Mass Assignment Vulnerabilities
Use $fillable or $guarded in your Eloquent models.

protected $fillable = ['name', 'email'];
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📜 13. Monitor and Log Suspicious Activity
Use Laravel logging + services like Sentry, Bugsnag, or LogRocket

Log::warning('Suspicious login attempt', ['email' => $request->email]);
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📦 14. Vet Third-Party Packages
Install only packages you trust. Check for:

Active maintainers
Regular updates
Community adoption
🔍 15. Run Regular Security Audits
Use tools like

🔍 Larastan
🔐 Laravel Security Checker
🧪 PHPStan
✅ Conclusion
Security isn’t a one-time task. It's a habit.

With Laravel, you already have a strong foundation—just make sure you're using it right.

Top comments (2)

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sejutaimpian profile image
Eris Sulistina •

Nice post

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william_david_05d48901702 profile image
William David •

Great list! One important thing I’d add is proper CORS configuration. Misconfigured CORS can expose your API to cross-origin attacks. Laravel lets you configure this in config/cors.php, and you can restrict allowed origins, methods, and headers to only what your app actually needs. 🔒