Best Practices for Writing Secure Java Code

To develop secure Java applications, developers should adhere to best practices and coding standards that mitigate vulnerabilities and prevent malicious attacks. Key recommendations include using only tested and up-to-date libraries, avoiding serialization due to its inherent insecurities, and hashing user passwords with secure algorithms. Developers should filter sensitive information from exceptions, avoid logging sensitive data, and handle errors and logging cautiously to prevent leaking information. Simplifying code, using access modifiers wisely, and employing tools like SonarQube for code quality checks are also crucial. Additionally, preventing injection attacks such as SQL and XPath by validating user input and using prepared statements or stored procedures, as well as defending against Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) by filtering inputs and encoding outputs, can significantly enhance security. Integrating these guidelines from the design stage through to code reviews helps protect applications from exploitation and data theft.