Fix Business Logic Errors in AdonisJS | GuardAPI Security Guide

Business logic errors in AdonisJS often stem from a fundamental trust in client-provided metadata. While Lucid handles SQL injection and Edge handles XSS, the logic layer is where developers fail by allowing Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR) or state-machine bypasses. In these scenarios, the application functions exactly as coded, but the code lacks the necessary authorization checks to verify if the actor has the right to manipulate the target resource.

The Vulnerable Pattern

// app/Controllers/Http/OrdersController.ts
public async updateStatus({ request, response }) {
  const { id, status } = request.all();
  // VULNERABILITY: Blindly fetching and updating based on user-supplied ID
  const order = await Order.findOrFail(id);
order.status = status;
await order.save();
return response.ok({ message: ‘Order updated’ });
}

The Secure Implementation

The vulnerable snippet suffers from IDOR and lack of state validation. An attacker can pass any 'id' in the request body to modify orders belonging to other users. The secure version fixes this by: 1. Using AdonisJS Bouncer to verify that the 'auth.user' actually owns the order. 2. Moving input from the request body to route parameters for clarity. 3. Implementing a 'State Machine' check to prevent illegal logic flows (e.g., moving a completed order back to pending). Always trust the 'auth' object over the request payload for identity.

// app/Controllers/Http/OrdersController.ts
import UpdateOrderValidator from 'App/Validators/UpdateOrderValidator';
public async updateStatus({ auth, request, response, bouncer }) {
const { id } = request.params();
const { status } = await request.validate(UpdateOrderValidator);
// 1. Fetch resource and ensure it exists
const order = await Order.findOrFail(id);
// 2. Use Bouncer to authorize the action against the authenticated user
await bouncer.authorize(‘editOrder’, order);
// 3. Enforce valid state transitions (Business Logic)
if (order.status === ‘shipped’ && status === ‘pending’) {
return response.badRequest(‘Cannot revert shipped order to pending’);
}
order.status = status;
await order.save();
return response.ok({ message: ‘Order status updated securely’ });
}

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The Vulnerable Pattern

The Secure Implementation

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