Agent skill
webhook-security
Secure webhook endpoints. Use when a user asks to verify webhook signatures, prevent replay attacks, handle webhook retries, or implement secure webhook receivers for Stripe, GitHub, Slack, or any provider.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/other/other/webhook-security
Metadata
Additional technical details for this skill
- tags
-
webhooks security signatures hmac api
- author
- terminal-skills
- version
- 1.0.0
- category
- devops
SKILL.md
Webhook Security
Overview
Webhooks deliver real-time data to your app, but an open endpoint is an attack surface. Without verification, anyone can POST fake events to your webhook URL. This skill covers signature verification, replay protection, idempotency, and reliable processing patterns.
Instructions
Step 1: Signature Verification
Every major provider signs webhook payloads with HMAC. Verify before processing.
// lib/webhooks/verify.ts — Generic HMAC verification
import crypto from 'crypto'
export function verifyHmacSignature(
payload: string | Buffer,
signature: string,
secret: string,
algorithm: string = 'sha256'
): boolean {
const expected = crypto
.createHmac(algorithm, secret)
.update(payload)
.digest('hex')
// Timing-safe comparison prevents timing attacks
return crypto.timingSafeEqual(
Buffer.from(signature),
Buffer.from(expected)
)
}
Step 2: Stripe Webhook Verification
// routes/webhooks/stripe.ts — Stripe webhook handler
import Stripe from 'stripe'
const stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY!)
export async function handleStripeWebhook(req: Request) {
const body = await req.text() // raw body, NOT parsed JSON
const sig = req.headers.get('stripe-signature')!
let event: Stripe.Event
try {
event = stripe.webhooks.constructEvent(
body,
sig,
process.env.STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET!
)
} catch (err) {
console.error('Webhook signature verification failed:', err.message)
return new Response('Invalid signature', { status: 400 })
}
// Process event idempotently
switch (event.type) {
case 'checkout.session.completed':
await handleCheckoutComplete(event.data.object)
break
case 'invoice.payment_failed':
await handlePaymentFailed(event.data.object)
break
case 'customer.subscription.deleted':
await handleSubscriptionCanceled(event.data.object)
break
}
return new Response('OK', { status: 200 })
}
Step 3: Replay Protection
// lib/webhooks/idempotency.ts — Prevent duplicate processing
import { redis } from '../redis'
export async function processOnce(
eventId: string,
handler: () => Promise<void>
): Promise<boolean> {
// Set with NX (only if not exists) and 48h expiry
const isNew = await redis.set(`webhook:${eventId}`, '1', 'NX', 'EX', 172800)
if (!isNew) {
console.log(`Duplicate webhook ${eventId}, skipping`)
return false
}
try {
await handler()
return true
} catch (err) {
// Remove key so retry can work
await redis.del(`webhook:${eventId}`)
throw err
}
}
// Usage
await processOnce(event.id, async () => {
await db.order.update({ where: { stripeSessionId: session.id }, data: { status: 'paid' } })
})
Step 4: GitHub Webhook Verification
// routes/webhooks/github.ts — GitHub webhook handler
import crypto from 'crypto'
function verifyGitHubSignature(payload: string, signature: string, secret: string): boolean {
const expected = 'sha256=' + crypto
.createHmac('sha256', secret)
.update(payload)
.digest('hex')
return crypto.timingSafeEqual(Buffer.from(signature), Buffer.from(expected))
}
export async function handleGitHubWebhook(req: Request) {
const body = await req.text()
const sig = req.headers.get('x-hub-signature-256')!
if (!verifyGitHubSignature(body, sig, process.env.GITHUB_WEBHOOK_SECRET!)) {
return new Response('Invalid signature', { status: 401 })
}
const event = req.headers.get('x-github-event')
const payload = JSON.parse(body)
switch (event) {
case 'push':
await handlePush(payload)
break
case 'pull_request':
await handlePR(payload)
break
}
return new Response('OK', { status: 200 })
}
Guidelines
- ALWAYS verify signatures before processing. Never trust unverified webhooks.
- Use
crypto.timingSafeEqual— regular string comparison leaks timing information. - Parse the raw body for verification, not JSON-parsed data (parsing may alter the payload).
- Implement idempotency — webhooks are at-least-once delivery; you WILL receive duplicates.
- Return 200 quickly and process asynchronously (queue) to avoid timeout retries.
- Store webhook event IDs for 24-48h to detect replays.
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