Base44 security

Forms Accept Any Input Without Validation

Forms in your Base44 app accept and save any input without validation. Users can submit empty required fields, enter text in number fields, submit absurdly long strings, or inject HTML and scripts into text fields. This corrupts your data and can create security vulnerabilities.

Without validation, your database fills with garbage data: empty email fields, phone numbers with letters, negative quantities, and dates in the wrong format. Reports become unreliable, automated workflows break on bad data, and cleaning up the mess is time-consuming.

Worse, malicious users can inject scripts that execute when other users or admins view the submitted data, potentially stealing sessions or performing actions on their behalf.

Error Messages You Might See

Invalid data saved to database Form submitted with empty required fields Script executed when viewing submitted data Number field contains non-numeric value
Invalid data saved to databaseForm submitted with empty required fieldsScript executed when viewing submitted dataNumber field contains non-numeric value

Common Causes

  • No field constraints configured — Base44 form fields don't have required, min/max, or format rules set
  • Client-side validation only — HTML5 validation attributes exist but can be bypassed by submitting directly to the API
  • Text fields without length limits — Users can paste megabytes of text into a single field, bloating the database
  • Number fields accepting strings — Price, quantity, and age fields store whatever string is submitted
  • No sanitization of HTML content — Rich text or description fields accept raw HTML and JavaScript

How to Fix It

  1. Add required field rules — Mark all mandatory fields as required in both the form configuration and the data table schema
  2. Set field type constraints — Configure number fields to accept only numbers, email fields to validate email format, and date fields to accept only valid dates
  3. Add length limits — Set maximum character limits on text fields (e.g., 255 for names, 1000 for descriptions)
  4. Sanitize text input — Strip HTML tags from plain text fields and sanitize rich text fields to allow only safe HTML elements
  5. Add server-side validation rules — Configure validation at the data layer so it can't be bypassed by direct API calls

Real developers can help you.

PawelPloszaj PawelPloszaj I'm fronted developer with 10+ years of experience with big projects. I have small backend background too Kingsley Omage Kingsley Omage Fullstack software engineer passionate about AI Agents, blockchain, LLMs. Taufan Taufan I’m a product-focused engineer and tech leader who builds scalable systems and turns ideas into production-ready platforms. Over the past years, I’ve worked across startups and fast-moving teams, leading backend architecture, improving system reliability, and shipping products used by thousands of users. My strength is not just writing code — but connecting product vision, technical execution, and business impact. Meïr Ankri Meïr Ankri Full-stack developer specializing in React / Next.js / Node.js with 6+ years of experience. I've worked across various sectors including automotive (Reezocar/Société Générale), healthcare (Medical Link SaaS), and e-commerce (Glasman). I build web apps end-to-end, from architecture to production, with a focus on scalability, performance, and code quality. I also mentor junior developers and contribute to technical decisions and code reviews. Dor Yaloz Dor Yaloz SW engineer with 6+ years of experience, I worked with React/Node/Python did projects with React+Capacitor.js for ios Supabase expert Omar Faruk Omar Faruk As a Product Engineer at Klasio, I contributed to end-to-end product development, focusing on scalability, performance, and user experience. My work spanned building and refining core features, developing dynamic website templates, integrating secure and reliable payment gateways, and optimizing the overall system architecture. I played a key role in creating a scalable and maintainable platform to support educators and learners globally. I'm enthusiastic about embracing new challenges and making meaningful contributions. Basel Issmail Basel Issmail ’m a Senior Full-Stack Developer and Tech Lead with experience designing and building scalable web platforms. I work across the full development lifecycle, from translating business requirements into technical architecture to delivering reliable production systems. My work focuses on modern web technologies, including TypeScript, Angular, Node.js, and cloud-based architectures. I enjoy solving complex technical problems and helping teams turn product ideas and prototypes into working platforms that can grow and scale. In addition to development, I often collaborate closely with product managers, business analysts, designers, and QA teams to ensure that solutions align with both technical and business goals. I enjoy working with startups and product teams where I can contribute both as a hands-on engineer and as a technical partner in designing and delivering impactful software. Anthony Akpan Anthony Akpan Developer with 8 years of experience building softwares fro startups Antriksh Narang Antriksh Narang 5 years+ Experienced Dev (Specially in Web Development), can help in python, javascript, react, next.js and full stack web dev technologies. MFox MFox Full-stack professional senior engineer (15+years). Extensive experience in software development, qa, and IP networking.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is client-side validation not enough?

Anyone can bypass browser validation by editing the HTML, disabling JavaScript, or sending requests directly to the API. Server-side or data-layer validation is the only reliable way to ensure data integrity.

How do I clean up existing bad data?

Export your table data, clean it in a spreadsheet by removing empty rows and fixing formats, then re-import. Going forward, add validation rules to prevent bad data from being saved.

Related Base44 Issues

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