What Is Windsurf AI?
An AI-powered IDE (formerly Codeium) that provides code completion, chat-based generation, and agentic coding capabilities. Windsurf combines inline suggestions with multi-file editing and terminal access for comprehensive AI-assisted development.
Security Risks
Windsurf shares common AI coding tool security risks with some unique considerations:
- Multi-file changes: Agentic mode can modify multiple files, potentially creating inconsistent security patterns
- Terminal access: Can execute commands with the developer’s full permissions
- Code completion context: May suggest code based on insecure patterns elsewhere in the project
- Dependency management: Suggests and installs packages without security vetting
- Configuration changes: May modify security-relevant configuration files
- Cache/history: Code suggestions may include patterns from other projects
Security Checklist
- Review all multi-file changes holistically for security consistency
- Verify authentication and authorization patterns are applied uniformly
- Check that terminal commands executed by the agent are safe
- Validate all AI-suggested dependencies before installing
- Review any configuration file changes for security implications
- Ensure generated code uses environment variables for secrets
- Run security scans after significant generation sessions
- Check for exposed debug endpoints or verbose error messages
- Verify CORS and security header configurations
- Test all generated API endpoints for missing auth checks
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Windsurf better than Cursor for security?
Both tools generate code with similar security profiles since they use comparable underlying models. The security of generated code depends more on the developer’s security prompts, review process, and automated scanning than on the specific tool. Choose based on workflow preference and add security review to either.
Does Windsurf have security features?
Windsurf provides code suggestions that may include security patterns, but it does not have dedicated security scanning or vulnerability detection. Use it alongside SAST tools (Semgrep, ESLint security plugins) and SCA tools (npm audit, Snyk) for comprehensive security coverage.
How do I use Windsurf safely for production code?
Set up project rules that emphasize security requirements. Review all generated code before committing. Use git diffs to understand changes. Run automated security scans in CI/CD. Never deploy AI-generated authentication or payment code without manual security review.