Is Vercel Safe?
Last updated: January 12, 2026
An honest security analysis of Vercel for developers considering it for their projects.
Quick Answer
Safe - enterprise infrastructure, configure headers manuallyVercel is enterprise-grade safe with SOC 2 Type II, automatic HTTPS, and DDoS protection. Main risks: preview deployments can expose staging data, and you must configure security headers manually in vercel.json. Built by the Next.js team with strong security defaults.
Understanding Vercel Security
When evaluating whether Vercel is safe for your project, it's important to understand the distinction between platform security and application security. Vercel as a platform implements industry-standard security practices for its infrastructure, including encryption, access controls, and regular security audits.
However, the security of applications built with Vercel depends significantly on how developers use the platform. AI-generated code and rapid development workflows can introduce vulnerabilities that exist independently of the platform's underlying security. Research from Stanford University found that AI coding assistants produce vulnerable code approximately 40% of the time when working on security-sensitive tasks.
The most common security issues in Vercel applications stem from misconfigurations, exposed credentials, and missing security controls—problems that developers must address regardless of which platform they use. Understanding these patterns helps you make informed decisions about using Vercel for your specific use case.
Platform Security
Platform security refers to the security measures Vercel implements at the infrastructure level: how they protect their servers, encrypt data in transit and at rest, manage access to their systems, and respond to security incidents. These are controls the platform provider manages on your behalf.
Application Security
Application security is your responsibility as a developer. This includes properly configuring authentication, implementing authorization controls, protecting sensitive data, securing API endpoints, and avoiding common vulnerabilities like exposed credentials or SQL injection. These risks exist regardless of which platform you use.
Common Security Mistakes in Vercel Apps
Based on security scans of thousands of Vercel applications, these are the most frequently encountered vulnerabilities. Understanding these patterns helps you proactively secure your applications.
Exposed API Keys & Secrets
AI coding tools frequently embed API keys, database credentials, and other secrets directly in JavaScript bundles. These credentials become visible to anyone who inspects your application's source code in their browser.
Prevention: Use environment variables and server-side API routes to keep credentials secure.
Missing Database Security
Applications using Supabase or Firebase often launch without proper Row Level Security (RLS) policies or Security Rules. This allows unauthorized users to read, modify, or delete data they shouldn't have access to.
Prevention: Always enable and test RLS policies before deploying to production.
Insufficient Input Validation
AI-generated code often assumes valid input without implementing proper validation. This opens applications to injection attacks, XSS vulnerabilities, and data corruption.
Prevention: Validate all user input on both client and server side.
Missing Security Headers
HTTP security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security are frequently missing from AI-generated applications, leaving them vulnerable to various attacks.
Prevention: Configure security headers in your hosting platform or application middleware.
Security Assessment
Security Strengths
- SOC 2 Type II compliant with enterprise audit controls
- Edge Network with automatic DDoS protection and WAF options
- Environment variables encrypted at rest and scoped per environment
- Built by Next.js team - deep integration with framework security features
- Deployment Protection prevents unauthorized access to preview/production
Security Concerns
- Preview deployments are public by default - may expose staging data
- Security headers must be manually added in vercel.json
- Environment variables exposed to Edge/Serverless Functions need NEXT_PUBLIC_ prefix to stay hidden
- Free tier has limited DDoS protection compared to Enterprise
- Serverless Function timeout attacks possible without proper rate limiting
Security Checklist for Vercel
- 1Enable Deployment Protection: Project Settings → General → Deployment Protection
- 2Add security headers in vercel.json: CSP, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options
- 3Scope env vars: Production/Preview/Development - don't expose prod secrets to previews
- 4Never prefix sensitive env vars with NEXT_PUBLIC_ (makes them client-visible)
- 5Configure Web Application Firewall (WAF) on Enterprise for advanced protection
- 6Use Vercel's deployment audit log to track who deployed what
The Verdict
Vercel is built for production with enterprise security infrastructure. The main gotchas are preview deployment exposure and missing security headers. Add headers in vercel.json and enable Deployment Protection. For high-security needs, Enterprise WAF and advanced DDoS protection are available.
Security Research & Industry Data
Understanding Vercel security in the context of broader industry trends and research.
of Lovable applications (170 out of 1,645) had exposed user data in the CVE-2025-48757 incident
Source: CVE-2025-48757 security advisory
average cost of a data breach in 2023
Source: IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023
developers using vibe coding platforms like Lovable, Bolt, and Replit
Source: Combined platform statistics 2024-2025
What Security Experts Say
“Vibe coding your way to a production codebase is clearly risky. Most of the work we do as software engineers involves evolving existing systems, where the quality and understandability of the underlying code is crucial.”
“The problem with AI-generated code isn't that it doesn't work - it's that it works just well enough to ship, but contains subtle security flaws that are hard to spot.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Vercel preview deployments secure?
Preview deployments are public by default - anyone with the URL can access them. Enable Deployment Protection in project settings to require authentication. Be careful not to expose staging data or preview-only environment variables.
How do I add security headers on Vercel?
Add a 'headers' array in vercel.json with your CSP, X-Frame-Options, HSTS, and other headers. Vercel doesn't add these by default. Example: {"headers": [{"source": "/(.*)", "headers": [{"key": "X-Frame-Options", "value": "DENY"}]}]}
Is Vercel safe for enterprise/production apps?
Yes. Vercel is SOC 2 Type II compliant with enterprise options including WAF, advanced DDoS protection, and SAML SSO. Companies like Washington Post, Nintendo, and Tripadvisor use Vercel for production. Configure security headers and deployment protection.
How do Vercel environment variables work?
Vercel encrypts env vars at rest and lets you scope them to Production/Preview/Development. Never prefix secrets with NEXT_PUBLIC_ - that makes them visible in client JavaScript. Use Edge Config or Vercel KV for runtime secrets that shouldn't be in env vars.
Verify Your Vercel App Security
Don't guess - scan your app and know for certain. VAS checks for all the common security issues in Vercel applications.