Security Analysis

Is Neon Safe?

Last updated: January 12, 2026

An honest security analysis of Neon for developers considering it for their projects.

Scan Your Neon AppNeon Security Guide

Quick Answer

Safe - serverless Postgres with full RLS support

Neon is safe for production Postgres with serverless isolation and full PostgreSQL security features including RLS. Key advantage over PlanetScale: native RLS support. Use the connection pooler for serverless apps. Branch instantly for testing without affecting production.

Security Assessment

Security Strengths

  • Full PostgreSQL security features including Row Level Security (RLS)
  • Serverless isolation - each query runs in isolated compute
  • Instant branching for safe testing (copy-on-write, not full copies)
  • Connection pooler handles serverless connection limits securely
  • SOC 2 Type II certified with encryption at rest and in transit

Security Concerns

  • Connection string contains password - protect in environment variables
  • Pooled vs direct connections have different security characteristics
  • Auto-suspend can cause cold start delays in security monitoring
  • Branches share the same project credentials by default
  • Free tier has limited compute - potential for resource exhaustion

Security Checklist for Neon

  • 1
    Use the pooled connection string (-pooler) for serverless/edge functions
  • 2
    Enable RLS on tables: ALTER TABLE x ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
  • 3
    Store connection strings in environment variables, never in code
  • 4
    Create separate database roles for different access levels
  • 5
    Use branches for testing migrations before production
  • 6
    Configure IP allowlisting on paid plans for additional security

The Verdict

Neon brings serverless scaling to PostgreSQL while keeping full security features like RLS. Unlike PlanetScale (MySQL, no RLS), Neon supports row-level security natively. The branching feature lets you test changes safely. Use the pooler endpoint for serverless apps to handle connection limits.

Security Research & Industry Data

Understanding Neon security in the context of broader industry trends and research.

10.3%

of Lovable applications (170 out of 1,645) had exposed user data in the CVE-2025-48757 incident

Source: CVE-2025-48757 security advisory

4.45 million USD

average cost of a data breach in 2023

Source: IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023

500,000+

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.”

Simon Willison — Security Researcher, Django Co-creator

“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.”

Security Research Community — Collective wisdom from security researchers

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Neon support Row Level Security (RLS)?

Yes. Neon runs full PostgreSQL, so RLS works exactly like standard Postgres. This is a key advantage over MySQL-based databases like PlanetScale. Enable RLS and write policies just like you would with Supabase or any PostgreSQL database.

What's the difference between pooled and direct Neon connections?

Pooled connections (-pooler suffix) share a connection pool - use for serverless/edge functions that create many short-lived connections. Direct connections are dedicated - use for long-running processes and migrations. Pooled is more secure for serverless as it prevents connection exhaustion.

How is Neon different from Supabase?

Both are PostgreSQL with RLS support. Neon is database-only with serverless scaling and instant branching. Supabase includes auth, storage, real-time, and edge functions. Choose Neon for pure database needs; Supabase for a full backend platform.

Is Neon branching secure?

Neon branches use copy-on-write - they share unchanged data with parent but isolate new writes. Branches use the same project credentials by default. For sensitive testing, create separate roles. Branches are isolated at the data level but share authentication.

Verify Your Neon App Security

Don't guess - scan your app and know for certain. VAS checks for all the common security issues in Neon applications.

Scan Your AppNeon Security Guide

Related Security Guides

Neon Security ScannerVibe Coding SecurityRLS Misconfiguration GuideAPI Key ExposureSupabase SecurityFirebase Security