Systematic Literature Review: Towards a Sustainability-Aware Framework for Selecting, Implementing and Evaluating Security Patterns in Enhancing Application Security

Abstract:

Security patterns allow application developers to use security measures without being experts on security (Fernandez, 2013). Since its introduction in 1997, there have been various security pattern researches . This study presents a systematic review on secure pattern research, guided by the PRISMA framewor k, covering peer reviewed papers published between 1997 and 2025 retrieved from IEEE Xplore. The initial search returned 29,941 records and after applying title, abstract and full text screening, 106 studies met the inclusion criteria from which data were extracted. The results are synthesized along the following thematic areas: contribution type, evaluation method, application domain, and sustainability considerations. The findings reveal gaps in sustainability focused approaches and provide a foundation f or a sustainability aware framework to guide the selection, implementation, and evaluation of security patterns in web applications.

Keywords: Security patterns, Web applications, Technical sustainability, Pattern based, security, Systematic literature review,
Adaptability