Feed validation is the set of checks used to verify incoming data before a system trusts it. In cybersecurity, that usually means comparing a price feed, sensor reading, or API response against expected ranges, freshness limits, source reputation, and signature or checksum rules. If data is too old, too large, too small, or from an untrusted source, the system should reject it or fall back to a safer value.
It matters because many attacks do not break the core application; they corrupt the data the application depends on. In trading systems, weak feed validation can let an attacker push manipulated prices into an oracle pipeline and trigger bad trades or liquidations. Defenders use allowlists, outlier detection, quorum checks, timestamp enforcement, and alerting on sudden divergence to reduce this risk. Strong feed validation helps turn external inputs from a hidden trust gap into a controlled security boundary.