Penetration Testing for Salesforce Low-Code Applications
Expert penetration testing for Salesforce low-code applications, leveraging AutoRABIT Guard
Introduction to Salesforce Penetration Testing
Salesforce.com’s low-code platform, widely adopted for its ease of use and rapid development capabilities, powers critical business applications for organizations worldwide. However, its flexibility and extensive customization options can introduce significant security risks if not properly configured or monitored. Raxis specializes in penetration testing Salesforce applications to identify vulnerabilities, validate configurations, and ensure compliance with standards such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC. By partnering with AutoRABIT, we deliver comprehensive assessments that combine automated scanning with expert-driven Salesforce penetration testing to uncover and address security weaknesses.
Vulnerabilities in Salesforce Low-Code Applications
Permission System Vulnerabilities
Salesforce’s permission system is highly granular, offering flexibility but also introducing complexity that can lead to security gaps. Common issues include:
Overprivileged User Accounts
Excessive permissions, such as granting System Administrator access unnecessarily, can allow users to access or modify sensitive data. For example, improper use of “Modify All Data” or “View All Data” permissions can lead to unauthorized data exposure.
Guest User Misconfigurations
*Salesforce Communities often rely on Guest User accounts for unauthenticated access. Misconfigured Guest User settings can expose sensitive data or functionality, potentially allowing attackers to manipulate data or escalate privileges.
Permission Drift
Over time, permission sets, profiles, and sharing rules can drift from their intended configurations, especially in dynamic environments with frequent updates. This can result in unintended access to encrypted fields, business logic, or credentials.
Insecure Sharing Settings
Incorrectly configured sharing rules or “without sharing” Apex classes can bypass Salesforce’s security controls, allowing unauthorized access to records or objects.
*A notable vulnerability in Salesforce Communities, uncovered in 2024, exploited Guest User misconfigurations to enable full account takeovers.
Raxis Approach: We perform salesforce penetration testing to analyze permission sets, profiles, and sharing rules to identify overprivileged accounts, misconfigured Guest Users, and permission drift. Our penetration testers then perform PoC exploits to demonstrate how attackers could leverage these issues, such as extracting sensitive data or escalating privileges. For example, we simulate attacks exploiting predictable Salesforce IDs to access non-public ContentDocument objects, as identified in recent research.
Configuration Risks in Low-Code Components
Salesforce’s low-code platform, including Lightning components and Flows, prioritizes usability but can introduce risks if not securely configured. Research from AppOmni revealed over 20 configuration-related risks in Salesforce Industry Clouds, including zero-day vulnerabilities tied to insecure default settings. Key issues include:
Insecure Default Settings
Default configurations often prioritize usability over security, leaving encrypted fields or business logic exposed to unauthorized access.
SOQL Injection in Aura Controllers
A zero-day vulnerability in a default Aura controller allowed attackers to inject malicious queries via the “contentDocumentId” parameter, potentially extracting database contents.
Custom Code Vulnerabilities
Custom Apex code or Visualforce pages can introduce flaws like improper input validation or insecure API calls, leading to data leaks or logic bypasses.
Raxis Approach: We conduct scans for misconfigurations and insecure patterns in low-code components, while our salesforce penetration testers validate these findings through manual testing. We simulate attacks like *SOQL injection to assess the exploitability of identified flaws and provide actionable remediation guidance.
*SOQL injection is a security vulnerability in Salesforce applications where attackers manipulate input fields to inject malicious SOQL (Salesforce Object Query Language) queries, potentially accessing unauthorized data or bypassing security controls. This occurs when user inputs, such as form fields or URL parameters, are not properly validated or sanitized, allowing attackers to alter queries executed by custom Apex code or Aura controllers.
API and Integration Risks
Salesforce’s extensive API ecosystem enables seamless integrations but also expands the attack surface. Common vulnerabilities include:
Unauthenticated API Access
Misconfigured APIs can allow attackers to access sensitive data without proper authentication.
Insecure Third-Party Integrations
Apps from the Salesforce AppExchange or custom integrations may introduce vulnerabilities if not properly vetted or configured.
API Rate Limit Bypasses
Attackers can exploit poorly configured APIs to exfiltrate data or disrupt services.
Raxis Approach: We penetration test Salesforce APIs for authentication flaws, rate limit bypasses, and insecure data handling. Using Burp Suite, AutoRABIT Guard, and manual salesforce penetration testing to identify misconfigured APIs, we perform PoC exploits to demonstrate potential data breaches or service disruptions.
Metadata and Code Quality Issues
Salesforce metadata, which includes permission information, object definitions, and business rules, is critical to platform security. Improper handling can lead to:
Data Corruption
Coding errors or bad logic in custom code can corrupt data or expose sensitive information.
Compliance Risks
Defective code or misconfigured metadata can violate PCI DSS, HIPAA, or GDPR requirements, leading to regulatory penalties.
Lack of Code Visibility
Without real-time monitoring, defective code can reach production environments, increasing the risk of breaches.
Raxis Approach: AutoRABIT Guard provides visibility into metadata and code quality, identifying issues like defective Apex code or misconfigured objects. Our salesforce penetration testers validate these findings by attempting to exploit logic flaws or metadata misconfigurations, ensuring compliance with standards like PCI DSS.
Our Salesforce Penetration Testing Methodology
- Pre-Engagement Planning
- Define scope, including Salesforce orgs, custom code, APIs, and low-code components.
- Identify compliance requirements (e.g., PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR).
- Coordinate with your team to ensure minimal disruption.
- Intelligence Gathering
- Gathers publicly available data from websites, social media, domain registries, and dark web sources to identify potential security risks.
- Analyzes collected data to detect exploitable vulnerabilities, such as exposed credentials or sensitive information.
- Provide actionable insights to help you address vulnerabilities before cybercriminals can exploit them.
- Vulnerability Identification
- Using AutoRABIT Guard, scan permission sets, profiles, sharing rules, and metadata for misconfigurations.
- Review API calls using Burp Suite and other manual tools.
- Identify insecure code patterns, API vulnerabilities, and compliance gaps.
- Generate a prioritized list of potential issues for manual validation.
- Strategic Threat Modeling
- Raxis catalogs critical assets, including infrastructure and data repositories, to establish a clear security baseline.
- Leverage public sources, dark web data, and industry insights to identify and map potential threats to your organization.
- Simulate real-world adversary tactics to expose vulnerabilities and provide actionable strategies for risk prioritization and resilience.
- Adversarial Simulation
- Mimic real-world cyberattacks using hacker tools and techniques to evaluate your security defenses.
- Target common attack vectors, including phishing, privilege escalation, lateral movement, and data exfiltration.
- Test your organization’s ability to detect and respond to threats effectively.
- Manual Salesforce Penetration Testing
- Perform gray-box and white-box testing to simulate real-world attacks against the Salesforce application.
- Develop PoC exploits for vulnerabilities like SOQL injection, Guest User misconfigurations, or API flaws.
- Test internal and external attack scenarios to assess the full attack surface.
- Post Exploitation Analysis
- Simulate real-world breach consequences, focusing on pivoting, privilege escalation, and data compromise.
- Evaluate compromised systems based on data sensitivity and their potential to enable further network attacks.
- Safe data exfiltration and redaction highlight true exposure, delivering clear strategies to strengthen defenses.
- Reporting and Remediation Planning
- Deliver a detailed report with findings, PoC exploit details, and remediation recommendations.
- Provide guidance on secure configurations, code fixes, and backup strategies.
- Support retesting to validate remediation efforts.
- Retest and Validation
- Ensure findings align with PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, and other relevant standards.
- Provide documentation to support audit requirements.
Why Choose Raxis for Salesforce PenTesting?
- Expertise in Salesforce Penetration Testing: Our team has deep experience testing Salesforce low-code applications, with a focus on permissions, custom code, and integrations.
- AutoRABIT Guard Integration: Guard’s automated scanning capabilities enhance our ability to identify configuration risks and compliance gaps efficiently.
- Compliance-Driven Approach: Our Salesforce penetration testing and detailed reports help organizations meet PCI DSS and other regulatory requirements.
- Holistic Testing: We combine automated scans with manual Salesforce penetration testing to uncover both known and novel vulnerabilities, ensuring comprehensive coverage.
- Partnership with AutoRABIT: Our collaboration with AutoRABIT ensures access to cutting-edge tools and expertise, delivering unparalleled value.