Securing Salesforce Apex Code

Introduction

When customizing Salesforce instances using Apex code, ensuring the security of the code is paramount to protect sensitive data and maintain the integrity of business operations. This blog post dives into the best practices for securing Salesforce Apex code to prevent vulnerabilities and data breaches.

Key Takeaways

Understanding the importance of securing Salesforce Apex code.
Implementing best practices to prevent data leakage and corruption.
Utilizing proper configurations to enforce security in Salesforce instances.

Details

Securing Salesforce Apex code involves following key practices to mitigate risks and safeguard data integrity. Below are some essential steps to enhance the security of your Salesforce environment:

Best Practices

Use ‘with sharing’ keyword: Always specify ‘with sharing’ in Apex classes to enforce sharing rules and respect user permissions.
Enforce Object and Field Permissions: Utilize SOQL queries with ‘WITH SECURITY_ENFORCED’ to enforce object-level and field-level permissions.
Implement stripInaccessible(): Use the stripInaccessible() method to protect data by stripping fields inaccessible to users.
Validate User Input: Sanitize user input to prevent SOQL injection attacks and ensure query safety.
Regular Security Reviews: Conduct regular security reviews of Apex classes to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities.
Limit Guest User Access: Restrict access for guest users and external entities to minimize risks.

Business Scenarios

Customer Data Protection: Secure customer data stored in Salesforce databases.
Compliance Requirements: Ensure compliance with data protection regulations by securing sensitive information.
Preventing Unauthorized Access: Mitigate risks of unauthorized access to critical business data.
Maintaining Data Integrity: Safeguard data integrity by enforcing object and field-level permissions.

When to Use

Use these best practices when developing custom Apex code for Salesforce applications.
Implement security measures during initial development and ongoing maintenance phases.
Ensure all team members are trained on secure coding practices for Salesforce Apex.

Summary

In summary, securing Salesforce Apex code is essential for protecting sensitive data and maintaining the integrity of business operations. By following best practices such as using ‘with sharing’, enforcing object and field permissions, and validating user input, organizations can mitigate risks and prevent data breaches in their Salesforce environments.

Sample Code

//___________________
//	Enforcing Object and Field Permissions using WITH SECURITY_ENFORCED in SOQL Query
public with sharing class SecureAccountController {
    @AuraEnabled
    public static List getSecureAccounts() {
        return [SELECT Id, Name, Industry FROM Account WITH SECURITY_ENFORCED];
    }
}

//___________________
//	Graceful Degradation with stripInaccessible() Method
public with sharing class SecureContactController {
    @AuraEnabled
    public static List getSecureContacts() {
        List contacts = [SELECT Id, Name, Email, Phone FROM Contact];
        SObjectAccessDecision decision = Security.stripInaccessible(AccessType.READABLE, contacts);
        if (!decision.getModifiedIndexes().isEmpty()) {
            throw new AuraHandledException('Data was stripped');
        }
        return contacts;
    }
}

//___________________
//	Legacy Code using DescribeSObjectResult and DescribeFieldResult Methods

public with sharing class LegacyExpenseController {
    @AuraEnabled
    public static List getLegacyExpenses() {
        String[] expenseFields = new String[] {'Id', 'Name', 'Amount__c', 'Client__c', 'Date__c', 'Reimbursed__c', 'CreatedDate'};
        Map fieldMap = Schema.SObjectType.Expense__c.fields.getMap();
        
        for (String field : expenseFields) {
            if (!fieldMap.containsKey(field) || !fieldMap.get(field).getDescribe().isAccessible()) {
                throw new System.NoAccessException('Not enough permissions for field: ' + field);
            }
        }
        
        return [SELECT Id, Name, Amount__c, Client__c, Date__c, Reimbursed__c, CreatedDate FROM Expense__c];
    }

}
//___________________
//	Checking Field-Level Security before DML Operation
public with sharing class SecureCaseController {
    @AuraEnabled
    public static void createSecureCase(String subject, String description) {
        Case newCase = new Case(Subject = subject, Description = description);
        
        if (Schema.SObjectType.Case.isCreateable() && Schema.SObjectType.Case.fields.Subject.isCreateable() && Schema.SObjectType.Case.fields.Description.isCreateable()) {
            insert newCase;
        } else {
            throw new AuraHandledException('Insufficient access to create a Case');
        }
    }
}
//___________________
//	Using WITH USER_MODE in Dynamic SOQL Query
public with sharing class SecureAccountQuery {
    @AuraEnabled
    public static List getAccountsInUserMode() {
        String dynamicQuery = 'SELECT Id, Name FROM Account';
        return Database.query(dynamicQuery, AccessLevel.USER_MODE);
    }
}
//___________________
// Example of using 'with sharing' keyword to enforce sharing rules
public with sharing class SecureAccountController {
    public List<Account> getAccounts() {
        return [SELECT Id, Name FROM Account];
    }
}

//___________________
// Example of using 'WITH SECURITY_ENFORCED' to enforce object-level and field-level permissions
public with sharing class SecureContactController {
    public List<Contact> getContacts() {
        return [SELECT Id, Name, Email FROM Contact WITH SECURITY_ENFORCED];
    }
}

Securing Salesforce Apex Code- Quick Glance