Top 3 Salesforce Security Risks to Check in 2024: Part 2 - Custom Code
A Blog Series from Hubbl Diagnostics and Tenger Ways
In part one of this Salesforce security blog series, we explored security issues associated with Managed Packaged. In part two, we once again join forces with Salesforce org intelligence platform, Hubbl Diagnostics, to explore another critical aspect of Salesforce security that every business leader should be aware of: custom code vulnerabilities.
Reviewing custom code
Custom code, the engine driving innovation in Salesforce, also presents significant security challenges. With approximately 2000 custom code security issues affecting the average organization, businesses must take a proactive stance in safeguarding their digital assets.
Custom code vulnerabilities pose severe risks to your organization. Example threats include:
SOQL Injections: This vulnerability in code allows hackers to manipulate the SOQL query to execute any command they want to run. This is critical to address as it can provide hackers unauthorized access to your data.
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities: XSS occurs when a hacker can inject malicious scripts into a web page viewed by others. Uncovering XSS vulnerabilities from URL parameters in your Apex code is critical to reduce your site vulnerabilities.
Improper Authorization: Apex code that grants excessive privileges to users, or code, does not properly validate user inputs. Highlighting these issues in your code reduces potential authorization issues.
Our custom code recommendations:
Review development best practices: Work with your Admin and Development teams to ensure they’re following the Salesforce Well-Architected best practices for custom development.
Review past development: With that framework in mind, review past development to understand whether critical security risks exist. Leverage Hubbl Diagnostics to kickstart your review for free.
Maintaining updated custom code in Salesforce is vital to ensuring security, platform compatibility, performance, and long-term viability. It also enables you to stay current with new features, adapt to changing business needs, and remain compliant with evolving regulations, ultimately enhancing your organization's efficiency and competitiveness. With the Tenger Fitness for Salesforce program, we evaluate custom code along the following vectors:
Security: Outdated custom code may contain vulnerabilities or security gaps that could be exploited by malicious actors. Regular updates help address these issues and strengthen your data and application security.
Platform Compatibility: Salesforce regularly releases updates and new features. Custom code that isn't updated can become incompatible with these changes, potentially leading to system errors or failures.
Optimized Performance: Updated code can take advantage of performance improvements and optimizations introduced by Salesforce. This leads to a smoother and faster user experience and efficient business processes.
Bug Fixes: Over time, bugs or issues may emerge in custom code. Regular updates allow you to address and fix these problems, improving the overall stability of your Salesforce environment.
Scalability: As your business grows, custom code may need to adapt to new requirements. Updated code is more flexible and scalable, making it easier to accommodate evolving needs.
Access to New Features: Salesforce continually adds new features and capabilities. Updated custom code can integrate and leverage these new functionalities, enhancing the capabilities of your applications.
Long-Term Viability: Neglecting code updates can result in outdated technology dependencies, making it more challenging and costly to update in the future. Regular updates maintain the code's viability over the long term.
Support and Maintenance: Developers and third-party vendors are more likely to offer support and assistance for the latest code versions. If you encounter issues or need assistance, having up-to-date code improves your chances of receiving help.
Compliance: Compliance requirements may change over time. Updated custom code ensures you remain compliant with evolving regulations and standards, reducing legal and financial risks.
Reduced Technical Debt: Continually updating code avoids the accumulation of technical debt, making your Salesforce environment more manageable and sustainable over time.
Enhanced User Experience: Up-to-date code provides a better user experience, with fewer errors and faster load times. This can lead to increased user satisfaction and productivity.
Innovation: Keeping custom code updated allows you to take advantage of new technologies and best practices, fostering innovation within your organization.
Leveraging metadata decision-making to drive security and growth
When you make changes to your Salesforce platform, it becomes your responsibility to fully grasp the implications of these modifications. In other words, you need to understand how your changes will affect the entire system. This is important because any alterations you make can have far-reaching consequences. In Salesforce, you must consider how your changes impact data security, user access, and overall functionality. By taking this responsibility seriously, you ensure that your Salesforce system remains secure, efficient, and aligned with your organization's needs.
Tenger Fitness for Salesforce can help. Through this two-week program, we help you truly understand if you have a strong Salesforce foundation. More than a health check, Tenger Fitness is an in-depth analysis of your Salesforce platform, helping you identify security flaws, obstacles to adoption and efficiency, development effectiveness, and other risks, issues, and opportunities for optimization.
Stay tuned for the final chapter of our Salesforce security blog series: Top 3 Salesforce Security Risks: Managing Profiles and Permissions.
Want to learn more?
Tenger Fitness for Salesforce helps you know if you’re Salesforce platform is ready for what you want to do next. It’s a fast-paced program (typically two weeks) with meaningful, org-specific results. We’d love to explore how it can benefit you!