Salesforce Security Review Process: Key Challenges & Best Practices

Data Security is a paramount concern for organizations across all industries, especially those using customer relationship management (CRM) platforms like Salesforce. As one of the most widely used CRM platforms, Salesforce handles sensitive data for multiple businesses, making security a hot topic. Therefore, to ensure the integrity and safety of this data, Salesforce itself mandates a rigorous Security Review Process for all applications listed on its AppExchange marketplace. 

Through this blog, the expert Salesforce team at Ksolves demystifies the Salesforce Security Review Process, highlights key challenges, and provides a best practices checklist to help ensure a successful review. 

About Salesforce Security Review Process

The Salesforce Security Review Process is a critical step for developers and organizations looking to list their applications on the AppExchange. This process ensures that all applications adhere to Salesforce’s stringent security standards and guidelines, safeguarding customers’ critical data to maintain an ecosystem of trust and security. 

The process involves reviewing OAuth integrations, data encryption, and secure APIs and identifying issues before the app is approved. Once all the security parameters set by Salesforce are met, the app is granted access to be listed on AppExchange and becomes visible to customers. 

Understanding the Salesforce Security Review Process

The Salesforce Review Process ensures that all the applications meet the best security guidelines before they get listed on AppExchange. Here is the step-by-step overview of this process: 

Preparation

• Understand Salesforce Security Guidelines by reviewing the Security Review Guide.
• Implement secure coding practices, focusing on OWASP vulnerabilities.
• Use Salesforce Security Scanner (Checkmarx or Chimera) to identify security issues early.

Self-Assessment & Testing

• Undertake internal security testing, including manual code reviews and dynamic testing.
• Use tools like ZAP, Burp Suite, and Salesforce’s Chimera scanner.
• Address vulnerabilities in authentication, authorization, input validation, and data storage.

Security Review Submission

• Package your managed application and create a test plan.
• Submit it via the Salesforce Partner Security Portal with the required documentation.
• Pay the security review fee; for paid applications, it is $999, and for free apps, there is no fee.

Salesforce Security Review

• Salesforce security experts perform static and dynamic analysis.
• They conduct manual penetration testing and evaluate API calls & external integrations.
• Common failures include SOQL injection, XSS, CSRF, and improper CRUD/FLS checks.

Remediation & Resubmission

• If issues are found, Salesforce provides a detailed report.
• Fix the vulnerabilities and resubmit for review.
• Repeat this process until approval is granted.

Approval & AppExchange Listing

• Once approved, the app is listed on AppExchange.
• Periodic security re-reviews may be required to ensure ongoing compliance.

Key Challenges in the Salesforce Security Review Process

Although the process is generally well-defined, developers frequently encounter challenges in adhering to its requirements, which can result in delays in the approval of their applications.

Below are some of the common issues faced during this process:

1. CSS Issues (Content Security Policy and UI Vulnerabilities)

Salesforce applies the Content Security Policy (CSP) to control how resources like JavaScript, images, and stylesheets are loaded and executed on web pages. Proper implementation is crucial, as any vulnerabilities in the UI or misconfigurations in CSP can lead to potential security risks, including Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and other threats.

Common violations: Absolute Positioning

• Using position: absolute can cause issues as it allows elements to be positioned outside their intended boundaries, leading to breaking component isolation which leads to unintended UI behavior and other security risks. 
• Recommended Fix: Use Relative Positioning – Using Relative Positioning instead of absolute positioning can help ensure the elements remain within the components’ boundaries.

2. ZAP Report (OWASP Zed Attack Proxy Issues)

This is another widely used open-source security tool for scanning web applications for vulnerabilities. Common challenges are:

• XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) Issues

• ZAP will flag XSS vulnerabilities if input fields are not properly sanitized. 
• Attackers can inject malicious scripts if dynamic content is rendered without escaping. 

• Insecure Headers

• • • Missing security headers like X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff, X-Frame-Options: DENY, and Strict-Transport-Security can cause security review failures.

• Sensitive Information Disclosure

• • • If error messages reveal stack traces, database errors, or internal server details, they will be flagged as security vulnerabilities.

• Insecure Cookies

• • • Cookies missing the Secure and HttpOnly flags are considered unsafe, as they can be stolen via XSS attacks.

• Weak SSL/TLS Configurations

• • ZAP flags outdated or weak TLS versions (e.g., TLS 1.0/1.1) and weak cipher suites that make applications vulnerable to man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks.

Categorization of these issues: 

• High security that must be fixed before approval 
• Medium to low-security issues where fixes are not mandatory but are encouraged to find out the potential risks. 

3. DFA Report Issues (Data Flow Analysis)

Data Flow Analysis (DFA) is a process to analyze how sensitive data is being transferred through an application and whether it is secured at every cycle or not. Hence, during the reviews, these reports help analyze the data flow and ensure that sensitive information is handled securely or not. 

The issues include:

• Memory-related issues include index-out-of-bounds exceptions, excessive memory usage, stack overflows, etc. 
• False Positives- These are tool-related issues flagged in reports that do not actually impact security. For example, an IndexOutOfBoundsException triggered by the Graph Engine while processing large codebases may be reported as a vulnerability, but it poses no real security risk. Such cases highlight the need for careful analysis to distinguish between genuine threats and tool-generated inaccuracies.

Best Practices For a Successful Salesforce Security Review 

The following are the best practices to ensure a smooth security review process and avoid any issues/challenges:

Code Security and Best Practices

Always follow secure coding guidelines like:

• Use CRUD, FLS, and Sharing Rules to enforce data access security.
• Avoid SOQL injection by using bind variables instead of dynamic SOQL queries.

Securely Handle External Dependencies by:

• Using only trusted third-party libraries and keeping them up-to-date. 
• Using tools like ZAP or Burp Suite for scanning the dependencies of vulnerabilities.

Submission and Documentation 

Provide Clear Documentation

• Explain every false positive and include reports from security testing.
• Everything related to data storage, authentication mechanisms, and API integration should be documented.

Test in a Scratch Org or Developer Edition 

• Using a fresh environment, make sure that all your application installs and functions work properly. 
• Ensure proper and robust security controls and test them with different users.

Proactive Remediation 

• Prioritize to fix vulnerabilities that can have the greatest risk. 
• Investigate issues as per severities 

Salesforce Security Review Checklist 

Use this quick checklist to make sure that your application too meets the Salesforce security standards to avoid any failure: 

• Always make sure to review the Salesforce Security Review Guide 
• Implement secure coding practices 
• Use Salesforce Security Scanner
• Set proper security headers 
• Ensure cookies have flags like Secure and HttpOnly
• Remain ready for periodic re-reviews 
• Address every vulnerability 
• Ensure strong password policies, MFA, and role-based access controls
• Vet third-party apps and libraries for security compliance
• Provide clear documentation and make sure to have every test plan and explanation for any issue that is skipped
• Train your development team on Salesforce security best practices
• Stay informed about the latest security threats and mitigation strategies

Conclusion 

The Salesforce Security Review process is vital to ensuring the integrity and security of applications on the AppExchange. By understanding the process and addressing every key challenge, you can ensure that your review process does not get stuck at any stage and is approved with minimum delays. 

If you need any help with the process, the expert Salesforce team at Ksolves is here to assist you. Ksolves, a Salesforce Summit Consulting Partner, stands out with 12+ years of industry experience and brings unmatched expertise with a team of 100+ Salesforce Certified Professionals and 300+ Salesforce Certifications. Our commitment to this excellence is reflected in 5-star ratings and positive customer reviews on AppExchange with impressive 99% on-time delivery.

Looking for expert guidance? Connect with us and get professional Salesforce expert services today.