Salesforce Penetration Testing Guide: Steps, Tools & Best Practices

Ask any CTO if they pentest their web apps, APIs, or cloud infrastructure; the answer is almost always yes. But ask if they’ve ever pentested their Salesforce environment, and you’ll likely get a silent—or hesitant- “Doesn’t Salesforce security cover that?”

Here’s the problem: Salesforce is not just a CRM. It’s an application stack, a data warehouse, and a workflow engine—all deeply integrated with your business operations. Treating it as a secure-by-default SaaS product is a mistake. 

Misconfigurations, over-permissioned users, exposed APIs, and weak access controls can turn your Salesforce instance into a security liability. The question isn’t whether Salesforce can be breached but whether you’re actively testing for the ways it will be. If you’re not pentesting Salesforce, you’re operating with a massive blind spot. Let’s talk about why that needs to change.

Why Do You Need Salesforce Penetration Testing?

Protecting Sensitive Data

Salesforce holds sensitive data such as customer records, financial transactions, or proprietary business information that, if leaked, can cause financial and reputational harm to the organization. Such unauthorized access or data leaks can also lead to regulatory fines or other legal actions for non-compliance.

Detect Security Gaps

Security misconfigurations, outdated and insecure APIs, or third-party integrations can expose Salesforce to various threats and exploits. Penetration testing helps uncover such vulnerabilities beforehand and enables you to adopt a proactive approach towards security.

Mitigating Insider Threats

Unauthorized access from employees can also harm your CRM’s security. Misconfigured permissions and overall poor security hygiene can expose your organization to risks. Penetration tests help set up or reinforce the access controls and monitoring systems.

Step-by-Step Guide to Salesforce Penetration Testing

Step 1: Define Scope and Objectives

• Identify which Salesforce instances and components (e.g., production, sandbox, or third-party integrations) are subject to testing and set up test environments for them.
• Define the objectives of the pentest and what type of security gaps and flaws you want to focus on, like access controls or authentication systems API security, etc.
• Ensure that the scope of the pentest is compliant with Salesforce’s testing guidelines.

Step 2: Information Gathering

• Conduct reconnaissance on the Salesforce configurations, endpoints and metadata.
• Use tools like Salesforce Inspector to better visualize object structure, permissions, and settings.
• Use tools like Force.com IDE to retrieve metadata, users, and configurations from the API calls.

Step 3: Evaluate API Security

• Review API endpoints for proper authentication, data exposure,and rate-limiting issues.
• Identify exposed API endpoints using curl -X GET “<https://example.force.com/services/data/v56.0/>”
• Use tools like Postman and Burp Suite to evaluate API responses

Step 4: Evaluate Web App Security

Testing Authentication and Authorization

• Test or Brute Force and Rainbow table attacks on Salesforce login pages
• Test for default or simple credentials on Salesforce environments
• Test for session management vulnerabilities

Testing Security Misconfigurations

• Test whether the application has implemented proper security headers.
• Test for protection against clickjacking vulnerabilities.
• Test the common configuration settings for security gaps.

Testing Common Vulnerabilities

• Test the application for various Injection vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, Command Injection or XSS.
• Check for Broken Access Control vulnerabilities like Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR).
• Test to check whether the data is encrypted in transit and in rest.

Step 5: Generate a Detailed Report

• Document the identified vulnerabilities and prioritize them according to their severity.
• Provide actionable insights like mitigation suggestions to help development teams quickly resolve the issues.

Step 6: Mitigation and Retesting

• Apply all the suggested fixes to the application to resolve all the vulnerabilities.
• Conduct a follow-up test to check if the mitigations were successful and has not introduced any new vulnerabilities.

Top Tools for Salesforce Penetration Testing

Astra Security

Key Features:

• Platform: Online
• Capability: Automate + Manual API Pentesting
• Accuracy: High, minimal false positives
• Compliance Support: PCI-DSS, HIPAA, ISO27001, SOC2
• Integrations: Slack, Jira, GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins
• Expert Remediation: Yes
• Pricing: Starts at $1999/year

Astra Security provides comprehensive automated and manual penetration testing options for web applications, including Salesforce. It runs 13,000+ tests on your application to look for critical vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, XSS, and security misconfigurations. It provides you with compliance-ready reports with actionable mitigation suggestions that contribute to the overall security posture of your application.

Pros:

• Comprehensive vulnerability scanning
• Easy-to-use interface.

Limitations:

• Has only a 7-day free trial

Burp Suite

Key Features:

• Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Pentest Capability: Advanced web vulnerability scanning and manual pentesting
• Accuracy: High
• Compliance: OWASP, PCI-DSS
• Expert Remediation: No
• Integration: Jira, GitHub
• Price: $399/year (Pro version)
• Best Suited For: Security professionals performing deep application testing

It is a powerful penetration testing tool used for testing web applications. It can also help identify vulnerabilities in Salesforce Environments, like authentication flaws, session management issues, and API security risks.

Pros:

• Extensive features for testing
• Strong integration with other tools

Limitations:

• Steep learning curve for efficient use

OWASP ZAP

Key Features:

• Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Pentest Capability: Automated and manual vulnerability testing
• Accuracy: Medium (some false positives)
• Compliance: OWASP Top 10
• Expert Remediation: No
• Integration: Jenkins, Docker
• Price: Free
• Best Suited For: Developers and security teams testing web applications

It is an open-source penetration testing tool that detects a wide array of vulnerabilities in web applications with customizable features that enable it to run comprehensive tests on Salesforce deployments and identify common web-based attacks.

Pros:

• Provides strong automation testing capabilities

Limitations:

• Requires manual intervention for in-depth tests

Postman

Key Features:

• Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Pentest Capability: Automated and manual vulnerability testing
• Accuracy: Medium (some false positives)
• Compliance: OWASP Top 10
• Expert Remediation: No
• Integration: Jenkins, Docker
• Price: Free
• Best Suited For: Developers and security teams testing web applications

Postman is one of the most widely used API security tools that allows detailed testing of the APIs. It enables security experts to perform comprehensive tests on authentication mechanisms, data exposure, and misconfigurations.

Pros:

• Strong support for testing REST and SOAP APIs
• Strong integration with other tools

Limitations:

• Not a dedicated Penetration testing tool

Best Practices for Securing Salesforce Environments

1. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

MFA is one of the most effective ways to prevent unauthorized access to the application. Adding a step for verification more than a password reduces the risk of credential theft and account takeovers.

2. Encrypt Data in transit and in rest

Encryption is a way to ensure that if the data is intercepted or accessed without authorization, it remains unreadable, avoiding information exposure and data leaks. Use strong encryption protocols for data at rest like AES-256 and TLS 1.2 /1.3 in transit

3. Limit API Access and Implement Rate Limiting Mechanisms

Restrict the API access to only authorized applications and sensitive functions to only authorized users. Enforce proper authentication on the APIs and set the rate limits to prevent resource abuse and Denial-of-Service attacks.

4. Follow the Principle of Least Privilege and Implement Proper RBAC

User should only have access to a limited amount of data and functions depending on their roles. Regularly review and update the RBAC polices to prevent unauthorized data access and privilege escalation.

5. Regularly Apply Security Patches and Updates to the Application

Outdated software, third-party dependencies, and configurations are prime targets for attackers. Regularly update Salesforce instances, third-party plugins, and integrations to patch known vulnerabilities and strengthen security.

6. Monitor User Activity and Logs

Continuous monitoring helps detect suspicious activities early. Utilize Salesforce Shield or other logging tools to track login attempts, API calls, permission changes, and data exports for potential security incidents.

Final Thoughts

Salesforce penetration testing is essential for identifying the deployment’s security gaps and protecting sensitive business data. Regular penetration testing helps mitigate misconfigurations, weak authentication mechanisms, and standard web app and API vulnerabilities. 

Defining scope, stress-testing APIs, and leveraging tools like Burp Suite are just the start. Proper security means enforcing the least privilege, locking access, and continuously testing for new threats. Following penetration testing guidelines and setting up properly allows smooth and efficient testing.