A critical vulnerability has been discovered in Salesforce applications, which could potentially lead to a full account takeover. The flaw was identified during a penetration test and is tied to misconfigurations within Salesforce Communities, specifically within the Salesforce Lightning component framework. This vulnerability exposes organizations using Salesforce to significant risks, such as unauthorized data access, data manipulation, and potential breaches of high-privilege accounts. The vulnerability targets “Guest Users,” who, under certain misconfiguration scenarios, could bypass access restrictions and gain unauthorized privileges.
The exploit works by attackers mapping the Salesforce instance and identifying vulnerable endpoints. Once access is gained, attackers can use standard controllers, such as “getItems” and “getRecord,” to extract sensitive data. This could include personal identifiable information (PII), contact details, account information, and documents stored within misconfigured Salesforce objects. The use of these controllers highlights the severity of the vulnerability, as it allows attackers to bypass permissions and access sensitive data without detection.
A particularly concerning aspect of this vulnerability is the misconfiguration of custom Apex controllers. One such controller, the CA_ChangePasswordSettingController, exposes a method called “resetPassword” that only requires a userID and new password to reset an account’s password. This lack of verification makes it easier for attackers to take control of user accounts, further compromising the security of the Salesforce instance. In the worst-case scenario, attackers could use this vulnerability to gain access to high-privilege accounts, leading to full control over the Salesforce environment.
The discovery of this vulnerability underscores the importance of implementing robust security measures for cloud-based applications, particularly those handling sensitive business data. As Salesforce continues to be a critical platform for organizations worldwide, taking proactive security steps, such as ensuring proper configurations and conducting regular security audits, is essential to protect sensitive information. Organizations must stay vigilant to mitigate such risks and safeguard against the growing sophistication of cyberattacks targeting cloud environments.
