bc-security

BigCommerce Security

Before writing code

Fetch live docs:

1. Web-search site:developer.bigcommerce.com security authentication for auth security
2. Web-search bigcommerce app security best practices for app security
3. Web-search bigcommerce pci compliance for PCI guidance

API Authentication Security

Token Management

• Never expose API tokens in client-side code or public repositories
• Store tokens in environment variables or encrypted secret stores
• Use separate tokens for development and production
• Rotate tokens periodically
• Use minimum required OAuth scopes (principle of least privilege)

Token Types

Token Type	Security Level	Storage
API Account Token	Highest — full API access	Server-side only, encrypted
OAuth App Token	High — scoped access	Server-side, per-store
Storefront API Token	Medium — read-only storefront data	Client-side OK (limited scope)
Customer Impersonation Token	High — customer data access	Server-side only

Rate Limiting as Security

Rate limits prevent abuse:

• Monitor X-Rate-Limit-Requests-Left header
• Implement exponential backoff
• Never retry 401/403 responses (authentication/authorization failures)

OAuth Security

JWT Verification

Always verify JWTs in Load, Uninstall, and Remove User callbacks:

• Verify signature using your Client Secret (HMAC-SHA256)
• Check iss (issuer) matches BigCommerce
• Check exp (expiration) — reject expired tokens
• Check aud (audience) matches your Client ID
• Extract store_hash and user only after verification

Callback URL Security

• Use HTTPS for all callback URLs
• Validate the state parameter in OAuth flows to prevent CSRF
• Don't accept arbitrary redirect URLs — whitelist allowed paths

Token Storage

• Encrypt OAuth access tokens at rest in your database
• Associate tokens with store hash — verify on every API call
• Handle token revocation (when app is uninstalled)
• Don't log tokens in application logs

Webhook Security

Verification

BigCommerce doesn't sign webhook payloads with HMAC, so:

• Use custom headers for basic verification:

  { "headers": { "X-Webhook-Secret": "your-shared-secret" } }
  

• Verify the header value in your handler
• Validate store_id matches expected stores

Webhook Handler Security

• Respond with 200 OK quickly — don't process inline
• Validate payload structure before processing
• Use idempotency (check hash field) to prevent replay attacks
• Don't trust the data.id blindly — verify by fetching the resource via API
• Rate limit your webhook handler to prevent flood attacks

Content Security Policy (CSP)

For Embedded Apps

When your app loads in the BigCommerce admin iframe:

• Set Content-Security-Policy: frame-ancestors 'self' *.bigcommerce.com
• Or use X-Frame-Options: ALLOW-FROM https://store-{hash}.mybigcommerce.com
• Block framing from unauthorized domains

For Stencil Themes

Add CSP headers via Script Manager or theme configuration to restrict:

• script-src — allowed script sources
• style-src — allowed style sources
• img-src — allowed image sources
• connect-src — allowed API endpoints

Input Validation

API Input

• Validate all data before sending to BigCommerce API
• Sanitize user input — escape HTML, validate types
• Validate email formats, phone numbers, postal codes
• Enforce maximum lengths for text fields

Webhook Input

• Validate JSON structure of incoming payloads
• Verify resource IDs are numeric and within expected range
• Don't use webhook data directly — fetch fresh data via API

Stencil Theme Input

• Escape all dynamic content in Handlebars templates (auto-escaping by default)
• Use {{{raw_html}}} triple-braces only for trusted content
• Sanitize any user-generated content before rendering

PCI Compliance

Reducing Scope

BigCommerce is PCI DSS Level 1 compliant as a platform:

• Native/Embedded Checkout — BigCommerce handles payment form rendering → you're out of PCI scope
• Custom Checkout with tokenized payments — use gateway JS SDKs (Stripe Elements, etc.) → minimal PCI scope
• Custom Checkout with raw card data — requires full PCI DSS compliance for your infrastructure

Recommendations

• Use Embedded Checkout for headless — simplest PCI path
• Never log, store, or transmit raw card data
• Use tokenized payment methods in the Payments API
• Serve all pages over HTTPS

App Marketplace Security Requirements

For Marketplace Submission

• HTTPS for all endpoints
• Proper JWT verification on all callbacks
• Secure token storage (encrypted at rest)
• Handle uninstall callback (clean up data)
• No hardcoded credentials in source code
• OWASP Top 10 compliance

Best Practices

• Store API tokens encrypted, never in code or logs
• Verify JWTs on every callback — check signature, expiry, audience
• Use custom webhook headers for verification
• Validate and sanitize all input — from users, webhooks, and APIs
• Use Embedded Checkout or tokenized payments to minimize PCI scope
• Set CSP headers for iframe embedding
• Implement rate limiting on your webhook handlers
• Rotate credentials periodically
• Use separate credentials per environment (dev/staging/production)
• Audit third-party dependencies for known vulnerabilities

Fetch the BigCommerce security documentation and app review requirements for exact JWT verification patterns, CSP configuration, and current security best practices before implementing.