Shopify Security

Before writing code

Fetch live docs:

1. Web-search site:shopify.dev security best practices for security guidelines
2. Web-search site:shopify.dev webhook verification hmac for HMAC implementation
3. Web-search site:shopify.dev session token for session token verification

HMAC Webhook Verification

Every webhook includes X-Shopify-Hmac-SHA256:

import crypto from 'crypto';

function verifyShopifyWebhook(
  rawBody: Buffer,
  hmacHeader: string,
  secret: string,
): boolean {
  const calculated = crypto
    .createHmac('sha256', secret)
    .update(rawBody)
    .digest('base64');

  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(
    Buffer.from(calculated),
    Buffer.from(hmacHeader),
  );
}

Critical: Use timingSafeEqual to prevent timing attacks. Use raw body buffer, not parsed JSON.

Session Token Verification

For embedded apps using App Bridge:

import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';

function verifySessionToken(token: string, apiSecret: string) {
  const decoded = jwt.verify(token, apiSecret, {
    algorithms: ['HS256'],
  });

  // Verify issuer is a valid Shopify shop
  const iss = decoded.iss as string;
  if (!iss.match(/^https:\/\/[a-zA-Z0-9-]+\.myshopify\.com\/admin$/)) {
    throw new Error('Invalid issuer');
  }

  return decoded;
}

Session token claims:

• iss — shop admin URL
• dest — shop URL
• sub — user ID
• exp — expiration (1 minute)
• nbf — not before
• iat — issued at
• jti — unique token ID

OAuth Scope Management

Principle of Least Privilege

• Request only scopes your app needs
• Separate read and write scopes
• Review scopes when adding features

Scope Verification

Verify the access token has expected scopes:

• Store granted scopes during OAuth callback
• Check before making API calls that require specific permissions

Content Security Policy (CSP)

For embedded apps in Shopify admin:

• Shopify admin sets strict CSP headers
• Your app must comply: no inline scripts, no eval(), no external fonts without proper headers
• Use frame-ancestors header for iframe embedding:

  Content-Security-Policy: frame-ancestors https://*.myshopify.com https://admin.shopify.com;
  

GDPR Mandatory Webhooks

Every app MUST implement:

1. customers/data_request — respond within 30 days with customer data
2. customers/redact — delete customer data within 30 days
3. shop/redact — delete ALL store data within 48 hours of uninstall

Failing to implement these results in app rejection.

Input Validation

API Data

• Validate and sanitize all input from Shopify webhooks
• Verify webhook topic matches expected schema
• Validate metafield values (may contain arbitrary JSON)

Theme/Liquid

• Apply | escape filter to user-generated content
• Use | json filter for embedding data in JavaScript
• Never output raw customer data without escaping

GraphQL

• Use parameterized queries (variables, not string interpolation)
• Validate and sanitize user input before passing as variables
• Handle userErrors in mutation responses

Secrets Management

• Never hardcode API keys, secrets, or tokens in source code
• Use environment variables or platform secret management
• Rotate access tokens periodically
• Store tokens encrypted at rest
• Use .env files locally (excluded from version control)

Best Practices

• Verify HMAC on every webhook — never skip verification
• Use timingSafeEqual for all secret comparisons
• Validate session tokens on every embedded app request
• Implement all GDPR mandatory webhooks before submitting for app review
• Apply CSP headers for embedded apps
• Escape all user input in Liquid templates
• Use parameterized GraphQL queries — never interpolate user input into queries
• Log security events but never log tokens or secrets
• Keep dependencies updated — run npm audit regularly

Fetch the Shopify security documentation for exact HMAC implementation, session token structure, and CSP requirements before implementing.