Magento and Adobe Commerce security audit: what it covers and why it's essential in e-commerce
By Kike Gandia · Co-Founder & CEO, OSCP
Magento (Adobe Commerce) is the dominant e-commerce platform in the mid-market and enterprise segment. Its complexity —third-party extensions, custom modules, ERP and payment gateway integrations— creates an attack surface that goes far beyond the standard OWASP Top 10. Magento stores are high-value targets for attackers who specialise in card skimming and fraud.
Why Magento needs dedicated security audits
Magento has a track record of high-profile critical vulnerabilities (Magecart, PRODSECBUG-2198, CVE-2022-24086) that have compromised thousands of stores worldwide. But the risk is not limited to unpatched core vulnerabilities. Most Magento compromises happen through third-party extensions with insecure code, exposed or misconfigured admin panels, and weak access credentials on surfaces that have no additional protection.
What a Magento security audit covers
Core and version: The installed version is checked against Adobe Security's patch history. Security updates in Magento 2 follow a predictable schedule, and patching gaps are well-known attack vectors.
Third-party extensions: Each active module is reviewed against known CVEs, with code analysis of custom extensions. The Magento Marketplace has security controls, but many stores use extensions from external sources without any review process.
/admin panel: Exposure of the panel URL (which defaults to /admin), lack of additional IP-based protection or MFA, user enumeration and brute force.
REST and GraphQL APIs: Magento 2 exposes a full API that can reveal product, customer and order information if permissions are not configured correctly.
Payment and checkout process: Tests for price manipulation, order flow integrity and the security of the payment gateway integration.
Magecart and card skimming on Magento
Magecart attacks —the injection of malicious JavaScript to capture card data during checkout— have hit thousands of Magento stores. The usual entry vector is a vulnerable third-party extension, an outdated module or a compromise of the server environment.
A Magento security audit includes analysis of every third-party script with access to the checkout DOM, a review of CSP (Content-Security-Policy) headers and detection of unauthorised changes to core or extension files.
FAQ
Does the audit cover both Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce?
Yes. The methodology applies to both editions. Adobe Commerce (the enterprise version) adds further layers of functionality (B2B, staged content, advanced reporting) that are also included in the scope.
How often should a Magento store be audited?
At least once a year and whenever new extensions are installed or significant code changes are made. Stores within PCI-DSS scope have specific requirements for pentesting frequency.
Does the audit cover Magento 2 fraud detection?
Yes, as part of the payment and checkout review: we test for price manipulation, order integrity issues and Magecart-style card skimming — the main fraud vectors specific to Magento 2 stores — rather than relying only on the fraud-scoring rules built into the platform.
Is this an automated Magento code audit tool?
No — it's a manual, expert-led audit. We do use automated scanners and static analysis as a first pass, but every finding is manually verified and exploited where relevant. An automated tool alone produces false positives and misses business-logic flaws (like Magecart injection points) that only manual testing catches.