{"id":19914,"date":"2026-06-29T14:12:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T12:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salvis.com\/blog\/?p=19914"},"modified":"2026-06-29T18:31:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:31:53","slug":"detecting-security-vulnerabilities-with-the-apexlang-parser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salvis.com\/blog\/2026\/06\/29\/detecting-security-vulnerabilities-with-the-apexlang-parser\/","title":{"rendered":"Detecting Security Vulnerabilities With the APEXlang Parser"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A parser for the APEXlang grammar enables the development of tools beyond the scope of the APEXlang compiler included in SQLcl, SQL Developer for VS Code, and ORDS. These tools can perform static code analysis, convert code, generate documentation, and visualise different aspects of an APEX application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A linter, for example, can check whether an APEXlang file conforms to defined quality standards. These standards may cover project- or company-specific conventions as well as more general concerns, such as detecting potential security vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog post, I explain the elements of an APEXlang file that are the basis of Grisselbav’s APEXlang parser<\/a>. Then I demonstrate how to use the parser in a simple Java program to detect a security vulnerability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elements of an APEXlang File<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An APEXlang file consists of three basic building blocks: components, properties, and groups. These elements can also be nested, as shown later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s an excerpt of Oracle’s Universal Theme demo application.apx file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Excerpt of UT’s application.apx<\/span>