Sitecore PowerShell Extensions (SPE) is a powerful administrative tool that requires proper security configuration. This guide provides comprehensive security documentation to help you secure your SPE installation.
{% hint style="danger" %} Critical Warning: SPE is a powerful tool that should NEVER be installed on Content Delivery (CD) instances or internet-facing servers. Always implement security best practices and follow the principle of least privilege. {% endhint %}
New to SPE security? Start here:
- Getting Started - Essential security setup for new installations
- Security Policies - Understand the SPE security model
- Security Checklist - Validate your deployment before going live
Understand the two-layer security model that governs SPE:
- Application Pool Service Account (OS-level access)
- Sitecore User Account (API-level access)
- Application and menu item security
- Best practices for both security contexts
Configure User Account Control to require reauthentication:
- How Session Elevation works
- Elevation actions (Allow, Block, Password, Confirm)
- Token configuration and expiration
- Environment-specific recommendations
- Interface behaviors (Console, ISE, Content Editor)
Control external access to SPE through web services:
- Service descriptions and security implications
- Enable/disable individual services
- HTTPS and requireSecureConnection
- Role-based authorization
- Configuration examples for different scenarios
Prevent malicious file uploads:
- File type restrictions (extensions and MIME types)
- Upload location restrictions
- Dangerous file types to never allow
- Configuration examples
- Testing upload restrictions
Grant controlled privilege escalation:
- How delegated access works
- Configuration steps
- Use cases (publishing, reports, bulk operations)
- Script implementation patterns
- Security best practices and monitoring
Add defense in depth at the web server level:
- Deny anonymous access
- Windows Authentication
- IP address restrictions
- SSL/TLS requirements
- Request filtering and URL rewrite rules
Manage Sitecore users and roles:
- Bulk user operations
- Role queries and management
- Item Access Control Lists (ACL)
- Active Directory integration
- PowerShell examples for user management
Deploy only what's needed for CI/CD:
- Required files for web services only
- Disable UI components
- Configuration for automation scenarios
- Security best practices
- Common deployment patterns
Track security events and detect incidents:
- What gets logged
- Log levels and configuration
- Real-time monitoring strategies
- Log analysis examples
- Integration with SIEM systems
- Security metrics and dashboards
Comprehensive validation before deployment:
- Pre-deployment validation
- Configuration checklist
- Testing procedures
- Environment-specific checklists
- Post-deployment monitoring
- Emergency procedures
Priority: Productivity with basic security
Recommendations:
- Session Elevation: Relaxed (Allow or long timeouts)
- Web Services: Enable as needed for testing
- Logging: DEBUG level for troubleshooting
- IP Restrictions: Not required
Start here: Getting Started - Development
Priority: Match production security for testing
Recommendations:
- Session Elevation: Password or Confirm (5-15 minute timeout)
- Web Services: Match production configuration
- Logging: INFO level
- IP Restrictions: Optional
Start here: Getting Started - QA/Staging
Priority: Maximum security
Recommendations:
- Session Elevation: Password or Confirm (3-5 minute timeout)
- Web Services: Only handleDownload, client, execution (disable remoting)
- Logging: INFO or WARN level
- IP Restrictions: Recommended
- HTTPS: Required
Start here: Security Checklist - Production
Priority: Automation with strict access control
Recommendations:
- Minimal Deployment: Use minimal package
- Remoting: Enabled with IP restrictions
- Web Services: Only required services
- Logging: INFO level with monitoring
- HTTPS: Required
Start here: Minimal Deployment
SPE security uses multiple layers for comprehensive protection:
1. Network Security
- Firewall rules
- VPN/private network
- Not internet-facing
2. IIS-Level Security
- Deny anonymous access
- IP restrictions
- HTTPS requirements
- Request filtering
3. Sitecore User Security
- Role-based access control
- Application-level permissions
- Item-level security
4. SPE Security Hardening
- Session Elevation (UAC)
- Web service controls
- File upload restrictions
- Delegated access controls
5. Logging and Monitoring
- Comprehensive logging
- Real-time alerting
- Regular audit reviews
- SIEM integration
Each layer provides additional protection. If one layer is compromised, others provide continued security.
Goal: Secure SPE for production content management server
Steps:
- Review Security Policies to understand the model
- Configure Session Elevation with 5-minute Password timeout
- Disable unnecessary Web Services
- Configure IIS Security to deny anonymous access
- Enable Logging and Monitoring
- Complete the Security Checklist
Goal: Enable remote automation from build servers
Steps:
- Use Minimal Deployment package
- Enable Remoting in Web Services with specific user
- Configure IIS Security with IP restrictions to build servers
- Configure File Upload Restrictions for packages only
- Set up Logging and Monitoring for automation activity
- Test with Security Checklist - CI/CD
Goal: Allow content authors to run administrative reports
Steps:
- Understand Delegated Access concepts
- Create delegated access configuration for reporting role
- Configure impersonated user with read-only administrative access
- Test report access as content author
- Monitor usage via Logging and Monitoring
Goal: Configure SPE with Sitecore Identity Server
Steps:
- Enable
Spe.IdentityServer.config - Configure Session Elevation with Confirm action (not Password)
- Test Console and ISE with federated authentication
- Configure Web Services if needed
- Always deny anonymous access at IIS level
- Always use Session Elevation (UAC) in production
- Always require HTTPS for any enabled web services
- Always follow principle of least privilege
- Always monitor logs for suspicious activity
- Only enable web services you specifically need
- Use short session elevation timeouts in production (3-5 minutes)
- Restrict SPE access to trusted administrators only
- Configure file upload restrictions when upload service is enabled
- Regular security audits and role membership reviews
- Document your security configuration
- Test security in non-production before deploying
- Never install SPE on Content Delivery (CD) servers
- Never expose SPE to internet-facing servers
- Never use
elevationAction="Allow"in production - Never enable all web services "just in case"
- Never grant broad role access (e.g., "Everyone")
- Never allow dangerous file types (.exe, .dll, .ps1, .bat)
- Don't skip Session Elevation configuration
- Don't ignore failed authentication attempts in logs
- Don't use administrator accounts for automation
- Don't forget to configure authorization when enabling remoting
| File | Purpose | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
App_Config\Include\Spe\Spe.config |
Core SPE configuration | Web Services |
App_Config\Include\Spe\Spe.IdentityServer.config |
Identity Server integration | Getting Started |
App_Config\Include\Spe\Custom\*.config |
Your security patches | All topics |
sitecore modules\PowerShell\Services\web.config |
IIS-level security | IIS Security |
| Policy | Location | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Application Visibility | core:\content\Applications\PowerShell |
Security Policies |
| Menu Item Security | core:\content\Applications\Content Editor\Context Menues\Default\ |
Security Policies |
| Script Library Security | Item-level security on scripts | Users and Roles |
| Delegated Access | SPE configuration items | Delegated Access |
| Role | Default Access | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
sitecore\Developer |
Console, ISE | Keep restricted to developers only |
sitecore\Sitecore Client Users |
ListView, Runner | Appropriate for content authors |
sitecore\Sitecore Client Authoring |
Reports | Appropriate for content authors |
sitecore\PowerShell Extensions Remoting |
Remoting (when enabled) | Use custom role instead |
- New to SPE Security? Start with Getting Started
- Deploying to production? Use the Security Checklist
- Setting up automation? See Minimal Deployment
- Need to debug? Check Logging and Monitoring
- Configuring a specific feature? See topic-specific guides below
- GitHub Issues: SitecorePowerShell/Console
- Slack: #module-spe on Sitecore Community Slack
- Documentation: Full SPE Documentation
If you suspect a security breach:
- Immediately lock down SPE using Emergency Procedures
- Review logs using Logging and Monitoring guidance
- Document the incident
- Contact your security team
- Report to SPE maintainers if it's a product vulnerability
- Installation - Initial SPE installation
- Interfaces - Console, ISE, and Interactive Dialogs
- Remoting - Using SPE Remoting for automation
- Modules - Integration points and features
- Appendix - Security Cmdlets - PowerShell security commands
Enable the Identity Server configuration:
- File:
App_Config\Include\Spe\Spe.IdentityServer.config - Purpose: Prevents infinite loop in SPE Console
- Use
elevationAction="Confirm"instead of "Password"
<configuration xmlns:patch="http://www.sitecore.net/xmlconfig/" xmlns:role="http://www.sitecore.net/xmlconfig/role/" xmlns:security="http://www.sitecore.net/xmlconfig/security/">
<sitecore role:require="Standalone or ContentManagement or XMCloud" security:require="Sitecore">
<pipelines>
<owin.cookieAuthentication.validateIdentity>
<processor type="Sitecore.Owin.Authentication.Pipelines.CookieAuthentication.ValidateIdentity.ValidateSiteNeutralPaths, Sitecore.Owin.Authentication">
<siteNeutralPaths hint="list">
<!-- This entry corrects the infinite loop of ExecuteCommand in the SPE Console -->
<path hint="spe">/sitecore%20modules/PowerShell</path>
</siteNeutralPaths>
</processor>
</owin.cookieAuthentication.validateIdentity>
</pipelines>
</sitecore>
</configuration>Consult the latest SPE documentation for XM Cloud-specific security configurations.
Remember: Security is not a one-time configuration. Regular reviews, monitoring, and updates are essential to maintaining a secure SPE installation.
Last Updated: 2025 Maintained By: SPE Community