[BUG][code-analyzer] sfge: indexing a value the engine cannot resolve aborts the entry point instead of degrading

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Assessment

Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Newbie friendliness
72/100
Issue type
Bug
Clarity
Clearly specified
Activity status
Active
Tech stack
java
Domain
security, tooling

Research direction

Start with PathScopeVisitor.java around lines 804-806 and 874-902, then inspect ApexMapValue.java:183-191 and JSONDeserializeFactory.java:78-79 for other indeterminate values. Reproduce the issue with the provided sf code-analyzer command and Apex class. Done means the entry point completes analysis without InternalExecutionError when an indeterminate value is indexed, while preserving expected findings and coverage.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

Have you tried to resolve this issue yourself first?
  • I confirm I have gone through the above steps and still have an issue to report.
Bug Description

Engine: sfge (Salesforce Graph Engine) · Rule: ApexFlsViolation (DevPreview) · Selector: --rule-selector sfge

An array/index load whose target resolves to an indeterminate ApexSingleValue aborts path evaluation — in a method that already returns an indeterminate value for every other input.

List<String> parts = (List<String>) byKey.get('k');   // byKey is Map<String, Object>
String first = parts[0];

ApexMapValue.apply takes the indeterminate branch of METHOD_GET (ApexMapValue.java:183-191) and returns a bare indeterminate value typed from the map's declared value type. Because that type is Object, build() yields an ApexSingleValue rather than an ApexListValue, and indexing it hits the unhandled else at PathScopeVisitor.java:894. The Apex cast to List<String> does not help — the engine keeps the map's declared value type. JSONDeserializeFactory.java:78-79 builds the same shape for types it declines to model, so this is not the only route in.

The fix already exists in the same method:

// PathScopeVisitor.java:874-902
private ApexValue<?> getIndeterminantArrayLoadValue(@Nullable ApexValue<?> apexValue) {
    final Typeable listType;
    if (apexValue instanceof ApexListValue) {          ...
    } else if (apexValue instanceof ApexForLoopValue) { ...
    } else if (apexValue instanceof ApexSoqlValue) {    ...
    } else if (apexValue == null) {
        listType = null;                                // <-- null is fine
    } else {
        throw new UnexpectedException(apexValue);       // <-- everything else aborts
    }

    ApexValueBuilder builder = ApexValueBuilder.get(this).withStatus(ValueStatus.INDETERMINANT);
    if (listType != null) {
        return builder.declarationVertex(listType).build();
    } else {
        return builder.buildUnknownType();              // <-- the null branch lands here
    }
}

A null apexValue — strictly less information than an indeterminate ApexSingleValue — falls through to buildUnknownType().

Output / Logs
UnexpectedException: ApexValue(ApexSingleValue) {status=INDETERMINANT, declarationVertex=SyntheticTypedVertex@...,
valueVertex=null, returnedFrom=ApexValue(ApexMapValue) {status=INDETERMINANT,
declarationVertex=Parameter{... Type=Map<String,Object> ... Name=byKey}} ...}
	at com.salesforce.graph.symbols.PathScopeVisitor.getIndeterminantArrayLoadValue(PathScopeVisitor.java:894)
	at com.salesforce.graph.symbols.PathScopeVisitor.afterVisit(PathScopeVisitor.java:810)
	at com.salesforce.graph.symbols.DefaultSymbolProviderVertexVisitor.afterVisit(DefaultSymbolProviderVertexVisitor.java:737)
	at com.salesforce.graph.vertex.ArrayLoadExpressionVertex.afterVisit(ArrayLoadExpressionVertex.java:58)
Steps To Reproduce
  1. Create an empty SFDX project (sfdx-project.json with a single force-app package directory).
  2. Add force-app/main/default/classes/IndeterminateMapGetIndex.cls with the class shown below, plus a standard IndeterminateMapGetIndex.cls-meta.xml (apiVersion 62.0).
  3. Add code-analyzer.yml:
    engines:
      sfge:
        java_thread_timeout: 900000
        java_thread_count: 4
    
  4. Run:
    sf code-analyzer run --rule-selector sfge --workspace . --config-file code-analyzer.yml
    
  5. The run reports an InternalExecutionError for the entry point instead of analysing it. That entry point yields no ApexFlsViolation findings at all, and nothing in the summary indicates coverage was lost.
public with sharing class IndeterminateMapGetIndex {
    @AuraEnabled
    public static void run(Map<String, Object> byKey) {
        List<String> parts = (List<String>) byKey.get('k');
        String first = parts[0];
        Account a = new Account();
        a.Name = first;
        insert a;
    }
}
Expected Behavior

Routing the else to listType = null would make the unknown case behave like the already-unknown case, which is what the method's name and Javadoc promise ("Generates a single indeterminant value based on the type contained in apexValue").

The caller has the same gap: PathScopeVisitor.java:804-806 carries a matching bare throw new UnexpectedException(vertex) on its own else.

Operating System

macOS 26.5.2

Salesforce CLI Version

@salesforce/cli/2.147.7 darwin-arm64 node-v24.5.0

Code Analyzer Plugin (code-analyzer) Version

code-analyzer 5.15.0

Node Version

v24.5.0

Java Version

openjdk version "11.0.32" 2026-07-21

Python Version

N/A

Additional Context (Screenshots, Files, etc)

Map<String, Object> is the standard way to accept a loosely typed payload in an @AuraEnabled method, and indexing a list pulled out of one is routine.

Costs three @AuraEnabled entry points in our codebase via two different routes — the map shape above, and a static initializer in a shared constants class that indexes a String.split() result. The second is the worse pattern: because it sits in a constants class, every entry point that touches it inherits the abort.

Workaround

Assign through an intermediate typed local that sfge can resolve, or avoid indexing values pulled out of an Object-valued map on paths that reach DML. Neither is dependable.

Urgency

Moderate

Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
240
Forks
52
Avg merge
1d 23h
Merged PRs (30d)
5

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