XSS is a type of malicious code injection that involves the interpretation of data within the context of a web page by a user’s browser. It is an example of application-level attack, in contrast to network-level attacks, such as ARP poisoning or man-in-the-middle attacks, in which malicious code is transmitted across a network via an infected device. XSS can be exploited to obtain sensitive information, such as credit card details, or to facilitate other forms of exploitation, such as click fraud or injecting generated content into a web form. XSS is easily mitigated by ensuring that web applications use the latest security standards, such as HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) and X-Frame-Options.
HTTP Strict Transport Security
HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is a security mechanism that allows web sites to instruct browsers to enforce HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) on all requests. This prevents the browser from loading HTTP resources that are not secure, for example if the site is behind a man-in-the-middle or has been compromised by a malware attack.
What is XSS?
XSS is a generic term for a type of malicious code injection that involves the interpretation of data within the context of a web page by a user’s browser. It is an example of application-level attack, in contrast to network-level attacks, such as ARP poisoning or man-in-the-middle attacks, in which malicious code is transmitted across a network via an infected device. XSS can be exploited to obtain sensitive information, such as credit card details, or to facilitate other forms of exploitation, such as click fraud or injecting generated content into a web form. XSS is easily mitigated by ensuring that web applications use the latest security standards, such as HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) and X-Frame-Options.
HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)
HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) provides a method by which web servers can instruct browsers to only communicate via HTTPS. In other words, if a user submits their credentials to a website, the contents of the form are transmitted to the web server and then transmitted securely via HTTPS. HSTS ensures that all future requests for data will be made securely.
HSTS is especially important when it comes to preventing XSS attacks because they rely on users submitting information to websites in order to exploit them. If the user doesn’t submit credentials to a website, an XSS attack cannot occur because all communication must take place over HTTPS, which means that any request for data must also occur over HTTPS.
Timeline
Published on: 11/21/2022 15:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/21/2022 20:27:00 UTC