XSS (Cross-SiteScripting)

Intersite scripting (XSS) is a type of website security vulnerability that allows an attacker to inject malicious code that will be executed by the browser of an unsuspecting website visitor. This can lead to the theft of sensitive information, such as login credentials or other personal information.

XSS attacks typically occur when a website allows invalid data to be entered on a web page, such as through a search box or comment form. This data is then stored on a server, and when another user visits the page, malicious code is executed in their browser..

There are two main types of XSS: stored and reflected:

• Stored XSS occurs when malicious code is stored on the server and is executed every time a page is loaded;
• reflected XSS occurs when malicious code is sent to the server, processed, and immediately returned to the user’s browser without being saved.

To prevent XSS attacks, it is important to validate and sanitize any user input before it is displayed on a web page. This can be done with server-side validation, client-side validation, or a combination of both. In addition, it is important to encode any user input before it is displayed on the page so that special characters are not interpreted as code by the browser.

XSS is a serious security threat that can lead to the theft of sensitive information from a website. To prevent XSS attacks, it is important to validate user input as well as encode it before displaying it on the page. By taking these precautions, website owners can keep their users safe.