Protection Against Cross-Site Scripting Attacks

Introduction

Cross-site scripting (XSS) refers to a kind of vulnerability in web applications that enables attackers to insert scripts into web pages that other users subsequently view. These scripts can then be executed on the victim’s browser, potentially leading to information theft, session hijacking, or other malicious activities.

In XSS, an assailant essentially injects code into a web application by exploiting vulnerabilities in its design. For instance, if our website fails to sanitize user input before storing it in the database, it becomes susceptible to allowing comments on posts, without encoding or validation, before displaying them to users.