XSS Attacks: Types, Examples, Prevention

Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a cyber attack technique where malicious scripts are injected into trusted websites, allowing attackers to access sensitive user data or control user sessions. XSS attacks exploit vulnerabilities in web applications that fail to properly validate or encode user inputs, and they can be categorized into three main types: stored, reflected, and DOM-based XSS. Stored XSS involves scripts stored on a server and executed by users' browsers, while reflected XSS uses scripts embedded in URLs, and DOM-based XSS involves modifications to the Document Object Model in the user's browser. Ensuring application security against XSS includes escaping untrusted data, validating inputs, implementing a Content Security Policy, and automating security testing in the development pipeline. Tools like StackHawk can automate the detection and remediation of XSS vulnerabilities, offering developers efficient ways to enhance application security by integrating dynamic application security testing into their CI/CD workflows.