Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a type of web security vulnerability that allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts into a web page. This can be done by tricking a user into clicking on a malicious link or by exploiting a vulnerability in the web application. XSS attacks can be used to steal sensitive information, such as cookies, session tokens, and credit card numbers. They can also be used to redirect users to malicious websites or to execute arbitrary code on the victim’s computer.
There are a number of ways to avoid XSS attacks. One of the most important is to use input validation to ensure that all user-submitted data is properly sanitized before it is displayed on a web page. This means that any potentially dangerous characters, such as <, >, and &, should be removed from the data. It is also important to use a web application firewall (WAF) to block malicious requests. WAFs can be configured to detect and block XSS attacks, as well as other types of web attacks.
