Preventing Cross Site Scripting Attacks

Preventing cross site script attacks is very important. You learn ways on preventing cross site scripting attacks can help you save and maintain your website and database. Firstly, you have to understand what CSS attack is before learning how to prevent it. There are security risks associated with dynamically created HTML pages. Given that there is no validation of inputs (both way out and way in), there is an issue with security. If the input is not validated, malicious script can simply be included in the input. This input is then provided to the Web pages. When this happens, URLs and web pages are generated making them look as if they come from a good source. This leads to an issue in cross-site scripting security. The subsequent sections provides an overview on what the problem is about and some of the recommended measures on preventing cross site scripting attacks.

The problem

The main problem why many systems can be attacked by cross site scripting is because of invalidated user input. This is the main cause why so many get attacked regardless of precautionary measures. Given that a server-side script recognizes the input without validation, the scrip will go to the browser. The entire system becomes deceived that it is a trusted source. Once the script opens the browser, the attack can start from there.

Consequences

There are several problems you might encounter once input is not validated. Take note of the following:

• The reliability of the data may be compromised.
• There is a high chance that someone else can read and set cookies for you.
• The input of the user may be interrupted and changed.
• Clients and other users may turn malicious scripts into trusted source and can initiate the attack.
Which Web pages are at risk? Essentially, the problem affects dynamic page creation based on input that was not validated. Typical examples include the following types of Web pages:
• Search engines that return results pages based on user input.
• Login pages that store user accounts in databases, cookies, and so forth and later write the user name out to the client.
• Web forms that process credit card information.

Prevention

From here on, you’ll get a chance to know how to prevent these malicious attacks. Basically, there are several approaches in avoiding cross-site scripting security attacks. However, before deciding on what to do, carefully analyze first the situation you are faced with. This will help you which technique is appropriate. These following measures recommended are all founded in one principle: to validate the data received as user input or as an input from a source not yet verified. Prevention of these attacks means that you implement standard and strict coding practice. Try to do the following solutions:

• Program output based on parameters within the input.
• In the case of special characters, the input parameters should be filtered.

These are just some of the ways you can prevent the attacks. Make sure they are practiced constantly.

By: Paul M Walsh

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