Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a cyberattack in which a hacker enters malicious code into a web form or web application url. This malicious code, written in a scripting language like JavaScript or PHP, can do anything from vandalizing the website you’re trying to load to stealing your passwords or other login credentials.
XSS takes advantage of an important aspect of the modern web, which is that most websites are built on the fly when pages load, sometimes by executing code in the browser itself. That can make such attacks tricky to prevent
How XSS works
Anyone can set up a website that contains malicious code. In a cross-site scripting attack, an attacker sets things up so their code gets on their victim’s computer when the victim accesses someone else’s website. That’s where the “cross” in the name comes from. XSS attacks manage to pull this off without any need to gain privileged access to the web server to plant code on it surreptitiously. Instead, the attackers take advantage of how modern webpages work.
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