Terms

Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a security vulnerability where an attacker injects malicious client-side scripts into a trusted website or application. When an unsuspecting user visits the compromised page, their browser executes the script because it appears to come from a legitimate source, allowing the attacker to bypass security controls to steal sensitive data like session cookies and hijack user sessions.

Common Attack Vectors

Attackers inject malicious scripts into web applications through entry points that accept user input. The application then sends this script to a user's browser, where it gets executed. The most common vectors are distinguished by how the code is delivered and stored.

  • Reflected: A non-persistent attack where a script within a URL is reflected back to the user from the server.
  • Stored: A persistent attack where malicious code is saved on a server and served to all users viewing the page.
  • DOM-based: An attack where a script manipulates the page's structure directly in the client's browser.
  • Self-XSS: A social engineering attack that tricks users into running malicious code in their own browser.

Prevention Techniques

Preventing XSS requires a multi-layered approach that treats all user input as untrusted. The core principle is to ensure that any data an application receives is not treated as executable code in a user's browser. Implementing a combination of server-side and client-side controls is the most effective strategy.

  • Encoding: Neutralize user-supplied data before rendering it in the browser.
  • Validation: Filter and sanitize all user input against a strict whitelist of allowed characters.
  • CSP: Implement a Content Security Policy to control which scripts are allowed to execute.
  • HttpOnly: Set the HttpOnly flag on session cookies to block access from client-side scripts.
  • Frameworks: Leverage modern frameworks with built-in, context-aware XSS mitigation features.

Cross-Site Scripting vs. Cross-Site Request Forgery

While both are web application vulnerabilities, XSS and CSRF exploit trust relationships in different ways.

  • XSS exploits the trust a user has for a website by injecting malicious scripts to steal data or hijack sessions. It's highly versatile for attackers but can be mitigated with proper input sanitization. Companies prioritize XSS defense on interactive, content-driven platforms to protect user data and maintain site integrity.
  • CSRF exploits the trust a website has for a user's browser, tricking an authenticated user into submitting an unwanted request. This can force state-changing actions like password changes or financial transactions. Enterprises focus on CSRF protection for applications managing sensitive user actions, often using anti-CSRF tokens.

Real-World Examples

One of the most infamous examples was the MySpace "Samy" worm. This stored XSS attack spread virally, adding over a million friends to the creator's profile in under 24 hours. It demonstrated how a single vulnerability could be exploited for massive, automated impact.

Major platforms like Twitter and Facebook have also patched numerous XSS flaws. In 2018, a vulnerability on British Airways' website was exploited to steal customer data. These incidents highlight how XSS can lead to significant data breaches and reputational damage.

Impact on Web Security

XSS vulnerabilities pose a significant threat to web security. Attackers can hijack user sessions, deface websites, or redirect users to malicious sites. Successful exploits lead to the theft of sensitive information like login credentials and personal data, ultimately compromising user accounts and eroding trust in the affected application.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cross-Site Scripting

Aren't modern frameworks like React immune to XSS?

While frameworks like React and Angular have built-in protections, they are not completely immune. Improper use of features like `dangerouslySetInnerHTML` or bypassing default security mechanisms can still expose applications to XSS vulnerabilities, requiring diligent coding practices.

Is input sanitization enough to prevent all XSS attacks?

No, sanitization alone is insufficient. A robust defense combines input validation with context-aware output encoding. This ensures that even if malicious data is stored, it is rendered harmlessly in the browser, preventing script execution.

How does a Content Security Policy (CSP) help mitigate XSS?

A CSP acts as a crucial second line of defense. It allows you to define a whitelist of trusted sources from which scripts can be loaded and executed, effectively blocking unauthorized scripts from running even if an injection vulnerability exists.

Other terms

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Git

Git is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in code, allowing developers to collaborate and manage project history effectively.

Git

Data Security

Data security protects digital information from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifecycle.

Data Security

Sales Engineer

Sales Engineers blend deep technical knowledge with sales acumen, demonstrating a product's value and solving customer problems to drive revenue.

Sales Engineer

Sales Coaching

Sales coaching is a process where managers help reps improve their skills and performance through personalized feedback, training, and guidance.

Sales Coaching

Agile Methodology

Agile methodology is an iterative approach to project management and software development, focusing on delivering value in small, incremental steps.

Agile Methodology

Time on Site

Time on site, or session duration, is a key web metric that tracks the total time a visitor spends on your website during a single visit.

Time on Site

Account Management

Account management is the post-sales practice of building and nurturing long-term relationships with a company's most valuable clients.

Account Management

Cold Call

Cold calling is a sales technique where reps contact potential customers who have had no prior interaction with their company or product.

Cold Call

Consumer

A consumer is an individual or entity that buys products or services for personal use, not for resale. They are the final user in a supply chain.

Consumer

No Cold Calls

No Cold Calls is a sales strategy that replaces unsolicited calls with warm outreach to prospects who have already demonstrated interest.

No Cold Calls

Account-Based Analytics

Account-Based Analytics measures engagement and impact across target accounts, not just individual leads, to guide B2B sales and marketing efforts.

Account-Based Analytics

Intent Data

Intent data tracks a user's online behavior—like searches and site visits—to identify signals that they are ready to make a purchase.

Intent Data

Lead Generation Tactics

Lead generation tactics are the strategies and methods used to attract potential customers and convert them into leads for your sales team.

Lead Generation Tactics

Day Sales Outstanding

Day Sales Outstanding (DSO) is a financial ratio that shows the average number of days it takes for a company to receive payment for a sale.

Day Sales Outstanding

Page Views

Page views count the total number of times a page on your website is loaded. This metric is a key indicator of your site's overall traffic.

Page Views

Bad Leads

Learn about bad leads, including identifying bad leads, warning signs of bad leads, impact of bad leads on sales, & strategies to minimize bad leads.

Bad Leads

Load Balancing

Load balancing is the practice of distributing incoming network traffic across a group of backend servers, ensuring no single server is overworked.

Load Balancing

Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks are fraudulent attempts to trick you into revealing sensitive data like passwords or financial info by posing as a trusted source.

Phishing Attacks

Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is a self-serve online library of information about a product, service, department, or topic.

Knowledge Base

Unit Economics

Unit economics are the direct revenues and costs of a business calculated on a per-unit basis, revealing its fundamental profitability.

Unit Economics

Account View Through Rate

Account View-Through Rate (AVTR) is the percentage of target accounts that see an ad and later visit your website without clicking on it.

Account View Through Rate

Sales Development

Sales development is the process of identifying and qualifying potential customers to create a pipeline of sales-ready leads for closers.

Sales Development

Sales Compensation

Sales compensation is the total pay a salesperson receives, including salary, commissions, and bonuses, structured to motivate performance.

Sales Compensation

Marketing Budget Breakdown

A marketing budget breakdown is a detailed plan that allocates your total marketing funds across various channels, campaigns, and activities.

Marketing Budget Breakdown

Draw on Sales Commission

A draw on commission is an advance payment a salesperson receives against future earnings, which is later repaid from earned commissions.

Draw on Sales Commission

Objection

An objection is an explicit expression by a prospect that presents a barrier to moving forward in the sales process.

Objection

Email Personalization

Email personalization uses subscriber data—like their name, interests, or past behavior—to create highly relevant and targeted email campaigns.

Email Personalization

Outbound Leads

Outbound leads are potential customers a business proactively contacts through outreach like cold calls, emails, or social media.

Outbound Leads

Buying Committee

A buying committee is a group of stakeholders within an organization who are jointly responsible for making major purchasing decisions.

Buying Committee

Digital Contracts

Digital contracts are legally binding agreements created, signed, and stored electronically, offering a faster, more secure alternative to paper.

Digital Contracts

Demand Generation Framework

A demand generation framework is a strategic process for creating awareness and interest in your product, ultimately driving new business.

Demand Generation Framework

CRM Data

CRM data is the information businesses use to manage customer relationships. It covers contact details, purchase history, and communication logs.

CRM Data

B2B Buyer Intent Data

Learn about B2B buyer intent data, including sources and types of buyer intent data, & key benefits of leveraging buyer intent data.

B2B Buyer Intent Data

Cross-Selling

Cross-selling is a sales tactic of encouraging customers to purchase products or services that are related to what they're already buying.

Cross-Selling

Firmographic Data

Firmographic data is information used to classify firms. It includes attributes like industry, employee count, location, and annual revenue.

Firmographic Data

Copyright Compliance

Copyright compliance is adhering to laws that protect creative works. It involves legally using content by obtaining permission or licenses.

Copyright Compliance

Buyer Intent Data

Learn about buyer intent data, including sourcing and interpreting buyer intent data, & key metrics in buyer intent analysis.

Buyer Intent Data

Marketing Attribution Model

A marketing attribution model is a framework for assigning credit to the marketing touchpoints that lead a customer to convert.

Marketing Attribution Model

Lead Generation

Lead generation is the process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for a business's products or services.

Lead Generation

Low-Hanging Fruit

Low-hanging fruit are the most obvious and easy-to-tackle tasks or goals that provide a quick, valuable return for minimal effort.

Low-Hanging Fruit

Dynamic Territories

Dynamic territories are fluid sales assignments that adjust based on real-time data, ensuring reps can focus on the highest-value accounts.

Dynamic Territories

80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule, or Pareto Principle, posits that 80% of results come from just 20% of the effort. It's a key concept for prioritization.

80/20 Rule

Sales Sequence

A sales sequence is a series of automated touchpoints sent to prospects over time to guide them through the sales funnel.

Sales Sequence

Predictive Lead Scoring

Predictive lead scoring uses AI to analyze data and rank leads by their likelihood to convert, helping sales teams prioritize their efforts.

Predictive Lead Scoring

Product-Market Fit

Product-market fit is when a product meets the needs of a strong market, leading to high demand, customer satisfaction, and organic growth.

Product-Market Fit

Marketing Funnel

The marketing funnel is a model illustrating the path potential customers take, from initial awareness to making a purchase.

Marketing Funnel

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

A Representational State Transfer (REST) API is a web service that uses a simple, stateless architecture for systems to communicate online.

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

No Forms

No Forms is a method for capturing lead data directly from your website visitors' profiles without requiring them to fill out any forms.

No Forms

CPQ software

CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) software is a sales tool for creating accurate, configurable quotes for complex products and services.

CPQ software

Data Visualization

Data visualization is the practice of translating information into a visual context, like a map or graph, to make data easier to understand.

Data Visualization

Data Appending

Data appending is the process of adding new data fields to your existing database records to enrich and complete your information.

Data Appending

PPC

Pay-per-click (PPC) is an internet advertising model where businesses pay a fee each time one of their online ads is clicked by a user.

PPC

Customer Buying Signals

Customer buying signals are the actions, behaviors, or statements a prospect makes that indicate they are moving towards a purchase decision.

Customer Buying Signals

Analytics Platforms

Analytics platforms are tools that collect and analyze data from various sources, helping businesses track key metrics and make informed decisions.

Analytics Platforms

Ideal Customer Profile

An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a detailed description of the perfect, hypothetical company that would get the most value from your product.

Ideal Customer Profile

B2B Sales Process

Learn about B2B sales process, including key components of B2B sales processes, & crafting an effective B2B sales strategy.

B2B Sales Process

GPCTBA/C&I

GPCTBA/C&I is a sales qualification framework for understanding a prospect's goals, plans, challenges, timeline, budget, and authority.

GPCTBA/C&I

No Spam

“No Spam” is a commitment to sending only relevant, solicited messages. It means avoiding bulk, unwanted emails to respect the recipient's inbox.

No Spam

OAuth

OAuth is an open standard for access delegation. It lets you grant apps access to your data on other services without sharing your password.

OAuth

Corporate Identity

Corporate identity is the visual and verbal persona of a company, encompassing its logo, color palette, communication style, and core values.

Corporate Identity

Request for Quotation

A Request for Quotation (RFQ) is a document that a company sends to one or more suppliers to get a quote for specific products or services.

Request for Quotation

End of Quarter

“End of Quarter” (EOQ) refers to the final weeks of a business quarter when sales teams rush to meet quotas, often leading to a flurry of deals.

End of Quarter

Call Analytics

Call analytics is the practice of analyzing phone call data to extract insights, track key metrics, and improve overall business performance.

Call Analytics

Drupal

Drupal is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) for building websites and applications. It's known for its robust flexibility.

Drupal

Value Statement

A value statement is a clear, concise declaration of the unique benefits a company provides to its customers, outlining its core purpose.

Value Statement

Pay-per-Click (PPC)

Pay-per-click (PPC) is an ad model where you pay a fee each time your ad is clicked. It's a method of buying targeted visits to your website.

Pay-per-Click (PPC)

Audience Targeting

Audience targeting is the process of segmenting consumers into specific groups to deliver more personalized and relevant marketing messages.

Audience Targeting

Intent leads

Intent leads are prospects who show buying signals through their online actions, indicating they're actively looking to make a purchase.

Intent leads

SFDC

SFDC stands for Salesforce Dot Com, a popular cloud-based CRM platform that helps companies manage their customer interactions and data.

SFDC

Ramp Up Time

Ramp-up time is the period a new hire takes to get fully up to speed and become a productive member of your go-to-market team.

Ramp Up Time

Buyer Behavior

Learn about buyer behavior, including understanding the buyer's journey, influencing factors in buyer behavior, & buyer behavior and marketing strategy.

Buyer Behavior

Account Mapping

Account mapping is comparing your customer list with a partner's to find common prospects and unlock new sales opportunities.

Account Mapping

On Target Earnings

On-Target Earnings (OTE) is a salesperson's total potential pay, combining base salary and commission for hitting their sales quota.

On Target Earnings

Feature Flags

Feature flags let you remotely control features in your app without new code. This enables safe testing, gradual rollouts, and quick rollbacks.

Feature Flags

Account Executive

An Account Executive (AE) is a sales professional responsible for closing new business deals and managing existing client relationships to drive revenue.

Account Executive

Loss Aversion

Loss aversion is our tendency to feel the sting of a loss more acutely than the pleasure of an equivalent gain.

Loss Aversion

Inbound Lead Generation

Inbound lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers to your business with valuable content and tailored experiences.

Inbound Lead Generation

B2B2C

Learn about B2B2C, including benefits of B2B2C model, key strategies for B2B2C success, & B2B2C vs. B2C vs. B2B: understanding the differences.

B2B2C

Customer Retention Cost

Customer Retention Cost (CRC) is the total amount a company spends to keep an existing customer over a certain period of time.

Customer Retention Cost

Complex Sale

A complex sale features a long sales cycle, multiple stakeholders, and a high-value transaction, demanding a strategic, consultative approach.

Complex Sale

User Experience

User Experience (UX) refers to a person's overall feelings and perceptions while interacting with a product, system, or service.

User Experience

Behavioral Analytics

Learn about behavioral analytics, including implementing behavioral analytics successfully, & key metrics in behavioral analytics.

Behavioral Analytics

Data Cleansing

Data cleansing, or data scrubbing, is the process of detecting and correcting inaccurate records from a dataset to improve data quality.

Data Cleansing

Headless CMS

A headless CMS is a back-end content repository that delivers content via API to any front-end, decoupling the content from its presentation layer.

Headless CMS

CPM

CPM, or Cost Per Mille, is a key advertising metric. It's the cost an advertiser pays for one thousand views or impressions of a single ad.

CPM

Revenue Operations KPIs

Revenue Operations KPIs are quantifiable metrics that track the performance, efficiency, and health of a company's revenue-generating engine.

Revenue Operations KPIs

Accessibility Testing

Accessibility testing is a software testing method that verifies an application is usable by people with disabilities, like vision or hearing loss.

Accessibility Testing

Targeted Marketing

Targeted marketing focuses on specific consumer groups whose needs align with your product, allowing for more personalized and effective messaging.

Targeted Marketing

Lead Enrichment Tools

Lead enrichment tools are platforms that automatically add missing data to your leads, like contact info, firmographics, and buying signals.

Lead Enrichment Tools

Regression Analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical method for estimating the relationships between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables.

Regression Analysis

Affiliate Networks

Affiliate networks are platforms that act as intermediaries between publishers (affiliates) and merchant affiliate programs.

Affiliate Networks

Economic Order Quantity

Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) is the ideal order quantity a company should purchase to minimize its total inventory-related costs.

Economic Order Quantity

Geo-Fencing

Geo-fencing creates a virtual boundary around a real-world location. It triggers actions on a device when it enters or exits this area.

Geo-Fencing

Customer Centricity

Customer centricity is a business approach that puts the customer at the heart of every decision, aiming to build loyalty and long-term value.

Customer Centricity

Database Management

Database management is the process of organizing, storing, and maintaining data in a database to ensure its accuracy, security, and availability.

Database Management

Email Verification

Email verification is the process of confirming that an email address is valid and deliverable, which helps improve campaign performance.

Email Verification

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a digital strategy where businesses send targeted emails to prospects and customers to build relationships and drive sales.

Email Marketing

Serverless Computing

Serverless computing is a cloud model where the provider manages servers, so developers can focus on code without worrying about infrastructure.

Serverless Computing

Account Click Through Rate

Account Click-Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of individuals from a target account who click on a link in an ad, email, or on a webpage.

Account Click Through Rate

Programmatic Display Campaign

Programmatic display campaigns use automation to buy and sell digital ad space in real-time, targeting specific audiences across the web.

Programmatic Display Campaign