What is CSRF? Where you used it... Basically practical Scenario

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CSRF stands for Cross-Site Request Forgery, and it is a type of security vulnerability that occurs when an attacker tricks a user's browser into making an unintentional and potentially malicious request on a web application where the user is authenticated.

Here's a practical scenario to help illustrate CSRF:

Scenario: Online Banking CSRF Attack

Imagine you have an online banking application where users can transfer money between accounts. The application has a feature that allows users to transfer funds by submitting a form with the destination account number and the amount to be transferred.

Authentication: Users log in to their online banking accounts, and the server provides them with a session token to authenticate their requests.

Vulnerable Transfer Form: The online banking application uses a simple form for money transfers, and the form submission relies solely on the user's authentication session.

Malicious Website: An attacker creates a malicious website containing an invisible form that mimics the online banking transfer form. They entice the victim to visit their website (perhaps through a phishing email or a link shared on a compromised site).

Hidden CSRF Form: The attacker's website has a hidden form with fields like "destination account number" and "amount to transfer." The form is configured to automatically submit itself when loaded.

User Interaction: The victim, who is logged into their online banking account, visits the malicious website unknowingly. The hidden CSRF form automatically submits, triggering a money transfer request to the victim's bank.

Unauthorized Transfer: Since the victim is authenticated in their online banking session, the server processes the request, thinking it's a legitimate action initiated by the authenticated user.

Impact: The attacker has successfully initiated a money transfer from the victim's account to another account without the victim's knowledge or consent.

To prevent CSRF attacks, web developers can implement countermeasures such as anti-CSRF tokens. These tokens are unique values generated for each user session and included in each form. When the form is submitted, the server checks if the token matches the expected value for the user, ensuring that the request is legitimate. This makes it difficult for attackers to forge requests, as they would need the correct token for each victim.

What is CSRF? Where you used it... Basically practical Scenario

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