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React Sensitive Data Exposure: Best Practices S ensitive data exposure in React apps often comes from shipping secrets in the bundle, leaking tokens in storage/logs, permissive source maps, or overly chatty APIs. Below are practical, copy-paste fixes you can apply today. For more articles, visit our blog: https://www.pentesttesting.com/blog/

Why Broken Authentication Happens in React.js React apps often leak auth via insecure token storage, trusting client flags, weak session handling, or missing rate-limits/MFA. Attackers turn these into account takeovers. For more security reads, explore the Pentest Testing Blog . Mistake #1: Storing JWT in localStorage Anti-pattern // DON'T: token persists, XSS = full account takeover const login = async (u, p) => { const r = await fetch('/api/login',{method:'POST',body:JSON.stringify({u,p})}); const {token} = await r.json(); localStorage.setItem('token', token); }; Secure pattern: httpOnly cookie + CSRF // DO: rely on httpOnly cookie; send CSRF from meta tag or /csrf endpoint const login = async (u, p, csrf) => { await fetch('/api/login', { method:'POST', headers:{'Content-Type':'application/json','X-CSRF-Token':csrf}, credentials:'include', body:JSON.stringify({u,p}) }); }; S ...

Why CSRF Still Breaks React Apps Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) tricks a logged-in user’s browser into sending unwanted requests. In React.js, the fix is simple:  use anti-CSRF tokens + SameSite cookies + “credentialed” requests . This post shows working patterns you can paste in today. React protects the UI, not your cookies. If your session cookie is sent automatically, a malicious site can trigger state-changing requests on your behalf. Let’s fix that—with code. Core Defenses (Quick Wins) Use SameSite cookies + Secure + HttpOnly . Require an anti-CSRF token on every state-changing request. Enforce CORS and origin/referrer checks server-side. For more articles, see the Pentest Testing Corp blog: https://www.pentesttesting.com/blog/

Why XSS Still Happens in React React escapes strings by default, but XSS sneaks in via dangerouslySetInnerHTML , user-controlled URLs, third-party widgets, and lax CSP. Here’s a concise, copy-paste guide to XSS prevention in React.js . Quick Wins Checklist Sanitize any HTML before rendering Block javascript: / data: URLs Encode output and attributes Use Content-Security-Policy (CSP) Keep dependencies & React updated Copy-Paste React Snippets 1) Safe HTML rendering (DOMPurify) import DOMPurify from 'dompurify'; function SafeHTML({ html }) { const clean = DOMPurify.sanitize(html, { USE_PROFILES: { html: true } }); return <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: clean }} />; } 2) Never trust URLs (block scripts) const safeHref = (u) => /^https?:\/\//i.test(u) ? u : '#'; <a href={safeHref(userInputUrl)}>Open</a> 3) Encode text output function Text({ value }) { return <span>{String(value)}</span>; } 4) ...

  Why React apps still face SQL injection React runs in the browser; SQL injection (SQLi) happens on the server . The risk appears when your API builds SQL from untrusted input. Your React code must send data safely, but mitigation lives in your backend (Node/Express, Nest, Rails, Django, etc.). A quick mental model Never concatenate SQL strings. Always use parameterized queries or an ORM. Validate & sanitize at the API boundary. Prefer POST/JSON from React; avoid query-string stuffing. Least-privilege DB users + prepared statements everywhere. Vulnerable server (Node + Express + MySQL) // ❌ Vulnerable: string concatenation app.get('/user', async (req, res) => { const id = req.query.id; // ?id=1 OR 1=1 const rows = await db.query(`SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ${id}`); res.json(rows); }); Fixed with parameterized queries // ✅ Safe: placeholders app.get('/user', async (req, res) => { const id = Number(req.query.id); co...

CRLF Injection in Symfony — What It Is & How to Fix It Carriage Return + Line Feed (CR + LF) lets attackers smuggle new HTTP headers or split responses if user input is reflected into headers. In Symfony, this often happens when building Content-Disposition , Location , or custom headers from request data. A Tiny Vulnerable Controller // src/Controller/DownloadController.php use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Request; use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response; public function download(Request $r): Response { $name = $r->query->get('file'); // e.g., a.pdf%0D%0ASet-Cookie:%20crlf=1 return new Response('OK', 200, [ 'Content-Disposition' => "attachment; filename=\"$name\"" ]); } Proof-of-Concept Request GET /download?file=a.pdf%0D%0ASet-Cookie:%20crlf=1 HTTP/1.1 Host: example.com If unprotected, the server may emit an injected Set-Cookie header. Safer Header Construction (Quick Fix) $name = $r-...

Cross-Site Script Inclusion (XSSI) is a lesser-known web vulnerability that can expose sensitive application data. In Symfony applications, improper handling of JSON or JavaScript endpoints can allow attackers to bypass Same-Origin Policy and steal private data. If you run a Symfony-powered application, you need to be aware of XSSI and how to mitigate it — before attackers exploit it. What is XSSI? XSSI exploits JavaScript or JSON responses that can be included in <script> tags from other domains. If your API or route returns JavaScript/JSON without proper safeguards, an attacker could load it in their site and read sensitive variables. Example: Vulnerable Symfony Endpoint // src/Controller/UserController.php namespace App\Controller; use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\AbstractController; use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\JsonResponse; class UserController extends AbstractController { public function profile() { $userData = [ ...

Why weak API auth happens (fast, but fragile) Quick launches often ship API keys in URLs, no throttling, and permissive CORS. Let’s replace that with JSON login + JWT , rate limiting , and strict CORS —then validate with the Website Vulnerability Scanner online free . What not to do // ❌ Token in query string; no identity, no throttling #[Route('/api/report', methods: ['GET'])] public function report(Request $r): JsonResponse { if ($r->query->get('token') !== $_ENV['API_TOKEN']) { return new JsonResponse(['error'=>'unauthorized'], 401); } return new JsonResponse(['ok'=>true]); } Secure baseline: JSON login + JWT (stateless) Install and generate keys: composer require lexik/jwt-authentication-bundle php bin/console lexik:jwt:generate-keypair Minimal security config: # config/packages/security.yaml security: password_hashers: Symfony\Component\Security\Core\User\PasswordAuthenticatedUserInterf...

Symfony is a powerful PHP framework, but if you don’t secure your sessions, you could be vulnerable to session replay attacks . These attacks allow cybercriminals to hijack authenticated sessions and impersonate users—potentially accessing sensitive data or performing unauthorized actions. In this guide, we’ll break down what session replay attacks are, how they affect Symfony applications, and how you can prevent them. We’ll also share a website vulnerability scanner online  to scan your site for vulnerabilities. 📌 What Is a Session Replay Attack? A session replay attack occurs when an attacker captures and reuses a valid session token (usually via sniffing insecure HTTP traffic or exploiting browser storage) to impersonate a legitimate user. If your Symfony app does not implement proper session validation and expiration mechanisms, it may be at risk. 🧠 How Does This Impact Symfony Applications? Symfony uses PHP sessions by default to manage authenticated users. If sessi...

Preventing XML Injection in Symfony: Real-World Guide with Code XML Injection remains a silent but powerful threat, especially in frameworks like Symfony , where developers often rely on XML for configuration or data exchange. In this post, we'll explore how XML Injection works in Symfony, how to detect it, and how to prevent it with real-life code examples. We'll also show how you can use our website vulnerability scanner online  to catch such issues instantly. 🔍 What is XML Injection? XML Injection is a vulnerability that occurs when untrusted data is embedded into XML documents without proper sanitization, potentially allowing attackers to modify the structure of the XML. In Symfony applications, this can occur when: User input is stored in XML format. External XML files are processed insecurely. XPath expressions are built using user input. 🚨 Why It Matters in Symfony Symfony supports various XML features, such as: XML configuration files XML-base...

Exploiting Web Cache Deception in Symfony Framework Web Cache Deception (WCD) is a high-impact vulnerability that allows attackers to trick web caches into storing and serving sensitive content to unauthorized users. Symfony, a popular PHP framework, can be especially vulnerable when misconfigured. In this blog post, we’ll walk through: What Web Cache Deception is How it affects Symfony apps A real-world coding example How to use our free security tool How to protect your Symfony app 💡 What is Web Cache Deception? Most web apps use caching to enhance performance. But when sensitive content (like /profile or /settings ) is cached, attackers can trick the cache into serving this private data to others. This is called Web Cache Deception . 🛑 Why Symfony is at Risk Symfony applications often rely on routing patterns like /account , /user/profile , or /dashboard . These URLs typically serve personalized content and shouldn’t be cached. If Symfony is misconfigured t...