Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks are common and target websites or web applications that are vulnerable to XSS due to insufficient client-side or server-side code development. The susceptible web page is the fundamental condition for these attacks, and their effect is always circling around the user session on the vulnerable web page itself. In other words, if a user visits an XSS-vulnerable website while using a web-based CRM application, the attacker will only have access to the compromised session and will not be able to access the CRM’s session. This behavior is caused by security features built into browsers. UXSS retains the basic XSS characteristics: exploit a vulnerability, execute malicious code; nevertheless, there is a significant difference:
Unlike traditional XSS attacks, UXSS is a sort of attack that uses client-side vulnerabilities in browsers or browser extensions to produce an XSS situation and execute malicious code. When such flaws are discovered and exploited, the browser’s functionality is changed, and its security mechanisms may be circumvented or deactivated.
As a result, the attacker may get access to any session belonging to web pages presently opened (or cached) by the browser at the moment the attack is launched, rather than simply a compromised session on a vulnerable web page.
Simply said, UXSS does not require a weak web page to activate and may breach web sessions belonging to safe, well-written websites, creating a vulnerability where none exists.
Web browsers are one of the most widely used apps, and they are rapidly evolving. Web browser providers are competing for popularity, and in order to stay on top, they must integrate a large number of features in a short amount of time. While most providers consider security features to be crucial, usability and integration features are generally the more popular (easier to test, quicker to install) and hence have higher priority. Because testing security features necessitates a large amount of talent and multiple resources, several of the main providers have created reward programs to encourage the community to assist enhance the security of their browsers. Nonetheless, when a new vulnerability appears, the individual or organization that discovers it has the option of either exploiting it and reaping the long-term advantages of regularly exploiting similar flaws, or reporting it and reaping fewer rewards (if any). To some degree, it may be a long time before new vulnerabilities are addressed and fixes are distributed to end-users.
Because the nature of the attack does not necessitate the use of a susceptible web page while keeping the option of getting access to non-vulnerable websites, UXSS is one of the most destructive and harmful variants of XSS assaults. This is reinforced further by the fact that UXSS targets vulnerable browser add-ons or plugins as well as the browser itself.
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