


Identifying and Mitigating Common Javascript Security Vulnerabilities
Jul 06, 2025 am 12:48 AMJavaScript security issues are easily overlooked, but they must be prevented from XSS, avoid eval(), manage cookies, and pay attention to third-party library security. 1. Prevent XSS: Escape user input, use React/Vue automatic escape mechanism, and set CSP to restrict script sources; 2. Avoid using eval(): Use JSON.parse() instead or use the Function constructor with caution to prevent malicious code execution; 3. Manage cookies and Session: Set HttpOnly and Secure properties, and store sensitive information into HttpOnly cookies instead of localStorage; 4. Pay attention to third-party library security: regularly use npm audit to check for dependency vulnerabilities, reduce unnecessary dependencies, and avoid introducing low-maintenance packages.
In front-end development, JavaScript's security issues are often easily overlooked. Although JavaScript itself is a language that runs on the client side, because of this, many attacks are initiated through it. If you are responsible for developing or maintaining a website, it is very necessary to understand and prevent common JS security vulnerabilities.

1. Prevent XSS (cross-site scripting attacks)
XSS is one of the most common web security vulnerabilities. By injecting malicious scripts into the page, the scripts are executed on their browsers when other users access the page, which can steal cookies, sessions, or phish.

How to prevent it?
- Always escape user input, especially when inserting content into HTML, JS, or URL.
- Use the automatic escape mechanisms that come with modern frameworks (such as React, Vue), which by default prevents direct execution of user input.
- Set
Content-Security-Policy
(CSP) in the HTTP header to limit which source scripts can be executed.
For example, if the user comment contains <script>alert('xss')</script>
and you insert it directly into the page, it is easy to be attacked. The correct way to do this is to use textContent
like instead of innerHTML
, or use a library to process the output.

2. Avoid using eval()
and dynamically executing string code
eval()
can execute strings as JavaScript code, which is convenient in some scenarios, but also very risky. If the incoming data contains malicious code, it will be executed directly.
Alternatives:
- Try to avoid using
eval()
and use JSON.parse() to parse structured data instead. - If you need to execute logic dynamically, consider using a function constructor, but you still need to be careful about the input source.
For example:
const userInput = "alert('hacked')"; eval(userInput); // Dangerous!
This writing method is very dangerous, especially if the user input is not filtered. Do not use unless absolutely necessary.
3. Manage cookies and session data well
JavaScript can access and modify cookies through document.cookie
, but cookies can easily become targets if configured incorrectly.
Safety advice:
- Set the
HttpOnly
property to prevent JS from directly reading cookies and reduce the risk of XSS leakage. - Add the
Secure
flag to ensure that cookies are transmitted only over HTTPS. - Try to put sensitive information (such as tokens) in HttpOnly cookies instead of localStorage or sessionStorage.
For example, some developers are accustomed to placing JWT in localStorage, so that once the page is injected into the script, the token may be stolen. By contrast, using HttpOnly cookies is safer.
4. Pay attention to the security of third-party libraries
Modern front-end projects rely on a large number of third-party libraries, which may also have security vulnerabilities. If you don't update dependencies for a long time, you may introduce known issues.
Coping method:
- Regularly check for security updates to dependencies, you can use tools such as
npm audit
. - Don't blindly trust open source packages, especially those with low downloads and long-term unmaintained packages.
- Reduce unnecessary dependencies and reduce potential risks.
Sometimes a small functional module, if there is a problem, may affect the security of the entire application. So it is very important to keep the dependency version up to date.
Basically these common but easily overlooked places. Security protection is not necessarily complicated, but the key is to be conscious and pay more attention to daily coding.
The above is the detailed content of Identifying and Mitigating Common Javascript Security Vulnerabilities. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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