How to prevent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) in PHP
Prevent XSS in PHP by validating and sanitizing input with filter_var() and avoiding HTML unless using libraries like HTML Purifier. 2. Escape output using htmlspecialchars(), json_encode(), and urlencode() based on context. 3. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script sources and avoid 'unsafe-inline'.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a common security vulnerability in web applications that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into content viewed by other users. In PHP, preventing XSS involves proper input validation and output encoding. Here’s how you can effectively protect your application.
Validate and Sanitize Input
Always treat user input as untrusted. Validate data types, lengths, formats, and allowed characters based on expected values.
- Use PHP's filter_var() function to sanitize input. For example, use FILTER_SANITIZE_SPECIAL_CHARS to escape special characters.
- Avoid allowing HTML in user input unless absolutely necessary. If needed, use trusted libraries like HTML Purifier to whitelist safe elements.
- For numeric input, cast to int or use filter_var($input, FILTER_VALIDATE_INT).
Escape Output Properly
XSS often occurs when unsafe data is rendered in the browser. Always escape dynamic content before outputting it to HTML, attributes, JavaScript, or URLs.
- Use htmlspecialchars() when outputting data into HTML context: echo htmlspecialchars($userInput, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');
- Set the correct character encoding to prevent parsing issues.
- When inserting data into JavaScript variables, use json_encode(): <script>var userData = <?= json_encode($data, JSON_HEX_TAG); ?>;</script>
- For URLs, use urlencode() or rawurlencode() appropriately.
Use Content Security Policy (CSP)
CSP is an added defense layer that helps detect and mitigate XSS attacks by restricting which scripts can run.
- Send a CSP header to allow scripts only from trusted sources: header("Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' https://trusted-cdn.com;");
- Avoid using 'unsafe-inline' or
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