Cross-Site Scripting (XSS): Attacks, Detection Techniques, and Prevention Methods – A Review

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is one of the most common and dangerous security vulnerabilities affecting modern web applications. It allows attackers to inject malicious client-side scripts into trusted websites, which can lead to session hijacking, data theft, phishing, and website defacement. Due to the rapid growth of dynamic and interactive web applications, the risk of XSS attacks has increased significantly. This review paper presents a comprehensive overview of Cross-Site Scripting attacks, their types, impacts, and existing defense mechanisms. The study reviews and analyzes various XSS detection and prevention techniques proposed in the literature, including client-side, server-side, and hybrid approaches. It also discusses traditional methods such as static analysis, dynamic analysis, filtering techniques, and proxy-based solutions, along with recent advancements using machine learning and artificial intelligence. Furthermore, the paper highlights the limitations of existing solutions, such as high false positives, performance overhead, and lack of complete protection against all XSS types. Finally, this review identifies key research gaps and emphasizes the need for efficient hybrid and intelligent security frameworks to effectively mitigate XSS attacks in modern web applications.