What is the Difference Between XSS and SQL Injection?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚The main differences between XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) and SQL injection attacks are:
- Target: XSS attacks target end users, while SQL injection attacks target the application's database. XSS attacks involve injecting malicious client-side scripts into webpages or web browsers, allowing attackers to execute malicious actions, steal data, or impersonate the target user. SQL injection attacks, on the other hand, involve injecting malicious SQL code into web forms, cookies, or HTTP headers to steal sensitive information from databases connected to websites.
- Vulnerability Type: XSS attacks are client-side vulnerabilities, whereas SQL injection attacks are server-side vulnerabilities.
- Attack Technique: XSS attacks use malicious client-side scripts, such as JavaScript, to execute code on the client-side. SQL injection attacks manipulate SQL statements to execute malicious SQL code on the server-side.
- Impact: The impact of an XSS attack depends on the application, its functionality, and the data it holds, as well as the status of the compromised user. SQL injection attacks can lead to data exfiltration, changes, or deletion from databases connected to websites.
In summary, XSS attacks focus on injecting malicious client-side scripts to target end users and their browsers, while SQL injection attacks target the application's database by injecting malicious SQL code.
On this pageWhat is the Difference Between XSS and SQL Injection? Comparative Table: XSS vs SQL Injection
Comparative Table: XSS vs SQL Injection
Here is a table comparing the differences between XSS and SQL Injection:
| Feature | XSS (Cross-site Scripting) | SQL Injection |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A technique used to inject client-side scripts into webpages or websites. | A code injection technique that uses SQL statements for queries in a database in an abnormal manner to get information stored in the database. |
| Vulnerability Percentage | Around 65% of websites are vulnerable to XSS attacks according to OWASP reports. | Around 32% of government websites are vulnerable to SQL Injection according to Invicti Security reports. |
| Attack Technique | The attacker injects malicious client-side scripts into webpages/websites. | The attacker injects malicious SQL queries into web form input fields. |
| Impact | Upon successful execution, the attacker can steal sensitive information, manipulate the webpage, or cause other malicious actions on the client-side. | Upon successful execution, the attacker can add, delete, or modify the existing data in the database. |
| Mitigation Techniques | For XSS: Validate user input, use secure coding practices, and disable HTML content within the code. For SQL Injection: Use parameterized statements, stored procedures, and validate user input. |
Both XSS and SQL Injection are common web hacking techniques, but they differ in terms of the languages used (client-side scripts for XSS and SQL statements for SQL Injection) and the impact on the affected system (client-side manipulation for XSS and database manipulation for SQL Injection).
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