Dynamic

Anti-Forgery Tokens vs SameSite Cookies

Developers should implement anti-forgery tokens in any web application that handles state-changing operations, such as form submissions, API calls, or actions that modify data meets developers should learn and use samesite cookies to improve the security of web applications by preventing unauthorized cross-site requests, which is crucial for protecting user sessions and sensitive data. Here's our take.

🧊Nice Pick

Anti-Forgery Tokens

Developers should implement anti-forgery tokens in any web application that handles state-changing operations, such as form submissions, API calls, or actions that modify data

Anti-Forgery Tokens

Nice Pick

Developers should implement anti-forgery tokens in any web application that handles state-changing operations, such as form submissions, API calls, or actions that modify data

Pros

  • +This is critical for security in frameworks like ASP
  • +Related to: web-security, csrf-protection

Cons

  • -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

SameSite Cookies

Developers should learn and use SameSite cookies to improve the security of web applications by preventing unauthorized cross-site requests, which is crucial for protecting user sessions and sensitive data

Pros

  • +It is particularly important for authentication cookies, where setting SameSite to Strict or Lax can block CSRF attacks, while None (with Secure flag) is used for cross-site scenarios like embedded iframes or third-party integrations
  • +Related to: http-cookies, web-security

Cons

  • -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Anti-Forgery Tokens if: You want this is critical for security in frameworks like asp and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use SameSite Cookies if: You prioritize it is particularly important for authentication cookies, where setting samesite to strict or lax can block csrf attacks, while none (with secure flag) is used for cross-site scenarios like embedded iframes or third-party integrations over what Anti-Forgery Tokens offers.

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The Bottom Line
Anti-Forgery Tokens wins

Developers should implement anti-forgery tokens in any web application that handles state-changing operations, such as form submissions, API calls, or actions that modify data

Disagree with our pick? nice@nicepick.dev