CSRF Tokens
CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) tokens are security mechanisms used in web applications to prevent unauthorized requests from malicious sites. They work by generating unique, unpredictable tokens that are included in forms or requests, which the server validates to ensure the request originated from the intended user's session. This helps protect against attacks where an attacker tricks a user into performing actions on a website without their consent.
Developers should implement CSRF tokens in any web application that handles state-changing operations, such as form submissions, API calls for updates, or financial transactions, to enhance security against cross-site request forgery attacks. They are particularly crucial in applications with user authentication, as they prevent attackers from exploiting logged-in sessions to perform unauthorized actions, making them a standard practice in frameworks like Django, Rails, and Spring Security.