Input Sanitization
Input sanitization is a security practice that involves cleaning, filtering, or validating user-supplied data to prevent malicious input from compromising an application. It ensures that data conforms to expected formats and removes or neutralizes potentially harmful characters, such as those used in injection attacks. This process is critical for protecting against vulnerabilities like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and command injection.
Developers should implement input sanitization whenever handling user input in web applications, APIs, or any system accepting external data to enhance security and prevent exploits. It is essential in scenarios like form submissions, file uploads, and database queries to mitigate risks from attackers who might inject malicious code. By sanitizing input, developers can reduce the attack surface and comply with security best practices, such as those outlined in the OWASP Top 10.