Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) MCQs ASP.NET

What is Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)?
a. An attack that allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users
b. A method to encrypt data in transit
c. A technique for authenticating users
d. A way to manage user sessions

Answer: a. An attack that allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users

Which type of XSS attack involves injecting scripts that are executed by the victim’s browser when they visit the vulnerable page?
a. Stored XSS
b. Reflected XSS
c. DOM-based XSS
d. CSRF

Answer: a. Stored XSS

What is Reflected XSS?
a. An attack where malicious scripts are reflected off a web server and executed in the user’s browser
b. A type of attack that involves storing malicious scripts on the server
c. An attack where scripts are executed in the server’s environment
d. A method to authenticate users

Answer: a. An attack where malicious scripts are reflected off a web server and executed in the user’s browser

Which of the following is a common method to prevent XSS attacks in ASP.NET?
a. Encoding user input
b. Disabling JavaScript
c. Using static HTML
d. Encrypting all data

Answer: a. Encoding user input

What is the purpose of output encoding in preventing XSS attacks?
a. To convert potentially dangerous characters into safe representations before displaying them
b. To encrypt data for secure transmission
c. To manage user authentication
d. To handle session state

Answer: a. To convert potentially dangerous characters into safe representations before displaying them

Which ASP.NET method can be used to encode output to protect against XSS?
a. HttpUtility.HtmlEncode()
b. HttpUtility.UrlEncode()
c. HttpUtility.Base64Encode()
d. HttpUtility.JsonEncode()

Answer: a. HttpUtility.HtmlEncode()

What is DOM-based XSS?
a. An attack where the client-side script modifies the DOM in a way that introduces malicious scripts
b. An attack that involves server-side script injection
c. An attack where data is stored on the server
d. A method for encrypting data

Answer: a. An attack where the client-side script modifies the DOM in a way that introduces malicious scripts

Which of the following best practices can help prevent XSS vulnerabilities?
a. Validating and sanitizing user inputs
b. Using only client-side validation
c. Disabling JavaScript entirely
d. Ignoring user inputs

Answer: a. Validating and sanitizing user inputs

In which scenario is Stored XSS most likely to occur?
a. When malicious scripts are stored in a database and later displayed to other users
b. When data is reflected from a URL
c. When client-side scripts are manipulated
d. When session tokens are hijacked

Answer: a. When malicious scripts are stored in a database and later displayed to other users

Which method is used to prevent XSS attacks in ASP.NET MVC views?
a. Using HTML helpers like @Html.Encode()
b. Using JavaScript functions to escape data
c. Disabling script tags
d. Using custom error messages

Answer: a. Using HTML helpers like @Html.Encode()

What is a key difference between Reflected and Stored XSS attacks?
a. Reflected XSS attacks are executed immediately upon request, while Stored XSS attacks are saved and executed later
b. Stored XSS attacks occur on client-side only, while Reflected XSS occurs on server-side
c. Reflected XSS attacks use encoded URLs, while Stored XSS uses unencoded URLs
d. Stored XSS is less dangerous than Reflected XSS

Answer: a. Reflected XSS attacks are executed immediately upon request, while Stored XSS attacks are saved and executed later

How can you mitigate the risk of XSS attacks when dealing with user-generated content in a web application?
a. By sanitizing and validating all user inputs before processing or displaying
b. By allowing all types of content without restriction
c. By only using client-side validation
d. By ignoring special characters in user inputs

Answer: a. By sanitizing and validating all user inputs before processing or displaying

Which of the following characters should be encoded to prevent XSS attacks?
a. <, >, &, "
b. @, #, $, %
c. (, ), [, ]
d. +, -, *, /

Answer: a. <, >, &, "

What is the primary reason for escaping HTML characters in user inputs?
a. To prevent malicious scripts from being executed in the user’s browser
b. To encrypt data during transmission
c. To manage user sessions
d. To authenticate users

Answer: a. To prevent malicious scripts from being executed in the user’s browser

Which ASP.NET feature can be used to automatically encode data to prevent XSS?
a. AntiXSS Library
b. Data Protection API
c. Authentication middleware
d. Configuration settings

Answer: a. AntiXSS Library

What role does input validation play in preventing XSS attacks?
a. It ensures that user input adheres to expected formats and does not contain malicious scripts
b. It encrypts data for secure transmission
c. It manages user sessions
d. It handles authentication

Answer: a. It ensures that user input adheres to expected formats and does not contain malicious scripts

Which method of XSS prevention is less effective on its own but works well in combination with other methods?
a. Input validation
b. Firewall
c. Encryption
d. Session management

Answer: a. Input validation

What is an example of a technique to avoid XSS in client-side JavaScript?
a. Using DOM manipulation methods carefully and avoiding direct insertion of untrusted data
b. Disabling JavaScript entirely
c. Using only server-side scripts
d. Ignoring user input

Answer: a. Using DOM manipulation methods carefully and avoiding direct insertion of untrusted data

Which ASP.NET feature can help in preventing XSS by filtering user inputs?
a. Request Validation
b. Data Protection
c. Authentication
d. Routing

Answer: a. Request Validation

What is the effect of XSS attacks on user data?
a. It can compromise the security and privacy of user data by executing malicious scripts
b. It speeds up data access
c. It encrypts data during transmission
d. It improves data integrity

Answer: a. It can compromise the security and privacy of user data by executing malicious scripts

What is a common way to handle user-generated content safely in a web application?
a. Escaping or encoding content to prevent execution of malicious scripts
b. Allowing all content without restrictions
c. Storing unprocessed content in the database
d. Ignoring user inputs

Answer: a. Escaping or encoding content to prevent execution of malicious scripts

How can developers ensure that XSS vulnerabilities are identified and fixed?
a. By conducting regular security reviews and testing
b. By only relying on client-side validation
c. By disabling scripting capabilities
d. By not processing user inputs

Answer: a. By conducting regular security reviews and testing

Which security measure involves reviewing code for potential XSS vulnerabilities?
a. Code review
b. Data encryption
c. Session management
d. Authentication

Answer: a. Code review

What is the role of the HtmlSanitizer class in ASP.NET?
a. To clean and sanitize HTML input to prevent XSS attacks
b. To manage user sessions
c. To encrypt sensitive data
d. To handle authentication

Answer: a. To clean and sanitize HTML input to prevent XSS attacks

Which character is considered dangerous in the context of XSS and should be encoded?
a. <
b. +
c. *
d. ?

Answer: a. <

How does ASP.NET’s request validation feature help in preventing XSS attacks?
a. By blocking requests that contain potentially dangerous input
b. By encrypting data in transit
c. By managing user authentication
d. By handling session state

Answer: a. By blocking requests that contain potentially dangerous input

What is the main objective of using content security policies (CSP) in web applications?
a. To restrict the sources from which scripts and other resources can be loaded
b. To encrypt data during transmission
c. To manage user sessions
d. To authenticate users

Answer: a. To restrict the sources from which scripts and other resources can be loaded

Which of the following is a typical response to discovering an XSS vulnerability in a web application?
a. Implementing input validation and output encoding to fix the vulnerability
b. Ignoring the issue until it becomes critical
c. Deleting all user input
d. Disabling JavaScript features

Answer: a. Implementing input validation and output encoding to fix the vulnerability

What does the term “Content Security Policy” (CSP) refer to in the context of XSS protection?
a. A security feature that helps mitigate XSS attacks by specifying allowed sources of content
b. A method for encrypting data
c. A technique for managing user sessions
d. A protocol for secure communications

Answer: a. A security feature that helps mitigate XSS attacks by specifying allowed sources of content

How does the HttpUtility.JavaScriptStringEncode method help in preventing XSS?
a. By encoding JavaScript strings to ensure that they are not interpreted as executable code
b. By encrypting user data
c. By managing user sessions
d. By handling authentication

Answer: a. By encoding JavaScript strings to ensure that they are not interpreted as executable code

What is the purpose of using parameterized queries in relation to XSS?
a. To prevent SQL injection attacks, which are different from XSS but also important for security
b. To encrypt data during transmission
c. To handle session management
d. To authenticate users

Answer: a. To prevent SQL injection attacks, which are different from XSS but also important for security

Which of the following practices can reduce the risk of XSS in web applications?
a. Implementing input validation, output encoding, and using security headers
b. Ignoring special characters in inputs
c. Storing unprocessed user inputs
d. Disabling JavaScript functionality

Answer: a. Implementing input validation, output encoding, and using security headers

How can developers use the AntiXSS library to enhance XSS protection?
a. By using it to encode potentially dangerous characters in user input
b. By disabling script execution entirely
c. By encrypting data in transit
d. By managing user sessions

Answer: a. By using it to encode potentially dangerous characters in user input

What is the primary goal of input sanitization in the context of XSS prevention?
a. To remove or neutralize potentially harmful input before processing or displaying it
b. To encrypt data
c. To manage user authentication
d. To handle session state

Answer: a. To remove or neutralize potentially harmful input before processing or displaying it

Which of the following is an effective way to test for XSS vulnerabilities?
a. Conducting security penetration testing and code reviews
b. Relying only on automated tools
c. Ignoring special characters in user inputs
d. Using outdated security practices

Answer: a. Conducting security penetration testing and code reviews

What is the significance of using the HttpUtility.HtmlDecode method?
a. It decodes HTML-encoded characters, but it should be used carefully to avoid introducing XSS vulnerabilities
b. It encrypts data for secure transmission
c. It manages user sessions
d. It handles authentication

Answer: a. It decodes HTML-encoded characters, but it should be used carefully to avoid introducing XSS vulnerabilities

Which HTTP response header can help protect against XSS attacks by controlling how content is rendered?
a. Content-Security-Policy
b. Authorization
c. Set-Cookie
d. Location

Answer: a. Content-Security-Policy

What role do secure coding practices play in preventing XSS attacks?
a. They help ensure that code is written in a way that mitigates potential security vulnerabilities
b. They handle user session management
c. They encrypt data in transit
d. They manage authentication

Answer: a. They help ensure that code is written in a way that mitigates potential security vulnerabilities