Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

Which vulnerability can be mitigated by validating user inputs effectively?

1. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

2. File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

3. Network Latency

4. Server Load

The correct answer is: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

Validating user inputs effectively is crucial in preventing vulnerabilities such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). XSS involves an attacker injecting malicious scripts into content that users perceive as coming from a trusted source. By ensuring that all user inputs are properly validated and sanitized, web applications can filter out potentially harmful scripts and prevent them from being executed in a user's browser. This means that techniques such as escaping user input, using a Content Security Policy (CSP), and implementing input validation routines are effective defenses against XSS. When proper measures are in place to validate what data can be accepted from users, the chances of successful XSS attacks are significantly reduced. In contrast, the other options—File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Network Latency, and Server Load—do not directly relate to user input validation. FTP concerns the method of transferring files, network latency involves the time taken for data to travel across a network, and server load pertains to the performance impact on a server due to processing requests. None of these options involve vulnerabilities that can be mitigated through user input validation like XSS does.