What methods can I use in JavaScript to detect and prevent clickjacking attacks

Question

I’m working on a web application and I want to ensure that it’s protected against clickjacking attacks. I understand that clickjacking involves tricking users into clicking on hidden elements by embedding a website inside an iframe, but I’m not sure how to implement protections against it in JavaScript.

What techniques can I use in JavaScript to detect if my website is being framed and prevent clickjacking? Are there any headers or other browser-based defenses that I should be aware of, in addition to JavaScript methods?

Answer 1

In order to prevent clickjacking attacks, we can use both server-side headers and JavaScript.

1. For JavaScript, we can use the frame-busting technique to detect if your site is being framed by another website.

Here's an example:

if (top.location != self.location) {
    top.location = self.location;
}

This piece of code will ensure that the page is not displayed in a iframe by redirecting the top level window to the current page.

2. However, the modern approach is to use HTTP headers like X-Frame-Options and Content-Security-Policy.

So, if you're not aware of what X-Frame-Options and Content-Security-Policy.

• X-Frame-Options will prevent your website from being embedded in iframes. We can use DENY or SAMEORIGIN in your server response headers.
  For example. X-Frame-Options: DENY
   
• Content-Security-Policy will provide even more controls by specifying where your website can be framed.
  For example. Content-Security-Policy: frame-ancestors 'self'

These headers when used additionally with JavaScript ensures that our web application in well-protected from clickjacking attacks

Comments

Nice! Another method that can help prevent clickjacking attacks is using the frame busting script along with a Content-Security-Policy header. This is even more effective in modern web applications since it combines the client-side and server-side approaches.