HeaderManipulation
HeaderManipulation is the practice of altering HTTP headers in requests and responses to influence server behavior, client behavior, or to bypass controls. It can occur anywhere along the web request path, including browsers, application servers, proxies, and content delivery networks. Because headers carry essential information about routing, authentication, and preferences, manipulating them can have wide-ranging effects.
Common areas include headers that the client can influence, such as Host, Referer, User-Agent, Accept, and X-Forwarded-For
Risks associated with header manipulation include cache poisoning, open redirects, cross-site request forgery, session fixation, and
Mitigation involves not trusting client-supplied headers for security decisions, validating and canonicalizing header values, and implementing
HeaderManipulation is a dual-use concept in web security and software design. It should be studied in context,