# Strategies and Challenges in Detecting XSS Vulnerabilities Using an Innovative Cookie Collector
## 1 Introduction
### Real-World Implications  
XSS vulnerabilities have significant real-world consequences, affecting both individuals and organizations by compromising personal and financial data. These attacks enable the exfiltration of sensitive information through the following:  
* _Session cookie theft_: access to bank accounts, educational platforms, and social networks without the need for credentials [18].
* _Capture of input data:_ keystrokes, browsing history, and clipboard contents, facilitating identity fraud.
* _Authentication token extraction:_ allows attackers to operate as legitimate users in federated systems (Google Classroom, Moodle).  
According to specialized literature, the ability to inject arbitrary code through cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks constitutes a significant threat to web security [19]. This capability enables attackers--whether operating through web applications, networks, or even from related domains--to [20] inject malicious code into the user's browser context. One of the primary objectives of such attacks, as reported by various sources, is the manipulation or hijacking of cookies, especially session cookies. The authors of [21] indicate that the lack of session integrity, often resulting from attacks that enable code or cookie injection, such as those involving cross-site scripting (XSS), may lead to session hijacking and session substitution. These vulnerabilities severely compromise the security of affected websites.  
The real-world implications of these types of attacks, which can be facilitated or executed through code or cookie injection, including cross-site scripting (XSS) techniques, are significant and have been the subject of empirical research, according to [22; 23]. The so-called \"successful attacks\" that exploit cookie and session vulnerabilities, where injection can play a critical role, have led to the following consequences:  
* Privacy violation.
* Online victimization.
* Financial losses.
* Account hijacking (account hijacking)  
More specifically, studies of cookie hijacking (an attack facilitated by the lack of injection protection, including XSS) have revealed the exposure of very detailed private information on major websites with partial HTTPS deployment. This includes [20] the following:  
* Obtaining the user's complete search history on Google, Bing, and Baidu.
* Extracting the contact list and sending emails from the user's Yahoo account.
* Exposure of the user's purchase history (partial on Amazon, complete on eBay).
* Revealing the user's name and email address on almost all websites.
* Access to the pages visited by the user through advertising networks such as DoubleClick.
* Ability to obtain home and work addresses and websites visited from providers such as Google and Bing.  
These vulnerabilities related to cookie injection and manipulation (which XSS defenses seek to prevent) are present on major sites such as Google and Bank of America [20]. The complexity of cookie management with different scopes and the lack of precise access control exacerbate the problem [23].  
To illustrate the potential magnitude of the problem of cookie exposure (which, as mentioned, can be exploited through injection techniques) such as the privacy implications are even more alarming when considering how this could be used to deanonymize Tor users, suggesting that a significant portion could be vulnerable [22].  
In summary, although the sources focus on the consequences of cookie and session hijacking, they explicitly link arbitrary injection of XSS code as an attacker capability that defenses seek to counter [19]. The results of attacks facilitated by this capability include financial loss, account hijacking, and massive and detailed exposure of sensitive private information on widely used platforms.