What is cross-site scripting attack (XSS attack)?

Cross-site scripting attack is an attack that exploits flaws in Web browsing applications such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome, and allows arbitrary code injection that redirects requests to a bogus or malicious website.

Cross-site scripting attacks are increasing in number and today almost 80 per cent of all Web attacks are XSS attacks.

Affected users may be exposed to serious security risks such as theft of personal information and other threats.