DOMPurify
DOMPurify is a JavaScript library designed to sanitize HTML and prevent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. XSS attacks involve injecting malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users, exploiting the trust a user has for a particular site.
DOMPurify mitigates this risk by sanitizing HTML content, ensuring that it's safe to insert into the DOM (Document Object Model).
It removes harmful HTML, JavaScript, SVG, and MathML content from user input, ensuring that only clean, safe content is rendered by the browser.
DOMPurify is particularly useful in applications that allow user-generated content, where there is a risk of XSS attacks. For instance, in forums, comment sections, or any web application that dynamically inserts HTML content based on user input.
When you pass a string of HTML to DOMPurify, it parses the HTML and removes any elements or attributes that could be used for XSS. This includes <script> tags, javascript: URLs, event handler attributes (like onclick), and many others.
The result is a sanitized version of the HTML that is safe to insert into the DOM.
DOMPurify is easy to integrate into web projects. It can be included as a standalone script, or installed via package managers like npm for use in larger JavaScript applications. It's commonly used in conjunction with libraries like ReactJS, AngularJS, or Vue.js to sanitize dynamic content.