# Week 4 - Finding XSS

## Finding XSS Vulnerabilities

It’s officially week 4 of the Web App hacking series! Today’s tip involves finding Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities.\
 \
Many popular Automated Scanners inject payloads similar to `“><script>alert(“XSS”)</script>` throughout the application. This will turn up some low hanging fruit but will sometimes miss Stored XSS vulns. Applications often block common payloads containing `<script>` tags, so the JavaScript will never make it to the front end to be executed, and you’ll never know the target field is vulnerable.\
&#x20;\
I always recommend placing payloads like `”><b>testing</b>` or `“><input>test<input>` throughout the application, since they are rarely blocked by WAF’s. This way, if the application is vulnerable to XSS, you will see either bolded text (`<b>`) or an input box (`<input>`). Then you can locate the vulnerable field and enter more obfuscated payloads.\
&#x20;


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://www.webhackingtips.com/weekly-tips/week-4-finding-xss.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.