CSRF stands for Cross-Site Request Forgery. It is a type of attack where a malicious website tricks a user into performing an action on another website without their knowledge or consent. The attack works by exploiting the fact that many web applications use cookies to authenticate users, and these cookies are automatically sent with any requests to the application.
What is csrf_token
In Django, to prevent CSRF attacks, a middleware called CsrfViewMiddleware is included by default. This middleware adds a CSRF token to every form rendered by Django, and checks for the presence of the token when the form is submitted. If the token is missing or does not match the expected value, the middleware rejects the request.
To add CSRF protection to your Django forms, you can use the {% csrf_token %} template tag. This tag will generate a hidden input field with the CSRF token that is automatically included in the form submission. For example:
<form method="POST">
{% csrf_token %}
<!-- form fields go here -->
<button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>When the form is submitted, Django's CsrfViewMiddleware will check the value of the CSRF token against the expected value, and reject the request if they do not match.
It's important to note that CSRF protection is not a substitute for other security measures, such as input validation and user authentication. However, it is an important step in preventing CSRF attacks and should be used in all Django applications.
How Django Csrf Works
In Django, the csrf_token function generates a unique token for each individual user session to protect against Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks. When a user submits a form, the server checks that the token included in the submission matches the one generated for the user's session.
Here's how csrf_token works in Django:
1. When a user visits a page that includes a form, the server generates a unique token and stores it in the user's session data.
2. The server includes the token in the form as a hidden input field using the {% csrf_token %} template tag. This ensures that the token is included in the submission when the user submits the form.
3. When the user submits the form, the server checks that the token included in the submission matches the token that was generated for the user's session. If the tokens match, the request is processed normally. If they don't match, the server raises a Forbidden error, as this indicates that the request may be an attempted CSRF attack.
By using csrf_token in Django, you can protect against CSRF attacks without requiring the user to take any additional actions. The token is generated and checked automatically for each form submission, ensuring that requests can only be made from the page that originally served the form.
