Clickjacking in Laravel: Protect Your Web Application

Web security is a critical aspect of modern applications, especially with the rise of attacks like clickjacking. Laravel, a popular PHP framework, offers tools to protect against such vulnerabilities. In this blog, we’ll dive into what clickjacking is, how it affects Laravel applications, and the steps you can take to secure your website.

What Is Clickjacking?

Clickjacking is a malicious technique where an attacker tricks users into clicking on something different from what they perceive. This can lead to unintended actions, such as transferring funds, liking social media posts, or even granting permissions.

Attackers typically achieve this by embedding a legitimate website inside an invisible frame (iframe) on their malicious site.

How Clickjacking Works

Here’s a simplified example:

1. The attacker creates a webpage with a hidden iframe containing a legitimate website.
2. The user visits the malicious page and interacts with what they think is an unrelated button or link.
3. The hidden iframe processes the click, performing actions without the user’s knowledge.

Preventing Clickjacking in Laravel

Laravel makes it straightforward to protect your application from clickjacking by providing built-in middleware.

Here’s how to implement it:

Step 1: Enable Clickjacking Protection

By default, Laravel ships with the X-Frame-Options header middleware. This header instructs browsers on whether a webpage can be displayed inside an iframe.

Add the middleware to your Kernel.php file:

protected $middleware = [
    // Other middleware...
    \Illuminate\Http\Middleware\FrameGuard::class,
];

Step 2: Customize the X-Frame-Options Header

You can specify the header’s value in your Laravel application. Here’s how:

• DENY: Prevents the page from being displayed in an iframe entirely.
• SAMEORIGIN: Allows the page to be displayed in an iframe only on the same origin.

Set the header in the middleware:

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

public function handle(Request $request, Closure $next)
{
    return $next($request)
        ->header('X-Frame-Options', 'SAMEORIGIN');
}

Check for Clickjacking Vulnerabilities

To ensure your Laravel application is secure, run a vulnerability assessment using our Free Website Security Scanner tool.

Screenshot of the free tools webpage where you can access security assessment tools.

The tool provides a detailed vulnerability report to identify and fix potential issues, including clickjacking.

An example of a vulnerability assessment report generated with our free tool provides insights into possible vulnerabilities.

Real-World Example of Protection

Suppose you have a Laravel-based login page. Without the X-Frame-Options header, an attacker could embed your page in their malicious site to steal credentials.

By enabling the FrameGuard middleware and setting DENY or SAMEORIGIN, you ensure your login page cannot be embedded elsewhere, mitigating the risk.

Conclusion

Clickjacking is a significant threat, but Laravel’s robust framework provides simple yet effective tools to combat it.

For more comprehensive website security, leverage our Free Website Security Checker tool to detect vulnerabilities and protect your online assets.

Don’t leave your application’s security to chance — take action today!

Are you concerned about your website’s security? Check your site for vulnerabilities now with our Free Security Tool!