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A cookie with the Secure attribute is sent to the server only with an encrypted request over the HTTPS protocol, never with unsecured HTTP (except on localhost), and therefore can’t easily be accessed by a man-in-the-middle attacker. Insecure sites (with http: in the URL) can’t set cookies with the Secure attribute.
Since it is only used in storing information and used for hypertext transfer protocol requests and data over the internet, exploits and hacks made through scripting are unable to access them. So a secure cookie’s main benefit is that it can stop theft through cross-site scripting (XSS).
How is a secure cookie protected in JavaScript?
Secure attribute is not the only protection mechanism for cookies, there are also HttpOnly and SameSite attributes. The HttpOnly attribute restricts the cookie from being accessed by, for instance, JavaScript, while the SameSite attribute only allows the cookie to be sent to the application if the request originated from the same domain.
Creating cookies After receiving an HTTP request, a server can send one or more Set-Cookie headers with the response. The cookie is usually stored by the browser, and then the cookie is sent with requests made to the same server inside a Cookie HTTP header. An expiration date or duration can be specified, after which the cookie is no longer sent.
In order to prevent an HTTP page from setting a secure cookie would result in two possibilities: All HTTP-provided cookies are not accessible when visiting the HTTPS page. This would be a significant break in compatibility. Or Metadata is added to the Client-provided Cookie value so that the server can know some things about it.
Can a cookie be transmitted over simple HTTP?
Actually, only the Secure attribute will let you forbid a cookie to be ever transmitted over simple HTTP. The interest of this flag is clearly mentioned in the RFC HTTP State Management Mechanism: Servers that require a higher level of security SHOULD use the Cookie and Set-Cookie headers only over a secure channel.
When to send multiple Set Cookie headers in http?
The Set-Cookie HTTP response header is used to send a cookie from the server to the user agent, so the user agent can send it back to the server later. To send multiple cookies, multiple Set-Cookie headers should be sent in the same response.