Multiple choice technology security

A user finds out major changes in the content of a regular website, that only used to change once in a blue moon. He clears all the information stored in the browser and finds out the things were back to normal. What vulnerability he has been victim of?

  1. Browser cache poisoning.

  2. Reflected Cross-site Scripting.

  3. Persistent Cross-site scripting.

  4. Link Injection.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Browser cache poisoning involves injecting malicious content into the browser's cache. When the victim revisits the site, the browser loads the poisoned cached content instead of fresh content from the server. Clearing browser cache removes the poisoned content, restoring normal display. Reflected XSS doesn't persist across sessions, persistent XSS requires server-side storage, and link injection doesn't affect cache.

AI explanation

The site's content appeared to change frequently, but clearing the browser's local cache made it 'return to normal' — meaning the anomalous content was being served from a poisoned local cache rather than from the live server. This is Browser cache poisoning: an attacker (often via a prior XSS or MITM step) causes malicious or stale content to be cached locally, so the victim keeps seeing altered content until the cache is cleared. Reflected and Persistent XSS describe how a script gets executed/stored, not a caching artifact that resolves by clearing browser data; 'Link Injection' isn't a standard vulnerability class matching this symptom.

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