XML external entity attack
Okay kiddo, let me explain what an XML external entity attack is!
Imagine you have a book, but instead of being in English or another language you recognize, it's in code. This code is like a secret language that only computers can read. When you see something like "<book>" in the code, it tells the computer that it's the start of a book element.
Now imagine that this book code has a special code snippet called an external entity. This external entity is like a special bookmark in the book that tells the code to look at a different section of the book for more information. It's like saying "Hey computer, go look at chapter 7 for more details on this!"
Here's where things get tricky. A bad guy could write code that tricks your computer into looking at a place in the book that they control. This means they can make your computer do things it shouldn't, like steal your personal information!
It's a bit like if you were reading a book and someone told you to go to a different book that someone else wrote. That other book could have scary or dangerous instructions in it that you don't understand.
So that's what an XML external entity attack is - someone tricks a computer into looking at their own book instead of the right one, and can make it do bad things like steal information or give them control over the computer.
Imagine you have a book, but instead of being in English or another language you recognize, it's in code. This code is like a secret language that only computers can read. When you see something like "<book>" in the code, it tells the computer that it's the start of a book element.
Now imagine that this book code has a special code snippet called an external entity. This external entity is like a special bookmark in the book that tells the code to look at a different section of the book for more information. It's like saying "Hey computer, go look at chapter 7 for more details on this!"
Here's where things get tricky. A bad guy could write code that tricks your computer into looking at a place in the book that they control. This means they can make your computer do things it shouldn't, like steal your personal information!
It's a bit like if you were reading a book and someone told you to go to a different book that someone else wrote. That other book could have scary or dangerous instructions in it that you don't understand.
So that's what an XML external entity attack is - someone tricks a computer into looking at their own book instead of the right one, and can make it do bad things like steal information or give them control over the computer.