Improving CSRF Token Management for AJAX in Laravel 9+: Best Practices
<p>In the context of Laravel 9, AJAX requests need to expose CSRF tokens to ensure necessary security measures. However, different token placement methods may affect the elegance and organization of your code. The main two methods are as follows:<br /><br />Method 1: Directly insert the CSRF token through Blade syntax<br /><br />In this method, the CSRF token Cards are embedded directly into JavaScript via Blade syntax. (Repeating the same code in multiple places)</p><p><br /></p>
<pre class="brush:js;toolbar:false;">$(document).ready(function() {
$.ajaxSetup({
headers: {
'X-CSRF-TOKEN': "{{ csrf_token() }}"
}
});
});
</pre>
<p>While this approach keeps the token outside the body of the HTML, it requires the use of Blade syntax in the JavaScript file, complicating the separation of concerns. <br /><br />Method 2: Extract CSRF token from meta tag<br /><br />This method involves placing the CSRF token in the HTML meta tag, Then extract it for use in AJAX setup. </p><p><br /></p>
<p><code><meta name="csrf-token" content="{{ csrf_token() }}"> </code></p>
<pre class="brush:js;toolbar:false;">$(document).ready(function() {
$.ajaxSetup({
headers: {
'X-CSRF-TOKEN': $('meta[name="csrf-token"]').attr('content')
}
});
});
</pre>
<p>In this approach, although the tokens are exposed in the HTML (which they would be exposed anyway), it simplifies JavaScript file management, reuse, and makes it easier to keep code/concerns separated. <br /><br />Considering the above, I guess approach 2 is better because it is more elegant and provides better separation of concerns. Or are there any other best practices in Laravel for managing CSRF token placement when using AJAX requests to provide a better balance of security and code organization? Looking forward to your insights. <br /><br />PS: I looked at e.g. https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Cross-Site_Request_Forgery_Prevention_Cheat_Sheet.html but some of it is beyond my comprehension. </p><p><br /></p>
