What is the difference between CORS and the Same-Origin Policy?

What is the difference between CORS and the Same-Origin Policy?

CORS, or Cross-Origin Resource Sharing, is a mechanism that allows restricted resources on a web page to be requested from another domain outside the domain from which the first resource was served. The Same-Origin Policy, on the other hand, is a security measure that restricts how a document or script loaded from one origin can interact with resources from another origin.

Why is the Same-Origin Policy important?

The Same-Origin Policy is crucial for web security as it prevents malicious scripts on one page from accessing sensitive data on another page from a different origin, thus protecting user data and maintaining privacy.

How does CORS work in practice?

CORS works by using HTTP headers to tell the browser to allow web applications running at one origin to access selected resources from a different origin. When a request is made, the browser checks the CORS headers in the response to determine if the request should be allowed.

Can you give an example of a CORS request?

Sure! For example, if a web application at 'https://example.com' wants to fetch data from 'https://api.example.org', the server at 'api.example.org' must include the appropriate CORS headers, like 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin: https://example.com', in its response.