Headers Security
low Severity
Free Check

Cookie Prefix Hardening (__Host- and __Secure-)

Validates that sensitive authentication tokens leverage browser cookie prefixes (__Host- or __Secure-) to prevent cookie tossing.

Test Your Website for Cookie Prefix Hardening (__Host- and __Secure-)

Run this check along with 90+ automated tests across your domain.

Why It Matters

Cookie prefixes instruct the browser to refuse cookie modifications from subdomains or non-secure origins.

How We Check This

We inspect session cookies to verify if prefixes (__Host- or __Secure-) are utilized for high-value tokens.

How to Fix & Implement

Copy-paste configuration blocks tailored for your web server or edge proxy.

nginx snippet
# Use prefixed cookie names in your application layer: __Host-session_id

Frequently Asked Questions

What restrictions does __Host- enforce?

It must be set with Secure, path=/, and without a Domain attribute, binding it exclusively to the host origin.