Forms help you collect data for subscriptions, requests, orders, lead generation, inquiries, and more. It’s only natural to embed your form directly on your website and landing pages, so it’s easy for users and visitors to access it. However, this can pose a security risk if you don’t properly manage this page.

You can run into multiple security risks from embedding a form directly on your website, such as malicious form code that can expose sensitive information. In this guide, we’ll look at the risks that come with embedding forms and actionable strategies that can help you keep your data safe.

Why Embedded Forms Can Be a Security Risk

Embedded forms are so convenient; all you need to do is copy the form code, go to your webpage, and paste it. However, they can also expand the ways attackers exploit your security vulnerabilities. Here are the most common reasons for attacks: 

1. Increased Attack Surface

Embedding third-party forms means relying on external code, which could widen your attack surface. Every script, iframe, or API connection adds a potential vulnerability. If the embedded form provider has weak security, your website inherits those risks, opening doors for breaches.

2. Data Interception Risks

Forms transmit data between servers. If the form isn’t end-to-end encrypted, hackers can intercept sensitive information (emails, passwords, credit card details) while the information is being transmitted from the user’s browser to the form provider’s server.

3.  Malicious Code Injection

If you don’t validate embedded form security before going live, attackers can hijack sessions, deface pages (change the look of your website), or steal your website cookies containing sensitive customer information. 

They can do this with an XSS attack, where hackers inject malicious scripts by filling out your form. For example, a fraudster can fill out your form and answer a question with a code that allows them to steal customer data.

4. Clickjacking

Not all attacks look like an attack, some are very well disguised, e.g., clickjacking. Hackers can hide a malicious form under the actual CTA button that contains your real form. This is especially dangerous for login forms, payment gateways, and consent checkboxes. If this happens to you, you’re very likely to lose customers’ trust with very little to no hope of rebuilding it.

For example, a hacker can create a fake form for the “Submit” button that overlays the real form, sending data to their own server, not yours. Users will unknowingly submit sensitive data like their credit card details and home addresses, thinking they’re interacting with your page.

5. Vulnerable Third-Party Integrations

Many embedded forms rely on external APIs or scripts, which can become weak points if:

• The form provider has poor security practices (outdated software, unpatched flaws).
• An API key is leaked, allowing unauthorized access.
• A compromised JavaScript library (like jQuery plugins) introduces malware.

A breach in any third-party service can compromise your entire data collection system and user data.

How to Secure Embedded Forms

The answer to securing your website is not writing your own code from scratch to build your form- you don’t have to choose between your website security and the flexibility of embedding forms. Here are some very simple best practices to protect your website security:

1. Enforce HTTPS Everywhere

Ensure all your embedded forms use HTTPS (not HTTP), which ensures that the data collected with the form is encrypted while in transit. This way, no hacker can intercept your form data and steal sensitive information. You can do this by requiring SSL/TLS for both your website and third-party form providers, so if a form isn’t HTTPS, it won’t embed on your website. You should also use HSTS headers to prevent downgrade attacks.

2. Implement Strict Content Security Policies (CSP)

Configure your CSP headers to restrict the domains that can load-scripts. For example, you can whitelist only trusted form providers to prevent malicious embeds. You should also block unsafe inline JavaScript with script-src ‘self’ directives.

3. Sanitize Inputs & Prevent XSS

Attackers can pretend to be users and fill out your form with the intent to inject malware. So, apply input validation on both your form and third-party provider and server sides, so you can automatically detect any threat or malware.

You should also consider using modern frameworks like React and Angular to help you auto-escape content like special characters in form submissions and escape them; by default, they treat user input as data rather than executable code, reducing the risk of XSS.

4. Defend Against Clickjacking

Implement frame-busting JavaScript to detect clickjacking threats. You can also block unauthorized framing by setting a DENY header that disallows any frame that is not yours. You can also use the SAMEORIGIN and ALLOW-FROM uri options for the X-Frame-Options header for a more nuanced control over your framing.

5. Vet Third-Party Providers Rigorously

Before embedding any form, audit the form provider for SOC 2 compliance and security certifications. You should also look into their data privacy policies and how they handle user data in compliance with regulations like GDPR or CCPA.

Another thing you should consider is conducting integrity checks by monitoring the embedded scripts for unauthorized change and rotating your API keys regularly, and restricting permissions.

6. Add Multi-Layered Validation

If you’re dealing with high-risk forms like user registration or payments, add an extra layer of security to your forms with CAPTCHAs and server-side checks before processing a submission. You should also use rate limiting to prevent brute-force attacks.

7. Maintain Continuous Monitoring

Regularly (and ideally frequently) scan for vulnerabilities in embedded forms depending on your risk assessment.  Set up real-time alerts for suspicious submission patterns, and keep all your form-related libraries and plugins updated.

Conclusion

Creating your own form from scratch is a headache you shouldn’t have to deal with when you can easily embed forms. However, while embedded forms make you more productive and efficient, if it’s not a secure embed, you are putting your business and customers at risk.

Security isn’t a one-time fix. As attack methods evolve, so should your form protection methods. It’s okay if you don’t want to go through the stress of implementing the security best practices in this guide; you can hire a cybersecurity expert to implement these measures and use a form creation tool that offers very secure forms. 

If you liked this, then this blog should interest you:- How To Embed A Form Without Slowing Down Your Website.

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