CORS Preflight

Noun · Security & Infosec

Definitions

  1. An automatic OPTIONS request sent by the browser before a cross-origin request to check whether the server allows it. Triggered by non-simple methods (PUT, DELETE), custom headers, or non-standard content types. The server responds with allowed origins, methods, and headers.

    In plain English: The browser asking a server 'hey, is it OK if I send this request from a different website?' before actually sending it.

    Example: "Your API is returning 405 on OPTIONS requests — add a CORS preflight handler or your frontend POST calls will all fail."

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