Important user-specific information, such as session tokens, is often stored in cookies within the client browser. Due to their importance, cookies need to be protected from malicious attacks. This protection usually comes in the form of two flags—secure and HttpOnly.

The secure flag informs the browser to only send the cookie to the web server if the protocol is encrypted (for example, HTTPS, TLS). This flag protects the cookie from eavesdropping over unencrypted channels.

The HttpOnly flag instructs the browser to not allow access or manipulation of the cookie via JavaScript. This flag protects the cookie from cross-site scripting attacks.