What type of attack is often prevented by implementing CSRF tokens?

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks exploit the trust a web application has in a user's browser. In a CSRF attack, a malicious actor tricks a user's browser into making unwanted requests to a different site where the user is authenticated, thereby performing unintended actions on behalf of the user without their consent.

Implementing CSRF tokens is a critical measure to prevent these types of attacks. A CSRF token is a unique, secret, and unpredictable value that is generated by the server and included in each user's session. When a user submits a form, this token is sent along with the request. The server checks whether the token is valid and matches the one stored for that session. If it does, the request is processed; if not, the server rejects the request as potentially malicious.

This method ensures that even if an attacker can trick a user into clicking a link, the attacker cannot forge a request to the server without the valid CSRF token, effectively protecting the user's actions against unauthorized manipulation by third parties.