What is a Web Application Header?

A Hypertext Transfer Protocol header (a.k.a. web application header or HTTP header) defines how communications between users of web-connected applications and applications hosted in web servers should be conducted, including:

• How a website should respond when it can’t find something and indicates if it can find something or if it was temporarily moved.

  Example:

  The 404 – Not found error page can be understood by your web browser thanks to the HTTP standard.

• Where messages are going.
• How to receive messages.
• Who the message is from.
• The communication date.
• The type of message.
• Configuration details.
• How recipients should respond to a message.

Servers and web applications must conform to a set of standards (called “protocols”) when sending information over the Internet. The security of headers is measured by the Web Application Headers risk vector.