File path traversal
Summary: PortSwigger describes file path traversal, also called directory traversal, as a vulnerability that lets attackers read files they should not have access to by supplying dot-dot-slash sequences that break out of the intended directory. The flaw arises when an application incorporates user-controllable data into a file path used for a filesystem operation, and it can expose configuration files with secret keys and passwords, application source code, database records, log data, and program scripts and binaries, and in some situations let an attacker gain complete control over the web server.
What's compelling: A single user-supplied filename appended to a directory prefix can expose the configuration files holding your secret keys and passwords, or hand an attacker complete control of the web server.
Read the original at PortSwigger Research ↗
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