Directory Traversal

What is Directory Traversal

Directory Traversal also known as Path Traversal is a vulnerability which allows an attacker to view arbitrary files that is stored in the server where the vulnerable application is running.

These files might include:

• Application code and data.

• Credentials for back-end systems.

• Sensitive operating system files.

Testing for Path Traversal

Input Vector Enumeration

• Enumerate all parts of the application that accept content from the user.

  • HTTP GET queries

  • HTTP POST queries

  • File uploads section

  • HTML forms

• Example Checks

  • Are there request parameters which could be used for file-related operations?

  • Are there unusual file extensions?

  • Are there interesting variable names?

    • http://example.com/getUserProfile.jsp?item=ikki.html

    • http://example.com/index.php?file=content

    • http://example.com/main.cgi?home=index.htm

  • Is it possible to identify cookies used by the web application for the dynamic generation of pages or templates?

    • Cookie:ID=d9ccd3f4f9f18cc1:TM=2166255468:LM=1162655568:S=3cFpqbJgMSSPKVMV:TEMPLATE=flower

    • Cookie:USER=1826cc8f:PSTYLE=GreenDotRed