A security analyst receives an alert from a web server that contains the following logs: Which of the following attacks is being attempted?

The correct answer is C. Directory traversal. The “../../../etc/passwd” and “../../../etc/shadow” path sequences attempt to climb directories and read sensitive files, indicating a directory traversal attack.

Submitted by yuki_2020· Mar 6, 2026Threats, vulnerabilities, and mitigations

Question

A security analyst receives an alert from a web server that contains the following logs:

Which of the following attacks is being attempted?

Exhibit

Options

AFile injection
BPrivilege escalation
CDirectory traversal
DCookie forgery

How the community answered

(20 responses)

A
20% (4)
B
10% (2)
C
65% (13)
D
5% (1)

Explanation

The “../../../etc/passwd” and “../../../etc/shadow” path sequences attempt to climb directories and read sensitive files, indicating a directory traversal attack.

Community Discussion

No community discussion yet for this question.

Full SY0-701 Practice