CompTIA PenTest+ Practice Test

What character is typically used to navigate up directories in a directory traversal attack?

1. ../

2. ..\\

3. ..//

4. ./

The correct answer is: ../

In a directory traversal attack, the typical character used to navigate up directories is the sequence "../". This notation signifies moving one level up in the directory structure. It is a Unix-like path traversal method where ".." represents the parent directory, and the forward slash (/) is used as a path separator in many operating systems, especially those based on Unix/Linux. When an attacker uses "../", they can potentially access files and directories that are outside of the web application's root directory, which could lead to unauthorized data access. This makes it a common technique exploited in various web vulnerabilities. The other options are variations of path traversal designed for different operating systems or scenarios. For instance, "..\\" uses a backslash (\\), which is specific to Windows in path representations. Similarly, "..//" is not a standard or recognized method for directory traversal, as it does not consistently represent a parent directory across different systems. The option "./" indicates the current directory, rather than moving up, thus it is not applicable in the context of navigating upwards in directory structure.