AP® Cybersecurity glossary

Directory traversal

Also called: path traversal

Course: AP® Cybersecurity Shows up in: Unit 5: Securing Applications and Data

An attack that edits uniform resource locators (URLs) and hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) GET requests, usually with ../, to reach sensitive files outside a web application's folder.

Appears in the course and exam description (CED): 5.1.B.95.1.B.105.6.E.4

Why it matters in Unit 5

Each ../ moves one directory up.

Example

GET /docs/../../backups/users.csv

Related terms

• Input sanitization