Cybersecurity

Path Traversal

/pɑːθ trəˈvɜːsəl/

Definition

An attack using ../../ sequences in file paths to access files outside the intended directory.

Example in context

"The file download endpoint was vulnerable to path traversal — /../../../etc/passwd returned the system password file."

Practice this term

Master Path Traversal in context by working through exercises in the Cybersecurity module. You'll see the term used in real engineering scenarios with multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and matching drills.