Multiple choice technology security

Alice access the following URL : http://www.testrun.com/%2e/2e%2e%2e@2e%2f/etc/passwd What is the name of the attack ?

  1. Buffer overflow

  2. Cross site scripting (XSS)

  3. Directory traversal

  4. Obfuscation

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

This is Directory Traversal (aka Path Traversal). The URL contains encoded sequences (like %2e for '.' and %2f for '/') that attempt to navigate up the directory tree to access /etc/passwd. This attack bypasses web root restrictions by manipulating file paths. Buffer overflow (A) sends excessive data. XSS (B) injects scripts. Obfuscation (D) hides code, not an attack type itself.