Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI) Practice Exam 2025 - Free CHFI Practice Questions and Comprehensive Study Guide

Directory traversal attacks involve manipulating file reference variables to access directories and files that are stored outside the intended directory path. The sequences like "./" or "../" are used to traverse the directory structure. This type of attack allows an attacker to go "up" in the directory hierarchy or to navigate to files that should not be accessible according to the application’s restrictions. For example, if an application is expected to only allow access to certain files in a specific directory, an attacker can exploit this vulnerability by using directory traversal techniques to access sensitive files such as configuration files or user data located in other directories.

In contrast, SQL Injection focuses on manipulating SQL queries to execute arbitrary SQL commands or gain unauthorized access to a database, while XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attacks target scripting vulnerabilities in web applications to execute scripts in a user's browser. File injection generally refers to uploading malicious files, but it does not specifically involve the manipulation of file reference variables in the directory structure. Hence, the nature of directory traversal distinctly aligns with the use of sequences like "./".