The structure of this payload can be broken down into three distinct components: 1. The Trigger Command ( -include- )
The repeated ../ sequences break out of the intended web root directory (e.g., /var/www/html/ ).
The safest approach is mapping allowed input values to specific files. If the input does not match the list exactly, reject the request entirely. -include-..-2F..-2F..-2F..-2Froot-2F
http://vulnerable-site.com/index.php?page=-include-..-2F..-2F..-2F..-2Fetc-2Fpasswd
The string contains several -2F sequences. In URL encoding, %2F represents the forward slash character ( / ). However, here the percent sign ( % ) is replaced by a hyphen ( - ), which is a common obfuscation trick used to bypass naive input filters. Let’s decode it step by step: The structure of this payload can be broken
: The "dot-dot" sequence instructs the operating system to move up one level in the directory hierarchy.
: If an attacker can manipulate paths to include arbitrary files, and if the application is vulnerable to code execution through file inclusion (e.g., PHP's include statement), this could lead to RCE. If the input does not match the list
Successfully executing a file inclusion or path traversal attack can have severe consequences for an organization.