huntrule

Web Path Traversal Exploitation Attempts via Encoded Traversal in URL Query

Alerts on web requests with URL query path traversal patterns targeting /etc/ and other sensitive filesystem paths.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Category
webserver
Author
Subhash Popuri (@pbssubhash), Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Thurein Oo, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2021-09-25
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Initial Access

  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule flags web requests where the URL query contains common path traversal payloads, including normalized traversal sequences (../../..), mixed Windows paths, and URL-encoded/double-encoded variants. Attackers use these patterns to try accessing files outside the intended web root, potentially leading to sensitive file disclosure or further exploitation. It relies on webserver request telemetry that includes the full request URI query string as text.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1190 — drag to rearrange
Malicious MS-SQL Server Spawning Command Shell via Mallox
Malicious ActiveMQ CVE-2023-46604 Payload Download via curl or wget
Malicious WordPress Core SQL Injection Scanner via User-Agent
Malicious Command Shell Spawned by SQL Server via Process Creation (via process_creation)
Malicious Command Shell or PowerShell Spawned by Tomcat via Process Creation (via process_creation)
Suspicious Shell Script Execution From Temp Directory on SonicWall SMA1000 Appliance (via process_creation)
Possible TP-Link Command Injection via WlanNetworkRpm Endpoint (via webserver)
Malicious SharePoint ToolPane Exploitation via SignOut Referer
Suspicious Tomcat Session Deserialization Trigger via Crafted JSESSIONID
Web Path Traversal Exploitation Attempts via Encoded Traversal in URL Query
Pivot detection · T1190 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
  1. v2
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  2. v1
    No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.