Unauthorized Access Attempt

Unauthorized Access Attempt

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Question

An administrator discovers the following log entry on a server: Nov 12 2013 00:23:45 httpd[2342]: GET /app2/prod/proc/process.php?input=change;cd%20../../../etc;cat%20shadow Which of the following attacks is being attempted?

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A. B. C. D.

A.

The log entry indicates that a user or attacker has attempted to execute a command injection attack on the server.

In this case, the attacker is trying to exploit a vulnerability in the application 'process.php' by injecting a command that will allow them to read the contents of the '/etc/shadow' file. This file contains sensitive information such as user passwords in an encrypted form, and should not be accessible to unauthorized users.

The attack works by taking advantage of the fact that the application does not properly sanitize or validate user input, and allows arbitrary commands to be executed. The attacker has used the 'cd' command to change the current directory to '/etc/', and then used the 'cat' command to read the contents of the 'shadow' file.

Command injection attacks can have serious consequences, as they can allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the vulnerable application or system. This can lead to unauthorized access, data theft, and other malicious activities.

Therefore, it is important to ensure that all applications validate and sanitize user input, and implement proper access controls to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive files and resources.