The payload string "-template-..-2F..-2F..-2F..-2Froot-2F.aws-2Fcredentials" represents a targeted exploit attempt. It aims to bypass input filters, traverse a server's directory structure, and exfiltrate sensitive Amazon Web Services (AWS) identity and access management tokens. The Mechanics of Directory Traversal
Given the sensitive nature of AWS credentials, any path or template referencing them should be handled with care, ensuring that it does not inadvertently expose or compromise these credentials.
const path = require('path'); const base = '/var/www/templates'; const reqPath = path.resolve(base, req.query.file); if (!reqPath.startsWith(base)) return res.status(403).send('Forbidden');
The operating system resolves the relative path, steps completely out of /var/www/html/templates/ , and prints the contents of the AWS credentials file directly to the attacker’s web browser. Remediation and Mitigation Strategies -template-..-2F..-2F..-2F..-2Froot-2F.aws-2Fcredentials
Example of a malicious log line (Nginx format):
Thus, path traversal is often the first step in a multi‑stage attack.
Never accept arbitrary file paths from users. Maintain a strict whitelist of allowed template names (e.g., ['home', 'about', 'contact'] ). Reject any input that does not match. The payload string "-template-
While those cases involved different vectors, path traversal remains a top-10 OWASP risk (A01:2021 – Broken Access Control).
The specific destination of this malicious traversal payload is /root/.aws/credentials . Understanding what resides inside this file highlights why it is a prime target for cybercriminals. Default Storage Layout
Once the attacker reaches the system root, they specify the exact path of the target file. Decoded, this section translates to: /root/.aws/credentials Maintain a strict whitelist of allowed template names (e
Repeated four times: ..-2F..-2F..-2F..-2F → ../../../../ – This moves four levels up from the current directory.
$base = '/var/www/templates/'; $path = realpath($base . $_GET['file']); if ($path === false || strpos($path, $base) !== 0) die('Access denied');
If the application simply concatenates "templates/" with user input, an attacker can escape the templates/ directory using ../ sequences. If -2F is later decoded to / , the effective path becomes templates/-template-../../../../root/.aws/credentials , which after path cleaning may still yield /root/.aws/credentials .
Directory traversal (or path traversal) is an HTTP exploit that allows attackers to access unauthorized directories. Attackers manipulate file paths used by an application to execute commands or read files outside the intended web root directory. This usually happens when an application passes user-supplied input directly to a file system API without proper sanitization. Decoding the Payload