Day 23 · Week 4

File inclusion and command injection

Complete File Inclusion and Command Injection, then practise distinguishing file-path handling from shell execution.

TryHackMe rooms

Corresponding practice

  • On each room target, identify the input, processing context, and evidence of server-side impact.
  • Build a comparison table for traversal, local file inclusion, remote file inclusion, and command injection.
  • Confirm findings with the least disruptive room-provided test and avoid unnecessary commands.
  • Add one prevention note for canonicalisation, allowlisting, safe APIs, and least privilege.

Evidence to capture

  • Source/sink or input/impact notes
  • Sanitised request and response evidence
  • A concise remediation checklist

What I learned

Explain how the observed behaviour showed file access or command execution rather than a generic error.

Problems and dead ends

Record failed encodings, paths, or separators and what the response revealed.

What I will revisit

Repeat one validation technique without the room walkthrough.