A security analyst notices a series of requests on a company's web server logs. Each request tries to retrieve different paths that are not commonly accessed, and all the requests come from one external network address within a brief time window. Which of the following best describes the intent of these requests?
A misconfigured automatic task on the server
A user navigating the company's public website pages
Reconnaissance by an attacker attempting to discover unlinked content or vulnerabilities
Execution of client-side scripts from a user's web browser
The pattern described suggests a reconnaissance action, possibly an attacker performing a directory traversal to uncover hidden files, directories, or exploit potential vulnerabilities. Normal browsing behavior usually involves fewer requests and focuses on typical, user-facing paths. Client-side scripting refers to scripts running in a user's browser, generally not visible on server logs. A misconfigured scheduled task might repeatedly access the same path, not different uncommon ones.
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What is directory traversal and why is it a concern?
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