Which attack method involves placing a backdoor in a web application to gain remote access?

Which attack method involves placing a backdoor in a web application to gain remote access?

• A. Web Shell
• B. Web Shell Detection
• C. Data Staging
• D. Command and Control Server Detection

Answer: (A)

A backdoor placed in a web application to gain remote access is a web shell. A web shell is a lightweight script uploaded to a server (often through a vulnerability or weak credentials) that provides an interactive command interface over HTTP. Once present, the attacker can access it via a browser or tool, execute commands on the server, upload or download files, and sometimes move laterally to other systems. Its web-based nature means it can be invoked through a URL and can blend in with normal web traffic, making it a stealthy way to maintain remote access. The other terms relate to different activities rather than the backdoor method itself: web shell detection focuses on finding such shells, data staging is about preparing data for exfiltration, and command and control server detection concerns identifying the infrastructure used to control compromised hosts.

A backdoor placed in a web application to gain remote access is a web shell. A web shell is a lightweight script uploaded to a server (often through a vulnerability or weak credentials) that provides an interactive command interface over HTTP. Once present, the attacker can access it via a browser or tool, execute commands on the server, upload or download files, and sometimes move laterally to other systems. Its web-based nature means it can be invoked through a URL and can blend in with normal web traffic, making it a stealthy way to maintain remote access.

The other terms relate to different activities rather than the backdoor method itself: web shell detection focuses on finding such shells, data staging is about preparing data for exfiltration, and command and control server detection concerns identifying the infrastructure used to control compromised hosts.