thinQtankLABS

Detection Engineering & Incident Response: CVE-2025-31131

Respond to a YesWiki path-traversal data breach (CVE-2025-31131). Reconstruct the timeline from the access and file-read logs, see how squelette traversal read /etc/passwd and the config (DB credentials), scope the exposure, engineer a detection rule for traversal, then contain at the WAF, eradicate (upgrade + rotate the exposed secrets), verify and report.

Intermediate 21 guided steps 6 tasks About 75 minutes Runs in your browser

Skills you will practice

  • Log analysis
  • detection and IR; Incident-handling lifecycle; Path traversal and IOCs; Security Operations and data protection

Certifications this lab maps to

This lab builds hands-on skills that appear on these certification exams. thinQtank Learning runs instructor-led training camps for each — click one to see upcoming classes.

CompTIA CySA+ CS0-003 Log analysis, detection and IR Training at thinQtank Learning EC-Council Certified Incident Handler E|CIH Incident-handling lifecycle Training at thinQtank Learning EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker CEH Path traversal and IOCs Training at thinQtank Learning ISC2 CISSP CISSP Security Operations and data protection Training at thinQtank Learning
Part of these certification lab packages: CySA+ CS0-003 CISSP Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) CEH Certified Incident Handler (E|CIH) E|CIH GCIH GCIH GCIA GCIA

The scenario

A public YesWiki site (CVE-2025-31131 open) logged squelette requests with ../ traversal that returned /etc/passwd and the config file. You are the responder. Classify it.

What you will do

  1. Open and classify the incident4 steps

    Open the incident · Read the alert · Read the ticket · Classify it

  2. Reconstruct the timeline3 steps

    Pull the attacker’s requests · Correlate the file-read log · What was the impact?

  3. Scope the exposure3 steps

    Inspect the exposed config · What must be rotated? · Record IOCs

  4. Engineer a detection rule4 steps

    Study the sample · Write a rule · Test and tune · Why not flag every squelette?

  5. Contain, eradicate, verify5 steps

    Contain: block traversal at the WAF · Upgrade YesWiki · Rotate the exposed secrets · Verify the host · …

  6. Report2 steps

    Write the report · Why rotate, not just patch?

How this lab works

A real Linux-style console. Commands run against real files, so hashes, hex dumps and comparisons give real results.

A file browser where you can place evidence into the lab, either the file provided or one of your own.

Reset a single step, a whole task or the entire lab. The environment is rebuilt so you can try again cleanly.

Progress saves after every step. Close the tab and come back later; your files and answers are waiting.