Windows supports (Universal Naming Convention), which allow access to network shares using the syntax \\server\share\path . cURL on Windows will accept UNC paths via the file:// protocol, effectively turning local file access into SSRF attacks (Server-Side Request Forgery):
This public link is valid for 7 days and shares a thread, including any personal information you added. This link or copies made by others cannot be deleted. If you share with third parties, their policies apply. Can’t copy the link right now. Try again later. URL syntax - curl
curl-url-file:/// → which is a shorthand way of writing: curl file:///
By explicitly setting this flag, any attempt to use file:/// , even if successfully decoded from file-3A-2F-2F-2F , will be strictly rejected by cURL. 2. Implement Strict Input Validation curl-url-file-3A-2F-2F-2F
curl file:/// is a valid way to browse your hard drive.
curl "file%3A%2F%2F%2Fetc%2Fpasswd"
curl file:///absolute/path/to/file
into the alphanumeric string you provided to prevent the system from accidentally executing the path. Common Usage Example
The three slashes after the colon indicate a blank hostname (representing the "localhost") followed by an absolute path starting with / . Security Considerations
curl file:///var/log/syslog | head -20
Do you need a code snippet to for your specific setup?
Or use Python:
# Read a system file curl file:///etc/hostname If you share with third parties, their policies apply