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WebShells

Glossary

Webroot

The directory tree a web server serves content from; any executable file placed there can potentially be requested and run.

The webroot (or document root) is the directory a web server maps to its URL space — for example /var/www/html for Apache or C:\inetpub\wwwroot for IIS — along with any aliases and virtual directories.

Anything in the webroot that the server treats as code can be executed by requesting its URL. Keeping uploads out of the webroot, making code directories read-only to the runtime identity, and monitoring the webroot for new executable files are foundational web shell defences.