Detect Path Traversal in JSON | Dataford Interview Questions

Given a JSON-like Python object representing a nested directory tree, write a function that returns all suspicious file or directory paths that may indicate path traversal. The input may contain nested dictionaries and lists. A node can include name, path, and children fields, and a path is suspicious if its normalized form attempts to escape the root using segments like ...

Constraints

The input contains at most 10^5 total nested nodes.
Each path value, when present, is a string of length between 0 and 10^4.
Only /, ., and .. need to be interpreted specially during normalization.
The solution should inspect arbitrarily nested dictionaries and lists.

Function Signature

def find_path_traversal(payload):

Your question is Detect Path Traversal in JSON. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.

Problem

Constraints

The input contains at most 10^5 total nested nodes.
Each path value, when present, is a string of length between 0 and 10^4.
Only /, ., and .. need to be interpreted specially during normalization.
The solution should inspect arbitrarily nested dictionaries and lists.

Function Signature

def find_path_traversal(payload):

Your question is Detect Path Traversal in JSON. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.