Skip to Content

Ethical Hacking: How Can You Use the ‘inurl:’ Google Dork to Find SQL Injection Vulnerabilities?

Why Is ‘inurl:’ the Key Operator for Locating Vulnerable URL Parameters?

Learn to use the inurl: Google dork to discover potentially vulnerable URL parameters for SQL injection testing. Understand how this operator helps locate dynamic pages with query strings like .php?id= which are common entry points for attacks.

Question

When using Google dorks for SQL injection, which keyword is often used to locate vulnerable parameters?

A. cache:
B. filetype:docx
C. select * from
D. inurl:

Answer

D. inurl:

Explanation

The inurl: operator is used in Google dorks to find URLs with query parameters.

The inurl: operator is a Google dork that restricts search results to pages containing a specific string within their URL. This is the primary method for finding web pages with URL parameters that might be vulnerable to SQL injection. Attackers use it to locate dynamic pages that accept user input directly from the URL.

For example, a search like inurl:.php?id= will return a list of web pages that use a PHP script and pass a parameter named id in the URL. These parameters are often used to retrieve data from a database, making them a prime target for SQL injection. An attacker would then test these URLs by appending SQL injection payloads to the id parameter.

The other options are incorrect for the following reasons:

A. cache: This operator displays Google’s cached version of a website. It is used for viewing a page as it appeared during Google’s last crawl, not for finding specific URL structures.

B. filetype:docx: The filetype: operator searches for specific types of files. While useful in other contexts (e.g., filetype:log to find log files), searching for .docx files is irrelevant to finding injectable URL parameters in a web application.

C. select * from: This is a fragment of an SQL query, not a Google search operator. While an attacker might search for this string within page text (intext:”select * from”) to find SQL error messages, it is not used to locate vulnerable parameters in the URL itself.

Ethical Hacking with Metasploit, SQL & Crypto certification exam assessment practice question and answer (Q&A) dump including multiple choice questions (MCQ) and objective type questions, with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the Ethical Hacking with Metasploit, SQL & Crypto exam and earn Ethical Hacking with Metasploit, SQL & Crypto certificate.