nginx is a static server, a FastCGI gateway, and a reverse proxy at once, and its misconfigurations cluster around each role. Fingerprint it from Server: nginx, its default error pages, and location/proxy behavior, then work this checklist. nginx config is copy-pasted constantly, so the same handful of mistakes recur across targets.

What to check#

• alias off-by-slash: a location without a trailing slash plus an alias with one concatenates following characters (including ..) onto the target path, leaking the parent directory.
• FastCGI/PHP-FPM wiring: fastcgi_split_path_info plus cgi.fix_pathinfo executing files that merely contain .php in the path, and exposed FPM sockets.
• Variable proxy_pass: an upstream built from request data ($host, an argument) turns the proxy into an SSRF vehicle.
• Slash and normalization: merge_slashes off, encoded-slash handling, and location prefix matching that disagrees with the filesystem or an upstream.

Pages#

• Alias off-by-slash: the location/alias traversal into the parent directory.
• FastCGI and PHP-FPM: fastcgi_split_path_info upload execution, FPM exposure, and SCRIPT_FILENAME control.
• Variable proxy_pass SSRF: user-influenced upstream selection and internal routing.
• merge_slashes and normalization: slash and prefix handling that bypasses location-based rules.

References#

• nginx documentation: location, alias, fastcgi_split_path_info, proxy_pass, merge_slashes
• Orange Tsai: nginx off-by-slash and parser research