Challenge list
Linux-02. Privilege Escalation via a Sudo-Allowed Vim
Check which commands a regular user can run via sudo without a password. A well-known GTFOBins technique can let you…
Linux-03. Reading Cron Configuration Files
This system has several cron configurations (/etc/cron.d, /etc/crontab, user crontabs, and more). Inspect each…
Linux-Cron Privesc. Hijacking a Writable Root Script
Check the permissions of a cron script that root executes periodically. If a regular user can write to it, think about…
Linux-Systemd. Checking a Service Unit's Environment Variable
A systemd unit file can set environment variables in its [Service] section. Inspect the registered service definition…
Linux-Symlink Maze. Navigating a Branching Path
Several directories are connected in a tangled web of symbolic links. Without being misled by decoy hint files, follow…
Linux-Script Debug. Fixing a Broken Bash Script
This script has several intentional bugs (typos, syntax mistakes) and fails to run to completion. Use bash's debugging…
Linux-Network Basics. Connecting to a Listening Port
A background service on this system is listening on a specific port. Identify the port with ss/netstat and connect to…
Linux-Backup Finder. Spotting the Real Temp File
The project directory contains several decoy backup/temp files ending in .bak, .tmp, or ~. The real flag is hidden…
Linux-Pipeline. Narrowing Down Logs with grep and awk
The access log contains many entries. One IP address generated a burst of 404s, and stitching together the paths of…
Linux-Package Info. Inspecting Installed Package Details
A custom-built deb package is installed on this system. Use dpkg or apt to inspect the package's details and find…
Linux-Process Hunting. Tracking Down a Running Process
Among several background processes, one has the flag embedded in its command-line arguments. List them with ps and…
Linux-User Investigation. Filtering the Target User with awk
Several users are registered on this system. Parse /etc/passwd with awk to find the one matching a specific condition,…
Linux-Log Rotation. Searching Compressed Historical Logs
Some older log files have been gzip-compressed by log rotation. Use a command that searches inside compressed files…
Linux-Log Explorer. Digging the Flag Out of Multiple Logs
Multiple application and system log files are provided. The flag is embedded in a single DEBUG-level line — narrow it…
Linux-Environment Secrets. Finding the Variable Named FLAG
Several environment variables, including some dummy credentials, are set on this system. List them with env and find…
Hidden PDF Streams
The PDF file contains compressed object streams. An internal note that is not shown on the page is hidden inside them.…
RC4 Stream Cipher Weakness
RC4 was once widely used but is now deprecated. This introductory task focuses on recognizing the provided data…
Vigenere Cipher Decryption
Decrypt a Vigenere cipher when the key length is known and retrieve the flag. Ciphertext:…
Find USB History in Windows Registry
Analyze the SYSTEM file (a text model of the USBSTOR part of the registry hive) to identify the USB device that was…
Find Secret File in Disk Image
Inspect the ext4 filesystem disk image `disk.img`, find the secret backup hidden in the filesystem, and recover the…
Finding Hash Collisions
MD5 collisions are practical. Hashes with broken collision resistance must not be used for security-sensitive…
Hash Length Extension Attack
Simple signatures such as hash(secret || message) can be vulnerable to length extension attacks with Merkle-Damgard…
Find Password in Packet Capture
Clear-text HTTP traffic from a shop's internal network was captured. Among many requests, exactly one is the…
Padding Oracle Basics
Padding oracle attacks use error differences as a plaintext recovery signal. This introductory task decodes leaked…