1. HackTheBox Spookypass Challenge Writeup
🔐 Control Introduction
“SpookyPass” ek reverse engineering challenge hai jo Hack The Box ke Hack The Boo 2024 event ka part tha. Ye challenge “very easy” category mein aata hai, isliye beginners ke liye kaafi acha starting point hai.
Is challenge mein humein ek executable file di gayi hoti hai jo run karne par ek password maangti hai. Humara objective hai is program ka analysis karna aur uss correct password ko identify karna taaki hum access le sakein.
Is challenge ko solve karne ke liye basic reverse engineering tools aur thodi si logical thinking ki zarurat hoti hai. Agar aap beginner ho ya OSCP ya CPTS jaise certifications ke liye practice kar rahe ho, toh yeh challenge aapke liye perfect hai!
👻 SpookyPass Challenge Description
Town ke saare coolest ghosts ek Haunted Houseparty attend kar rahe hain — lekin entry sirf unhi ko milegi jo prove kar sakein ke woh bhi is haunted circle ka part banne layak hain! 🎃
Tumhare paas ek mystery executable hai, jo tumse ek password maangta hai. Agar tum sahi password guess kar paaye — ya better, reverse engineer karke dhoond liya — toh tumhara welcome hai iss spooky party mein! 🧛♂️
Kya tum apni reverse engineering skills use karke prove kar sakte ho ki tum bhi ek elite ghost hacker ho? Ya tum party ke bahar hi reh jaoge? 😈
🛠️ Reverse Engineering & Using Strings Tool
Yeh challenge basic reverse engineering skills ko test karne ke liye design kiya gaya hai — jaise ki binary ke andar maujood strings ko examine karna aur simple password validation mechanism ko samajhna. Yeh un logon ke liye ek introductory exercise hai jo abhi-abhi reverse engineering seekhna shuru kar rahe hain.
Jab aap provided binary ko execute karte ho, toh woh aapse ek password maangta hai. Goal yeh hai ki aap program ko analyze karke correct password dhoondh nikaalo.
Is process mein aap kuch common techniques use karoge:
Binary mein hardcoded strings ko inspect karna (using
stringscommand)Program ki logic ko samajhna using tools jaise Ghidra ya IDA
Ya phir executable ko debug karke uska behavior trace karna
Yeh challenge kaafi simple banaya gaya hai, taaki beginners comfortably seekh sakein. Isliye yeh ek perfect starting point hai unke liye jo reverse engineering mein naye hain. 💻🔍
Welcome to the SPOOKIEST party of the year.
Before we let you in, you’ll need to give us the password: foo
You’re not a real ghost; clear off!Saalo ka sabse SPOOKIEST party mein aapka swagat hai!
Lekin andar aane se pehle, humein ek password do:foo
Tum asli bhoot nahi ho… nikal lo yahaan se! 👻🚫
strings command ka use karke hum kisi binary file se printable text (jo readable hota hai) nikaal sakte hain. Ye method kaafi useful hoti hai jab hume hidden data dhoondhna ho—jaise ki hardcoded passwords, error messages, ya program ke andar chhipe hue clues.
Agar hum strings command ko binary pe run karein, toh ho sakta hai hume koi hint mil jaaye, ya kabhi-kabhi toh password bhi plain text mein mil jaata hai—especially educational ya basic challenges mein.
Agar strings se kuch kaam ka nahi milta, toh fir hum aur advanced analysis kar sakte hain, jaise binary ko disassemble karna (assembly code dekhna).
Is output se clearly pata chal raha hai ki strings ./pass command ne binary file me se plain text extract kiya hai — aur beech mein ek password bhi mil gaya:
s3cr3t_p455_f0r_gh05t5_4nd_gh0ul5
Yeh password shayad program ke andar hardcoded tha, aur strings command se easily reveal ho gaya. Ye technique beginner-level CTFs (Capture The Flag) ya binary challenges mein kaafi effective hoti hai, jab passwords ya hints bina encryption ke direct text format mein diye jaate hain.
Ab tum is password ko use karke program ke aage ke steps unlock kar sakte ho ya agla stage complete kar sakte ho. Nice find! 👻💀
Agar tum binary mein s3cr3t_p455_f0r_gh05t5_4nd_gh0ul5 password daalte ho, toh yeh successfully validate ho jaata hai, aur tumhe flag milta hai.
Iska matlab hai ki binary ka logic internally isi string ke against password ko check karta hai — validation mechanism ka part hai yeh.
Congratulations! Tumne challenge solve kar liya! 🎉
