Linux Rules The World!
Linux Rules The World!
This is a series of Linux challenges hosted during CDDC 2021. The challenges must be solved in order.
Much less time was able to be spent on this series of challenges, due to stability issues. Users in the box were able to kill other users processes, flood terminals with the wall command, and tamper with the challenges. Due to lack of technical intervention from the organizers, the uptime of this challenge was so low that it was no longer worth spending time on. I honestly was hoping to be able to try them, as linux challenges are another of my favourite challenge categories due to my experiences while taking the PWK course. Hopefully in the future, these challenges will be hosted somewhere where I can attempt them without the box going down once every few seconds.
Challenge #1: Opening The Gate
Points: 200
Challenge text:
One of TheKeepers has successfully obtained what seems to be one of the GDC private servers. He has sent me the image and another file, but unfortunately, I’m not great with Linux. I think you’re the one for this mission.
Target IP: 13.213.192.83
Solution
The files provided were bot1.key and a text file named Notes.txt
Contents of Notes.txt
This is the starting challenge, which is to connect to the target via SSH.
Challenge #2: Scrambled Eggs
Points: 200
Challenge text:
Now you’re asking me what are all of these strings? This file looks like scrambled eggs to me. Those crazy Cybots always try to make it harder.
Solution
The first step of course, is to change to the next user, bot2, using the flag from bot1.
In the home directory, we see a file containing a long list of invalid flag. Based on past CTFs, this challenge involves finding the line in the correct flag format. This is a relatively simple challenge. Since the flag format is CDDC21{Flag}, we can write simple regex to find the flag.
I pasted the following regex into an online regex tester, along with the challenge file.
This regex matches for a line that starts with CDDC21{ and ends with }. Flag found! CDDC21{Th1s_!s_IT}
Challenge #3: Another Path
Points: 200
Challenge text:
You must continue and pwn this machine. Please don’t bother me with all those bots. I know they’re connected somehow. If you feel stuck, try to take another path.
Solution
As before, the flag of bot2 was used to su as bot3. In bot3's home directory. There is a file named flag.txt owned by bot4. Given the challenge description, I can assume that this is a linux privilege escalation challenge. The goal is to execute a command as bot4, which woudl allow us to read the flag.
Since the home directory was not writable, I had to first locate a writable folder to run my tools from. I eventually found /run/screen was writable. I ran linpeas.sh, a common linux privilege escalation checker script. The script found that the "systeminfo" binary had the setuid bit set, and was owned by bot4. This means that if we can get it to execute commands for us, we can read the flag.
After a while, I noticed that the systeminfo binary used in the box was not the original binary that came with ubuntu. Based on the output, this binary was executing the "id" command. This can be exploited by adding our writable directory to the PATH environmental variable, and creating an "id" script in it. This way, when the "id" command is executed, it executes our script instead of the real one since it comes first in the PATH. This can be done with the following command:
Now, executing the systeminfo binary drops us into a shell as bot4!
Flag found! CDDC21{SU1d_!s_Qu1Te_DangeRouS}
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