Bandit: Level 9 - Level 10

Level 9

Username: bandit9
Password: 4CKMh1JI91bUIZZPXDqGanal4xvAg0JM

Task:

https://overthewire.org/wargames/bandit/bandit10.html

The password for the next level is stored in the file data.txt in one of the few human-readable strings, preceded by several ‘=’ characters.

Commands you may need to solve this level
grep, sort, uniq, strings, base64, tr, tar, gzip, bzip2, xxd

Start

Let’s begin by connecting to the server bandit.labs.overthewire.org and logging in with user bandit9 on port 2220.

We have several commands available for this task:

man (1)              - an interface to the system reference manuals
grep (1)             - print lines that match patterns
sort (1)             - sort lines of text files
uniq (1)             - report or omit repeated lines
strings (1)          - print the sequences of printable characters in files
base64 (1)           - base64 encode/decode data and print to standard output
tr (1)               - translate or delete characters
tar (1)              - an archiving utility
gzip (1)             - compress or expand files
bzip2 (1)            - a block-sorting file compressor, v1.0.8
xxd (1)              - make a hex dump or do the reverse.

Solve the level

Another look to the commands we can/should use and this time the command strings is popping off. It prints sequences of printable characters in files, which sounds perfect.

We learned already to use | and grep to send output and search for keywords.

Lets try it:

bandit9@bandit:~$ strings data.txt |grep ===
\a!;========== the
========== passwordf
========== isc
========== FGUW5ilLVJrxX9kMYMmlN4MgbpfMiqey

Alright, we got the passwort.

Password: FGUW5ilLVJrxX9kMYMmlN4MgbpfMiqey

Explanation:

Understanding the strings Command

The strings command in Linux is used to extract and display sequences of printable characters from binary files. This is particularly useful for examining non-text files such as hex dumps or executable files.

Key Points:

• Extract Printable Text: strings scans a file and outputs sequences of printable characters, which helps in identifying readable content within binary or non-printable files.

• Common Use Cases: It is often used to search through files like executables or dumps to find embedded text or debug information that may not be immediately visible in a raw binary format.

By using strings, you can reveal human-readable text within files that would otherwise appear as a jumble of non-printable characters.