CTF for beginners!!! What is CTF?

CTF ⇒ Capture The FLAG

CTF is an information security contest in which participants are assigned a certain number of tasks to get into the servers and steal an encoded string from a hidden file.

This string resembles sensitive information and is known as a flag. Participants capture these flags using their ethical h@cking skills and put these flags into the CTF server.

Points are allotted for each flag as per the difficulty level of the tasks—the higher the difficulty level of the task, the more points you will score. The participant or the team scoring the highest points will be the winner of the CTF event

Many information security communities organize these CTF events. 

 Types of CTF events? 

 CTF events can be broadly categorized into the following three parts: 

 

Jeopardy-style CTF Attack-defense CTF Mixed-syle CTF 

1. Jeopardy-style CTF ⇒ In Jeopardy-style, there is either a test or many tasks you have to solve You need to apply all the information security aptitudes you own to get a bit of encoded string. The next challenges in the series will get unlocked only after the completion of previous ones. Jeopardy-style covers Web, Cryptography, Reverse designing, Pawning, Forensics, Steganography related challenges.

 2. Attack-Defense Style CTF ⇒ In Attack-Defense style CTF, two groups are competing with each other. In this, you have to break into other group’s security posture to get the flag while protecting your host machine from the opponents Before the contest starts, a definite time frame is given to both the groups to identify the vulnerabilities in their systems and fix them The groups obtain points for infiltration as well as defending against the opponent’s attacks. It requires coordination among team members to score maximum points. This type of event is also known as the Red Team/Blue Team CTF.

 3. Mixed Style CTFs ⇒ The mixed style is a blend of both the Jeopardy-style and the Attack-Defense style CTFs. The organizers can set up an attack-defense competition having challenges of different kinds or a jeopardy competition having attack-defense challenges. 

Types of challenges in CTF events? 

 Binary exploitation: To solve these tasks, you need an in-depth knowledge of programming. You have to identify a vulnerability in a program and exploit it to take control of the shell or change the function of the program.

 Cryptography: These challenges involve converting strings from one format to another or encryption and decryption of ciphertexts to reach out to the flag.

 Web Exploitation: In these types of challenges, you have to exploit the target machine using exploitation methods such as SQL injection, buffer overflow, and cross-site scripting. 

Reverse engineering: In these types of challenges, reverse engineering knowledge is required to solve a particular problem. In reverse engineering, you have to convert a compiled code into an easy to comprehend format. 

Forensics: In these types of challenges, you will be asked to retrieve the executable or flag hidden in different types of files. For example, a flag may be hidden inside manipulated jpg images, registries, memory, and logs. 

Benefits of playing CTFs ? 

 CTFs are the best way to practice and enhance your information security skills, such as web exploitation, reverse engineering, binary exploitation, forensics, and many more. When you take part in CTF events and compete in groups, it helps you develop a team spirit. 

Coordination among team members is essential to achieve the target. It also provides you an opportunity to meet like-minded people. CTFs enable you to develop your problem-solving and analytical skills to use in real-work scenarios. C

TF tasks are usually based on real-world vulnerabilities and security incidents. Nowadays, CTF problems are asked in job interviews to test the skills of professionals. So, taking participation in the CTF contest may help you prepare for the cybersecurity job interviews as well. 

While playing CTF, you will learn how to handle pressure while honing your ethical h@cking skills. You learn new creative ways to solve problems. CTFs events serve as an opportunity for the white hat h@ckers to evaluate their skills and get recognition. C

TF organizers also provide financial incentives, lucrative prizes to the winners. CTF Frameworks or All-In-One Tools for CTF PwnTools – a CTF framework and exploit development library used by Gallopsled in every CTF CTF-tools – a Github repository of open-source scripts for your CTF needs like binwalk and apktool 

Metasploit Framework – aside from being a penetration testing framework and software, Metasploit has modules for automatic exploitation and tools for crafting your exploits like find_badchars.rb, egghunter.rb, patter_offset.rb, pattern_create.rb, etc

ROP gadget – used for ROP exploitation Peda – Python Exploit Development Assistance for GDB

 Google – where you can ask some questions Reverse Engineering Tools, Decompilers and Debuggers Immunity Debugger – a debugger similar to OllyDbg that has some cool plugins with the use of Python

 OllyDbg – the most disassembly-based and GUI debugger for Windows SWFScan – allows you to decompile Flash files gdb – GNU Debugger IDA Pro – Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X hosted multi-processor disassembler and debugger 

WinDbg – Windows Debugger distributed by Microsoft Apktool – a tool for reversing Android apk files PE Tool – provide a handful of useful tools for working with Windows PE executables UPX – Ultimate Packer for eXecutables dex2jar (Android) Radare2 – Unix-like reverse engineering framework and command-line tools Strace – a system call tracer and another debugging tool Objdump – part of GNU Binutils PEID – used to determine if any obfuscator was used to pack the executable file. 

The open source packer that is often used is the UPX packer Tools for Static Code Analysis RIPS – a static code analyzer for auditing vulnerabilities in PHP applications HP Fortify Static Code Analyzer – also known as Fortify SCA which is commercial software that is a multi-language auditor for vulnerabilities

 OWASP Code Crawler – a static code review tool for .NET and J2EE/JAVA code which supports the OWASP Code Review Project 

OWASP LAPSE Project – security auditing tool for detecting vulnerabilities in Java EE Applications Flawfinder – a static source code analyzer that examines C/C++ source code and reports possible security weaknesses 

Forensics Strings – allows you to search and extract ASCII and UNICODE strings from a binary 

SANS SIFT – SANS Investigative Forensic Toolkit (SIFT) is an Ubuntu Live CD ProDiscover Basic – evidence analyzer and data imaging tool Volatility – memory forensics framework 

The Sleuth Kit – open-source digital forensics tool FTK Imager – data preview and imaging tool iPhone Analyzer – used for iPhone Forensics but only supports iOS 2, iOS 3, iOS 4, and iOS 5 devices Xplico – network forensics tool 

Binwalk – firmware analysis tool which allows you to extract the firmware image

 ExifTool – a platform-independent Perl library plus a command-line application for reading, writing, and editing meta information in a wide variety of file formats like EXIF, GPS, IPTC, XMP, JFIF, GeoTIFF, ICC Profile, Photoshop IRB, FlashPix, AFCP, and ID3, as well as the maker notes of many digital cameras by Canon, Casio, FLIR, FujiFilm, GE, HP, JVC/Victor, Kodak, Leaf, Minolta/Konica-Minolta, Nikon, Nintendo, Olympus/Epson, Panasonic/Leica, Pentax/Asahi, Phase One, Reconyx, Ricoh, Samsung, Sanyo, Sigma/Foveon, and Sony dd – a command-line utility for Unix and Linux which allows you to copy and convert files CAINE – Computer Aided Investigative Environment is a Live GNU/Linux distribution which is aimed at digital forensics Autopsy – GUI to the command line digital investigation analysis tools in The Sleuth Kit Any Hex Editors will do 

DEFT Linux – Digital Evidence & Forensics Toolkit Linux distribution Windows Sysinternals – consist of Windows system utilities that contain various useful programs Crypto Hashdump Sage John The Ripper – is a free and fast password cracker available for many flavors of Unix, Windows, DOS, BeOS, and OpenVMS Cryptool – open-source e-learning tool illustrating cryptographic and cryptanalytic concepts crypo.in.ua – online decoder and encoder for crypto and most people who are joining CTF competitions have this website opened while playing 

Steganography Steghide – a stega tool that can be used for embedding or extracting data in various kinds of image and audio files Ffmpeg – cross-platform software to record, convert and stream audio and video Gimp – GNU Image Manipulation Program Audacity – free audio auditor and recorder Stepic – python image steganography 

Pngcheck – PNG tester and debugger which verifies the integrity of PNG, JNG, and MNG files (by checking the internal 32-bit CRCs [checksums] and decompressing the image data) 

OpenStego – free steganography solution OutGuess StegFS MP3Stego – allows you to hide text in MP3 files AtomicParsley – command line program for reading, parsing and setting metadata into MPEG-4 files Foremost – a console program used for file recovery For Web Vulnerability Hunting or Web Exploitation Burp Suite – commonly used for web application security testing and usually for finding manual web vulnerabilities which has an intercepting proxy and customizable plugins

 OWASP ZAP – an Open Web Application Security Project similar to Burp but free and open source WPScan – a blackbox WordPress Vulnerability Scanner W3af – open source web application security scanner 

OWASP Dirbuster – directory bruteforce or discovery tool Bizploit – open source ERP Penetration Testing framework Networking aircrack-ng Suite – an open source WEP/WPA/WPA2 cracking tool which is usually bundled in most pentesting distributions reaver – WiFi Protected Setup attacker tool Kismet – 802.11 layer2 wireless network detector, sniffer, and intrusion detection system

 Pixiewps – a tool used to bruteforce offline the WPS pin exploiting the low or non-existing entropy of some APs (pixie dust attack) 

Nmap – an open source port scanner which has plugins for vulnerability assessment and net discovery 

Wireshark – network sniffer and network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows Netcat -the TCP/IP swiss army

 Captipper – a python tool to analyze, explore, and revive HTTP malicious traffic

 Scapy – a powerful interactive packet manipulation program For Your Protection in Attack in Defend

 Snort – lightweight and free network intrusion detection system for UNIX and Windows Iptables Any Antivirus and Two-Way firewall will do 

Chellam – Wi-Fi IDS/Firewall for Windows which detect Wi-Fi attacks, such as Honeypots, Evil Twins, Mis-association, and Hosted Network-based backdoors, etc., against a Windows-based client without the need of custom hardware or drivers

 peepdf – Python tool to explore PDF files in order to find out if the file can be harmful or not Android IMSI-Catcher Detector – Android app for detecting IMSI-Catchers

Thanks for reading buddy.

To your success

Aman Yadav