Alex Mercenary | Category: Cybersecurity / CTF Walkthrough If you’ve been following along with our Capture The Flag (CTF) series, you know that Challenge 1 was a gentle handshake. Challenge 2 , however, is where the gloves come off.
At first, you click flag.txt excitedly. But you’re met with a 403 Forbidden or a decoy message: "Not this time, hacker."
Developers often forget that .git directories contain the entire history of a project, including deleted secrets. The "index" in Git isn't just a list of files—it's a staging area for your next commit. If an attacker can read it, they can travel back in time. index of challenge 2
Final Thoughts Challenge 2 teaches a critical real-world lesson: Directory indexing + exposed version control = Game over.
Let’s break down exactly how to solve it. When you navigate to the provided endpoint (let’s call it http://target/challenge2/ ), you are greeted with a raw Apache-style directory listing: Alex Mercenary | Category: Cybersecurity / CTF Walkthrough
User: pentest_low Note: The .git index is corrupted. Restore HEAD. Bingo. This isn't a standard web challenge anymore. This is a challenge. Step 3: The Exploit - Restoring the Index If the .git folder is exposed (try /challenge2/.git/ ), and you see a directory listing there, you can download the entire repo using wget or git-dumper .
Cracking the Code: A Deep Dive into the "Index of Challenge 2" But you’re met with a 403 Forbidden or
Happy hacking. Have a different approach to "index of challenge 2"? Drop your methodology in the comments below.
Decode the .enc file using the key found in the Git history ( git reflog ):
rm .git/index git reset HEAD . Suddenly, files that were "deleted" or hidden reappear. You’ll see a file named backup_ flag.txt (without the space) or user_flag.enc . After restoring the Git index, run ls -la . You’ll find a symlink or a hidden file like .secret/creds .
openssl enc -d -aes-256-cbc -in user_flag.enc -out flag.txt -pass pass:CTFgit_is_not_backup And there it is: