ESPILON-CTF-2026-Writeups/Hardware/Signal_Tap_Lain

Signal Tap Lain

Field	Value
Category	Hardware
Difficulty	Medium-Hard
Points	500
Author	Eun0us
CTF	Espilon 2026

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Description

A debug probe is capturing signals from Lain's NAVI. Three channels are being recorded, but what protocol is in use?

• Signal Tap: tcp/<host>:3800

Capture the data, identify the protocol, and decode the message.

Format: ESPILON{...}

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TL;DR

Download a multi-channel logic analyzer CSV capture. Identify that channel 1 carries UART at 9600 baud by measuring the bit period. Implement UART 8N1 decoding (LSB-first) and extract the ASCII flag, which is repeated 3 times in the stream.

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Tools

Tool	Purpose
nc	Capture the signal tap data
Python 3 / numpy	Logic analysis and UART decoding
info command	Get channel metadata from the service

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Solution

Step 1 — Connect and capture

nc <host> 3800 > capture.csv

Wait for --- END OF CAPTURE --- then press Ctrl+C.

Step 2 — Get metadata

Connect again and issue:

info

Output:

Channels: 3
  ch0: reference clock (always HIGH)
  ch1: data line
  ch2: noise channel
Sample rate: 1 MHz

📸 [screenshot: info command output listing the three channels]

Step 3 — Analyze channel 1

Focus on ch1. The key observations:

• Idle state is HIGH (logic 1) — consistent with UART
• Periodic falling edges = start bits
• Measure the time between the start bit falling edge and the next bit transition

Step 4 — Calculate baud rate

Measure the minimum pulse width in the ch1 column:

Bit period ≈ 104.17 μs
Baud rate = 1 / 0.00010417 ≈ 9600 baud

A 10-bit UART frame (1 start + 8 data + 1 stop) = ~1041.67 μs.

📸 [screenshot: Python script measuring bit periods from ch1 transitions]

Step 5 — Decode UART 8N1

import csv

# Load capture
with open("capture.csv") as f:
    reader = csv.DictReader(f)
    rows = list(reader)

timestamps = [float(r["timestamp_us"]) for r in rows]
ch1 = [int(r["ch1"]) for r in rows]

BIT_PERIOD = 104.17  # microseconds at 9600 baud
chars = []
i = 0
while i < len(ch1) - 1:
    # Find start bit (falling edge: HIGH → LOW)
    if ch1[i] == 1 and ch1[i+1] == 0:
        start_time = timestamps[i+1]
        # Sample 8 data bits at center of each bit period
        bits = []
        for b in range(8):
            sample_time = start_time + BIT_PERIOD * (1.5 + b)
            # Find closest sample
            j = min(range(len(timestamps)),
                    key=lambda k: abs(timestamps[k] - sample_time))
            bits.append(ch1[j])
        # LSB first
        byte = int("".join(map(str, reversed(bits))), 2)
        if 32 <= byte <= 126:
            chars.append(chr(byte))
        i += int(BIT_PERIOD * 10 / (timestamps[1] - timestamps[0]))
    else:
        i += 1

print("".join(chars))

The decoded message contains the flag repeated three times.

📸 [screenshot: decoded UART output showing the flag repeated]

Key concepts

• Logic analysis: Reading digital waveforms and identifying protocols from timing patterns
• UART 8N1: Start bit (HIGH→LOW), 8 data bits LSB-first, no parity bit, 1 stop bit (HIGH)
• Baud rate detection: The shortest pulse width in the signal equals one bit period
• Signal separation: Channel 0 is a reference clock, channel 1 carries data, channel 2 is noise; only ch1 has meaningful transitions

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Flag

ESPILON{s1gn4l_t4p_d3c0d3d}