ESPILON-CTF-2026-Writeups/README.md
2026-03-26 17:31:10 +00:00

5.0 KiB

CTF Espilon — Write-ups

Welcome to the official write-up repository for CTF Espilon, a themed CTF inspired by the Serial Experiments Lain universe, set inside the WIRED-MED hospital network of Clinique Sainte-Mika and the surrounding Lain lore.


Challenge Index

# File Category Difficulty Points Flag
1 ESP_Start ESP Easy 50 ESPILON{st4rt_th3_w1r3}
2 Jnouned_Router ESP Multi (Easy→Hard) 100/200/300/400 4 flags
3 Phantom_Byte ESP Multi (Easy→Hard) 100/200/300/500 4 flags
4 CAN_Bus_Implant Hardware Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{c4n_bus_1mpl4nt_4ct1v3}
5 Glitch_The_Wired Hardware Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{gl1tch_byp4ss_s3cur3_b00t}
6 NAVI_I2C_Sniff Hardware Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{n4v1_12c_bus_mast3r}
7 Phantom_JTAG Hardware Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{jt4g_d3bug_unl0ck3d}
8 Serial_Experimental_00 Hardware Easy 150 ESPILON{l41n_s3r14l_3xp_00}
9 Signal_Tap_Lain Hardware Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{s1gn4l_t4p_d3c0d3d}
10 Wired_SPI_Exfil Hardware Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{sp1_fl4sh_3xf1ltr4t3d}
11 The_Wired Intro Medium 400 ESPILON{th3_w1r3d_kn0ws_wh0_y0u_4r3}
12 Anesthesia_Gateway IoT Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{mQtt_g4tw4y_4n3sth3s14}
13 Cr4cK_W1F1 IoT Medium CTF{CR4CK_W1F1_EXAMPLE}
14 Lain_Br34kC0r3 IoT Medium 500 ECW{LAIN_Br34k_CryPT0}
15 Lain_Br34kC0r3_V2 IoT Hard 500 ESPILON{3sp32_fl4sh_dump_r3v3rs3d}
16 Lain_VS_Knights IoT Hard ESPILON{0nlY_L41N_C4N_S0lv3}
17 Lets_All_Hate_UART IoT Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{u4rt_nvs_fl4sh_d1sc0v3ry}
18 Lets_All_Love_UART IoT Easy 500 ESPILON{LAIN_TrUsT_U4RT}
19 Nurse_Call IoT Easy 200 ESPILON{r3v31ll3_m01_d4ns_l3_w1r3d}
20 Observe_The_Wired IoT Medium-Hard ESPILON{c0ap_0bs3rv3_th3_w1r3d}
21 Wired_Airwave_013 IoT Medium 500 ESPILON{sdr_fsk_w1r3d_m3d_013}
22 Accela_Signal Misc Hard 500 ESPILON{4cc3l4_ch1rp_spr34d_w1r3d}
23 AETHER_NET Misc Insane ESPILON{4eth3r_n3t_d3us_4dm1n}
24 Last_Train_451 Misc TBD TBD
25 LAYER_ZERO Misc Hard 600 ESPILON{kn1ghts_0f_th3_w1r3d_pr0t0c0l7}
26 Patient_Portal Misc Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{r00t_0f_s41nt3_m1k4}
27 Cyberia_Grid OT Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{cyb3r14_ps7ch3_pr0c3ss0r}
28 Operating_Room OT Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{m0dbu5_0p3r4t1ng_r00m}
29 Protocol_Seven OT Hard 600 ESPILON{pr0t0c0l_7_m3rg3_c0mpl3t3}
30 Schumann_Resonance OT Medium 400 ESPILON{sch0m4nn_r3s0n4nc3_783}
31 Tachibana_SCADA OT Medium-Hard 500 ESPILON{31r1_k1ds_pr0t0c0l_s3v3n}
32 GANTZ_BALL_CONTRACT Web3 Insane 500 ESPILON{g4ntz_b4ll_100_p01nts_fr33d0m}
33 TACHIBANA_FIRMWARE_REGISTRY Web3 Insane 500 ESPILON{t4ch1b4n4_fuzz_f1rmw4r3_r3g1stry}

Categories

  • ESP — ESP32 firmware challenges (flashing, UART, WiFi, custom protocols)
  • Hardware — Simulated hardware bus interfaces (UART, I2C, SPI, JTAG, CAN, signal decoding, voltage glitching)
  • Intro — Entry-point challenge covering the ESPILON bot C2 infrastructure
  • IoT — IoT protocol challenges (MQTT, CoAP, UART, SDR/FSK, WiFi)
  • Misc — Mixed challenges (signal processing, web exploitation, multi-pivot)
  • OT — Operational Technology / Industrial protocols (Modbus, BACnet, OPC-UA, EtherNet/IP)
  • Web3 — Ethereum smart contract exploitation (reentrancy, assembly underflow, bytecode reversal)

Lore

The CTF is set in the world of Serial Experiments Lain. Challenges revolve around the WIRED-MED medical network of Clinique Sainte-Mika, the covert KIDS experiment at Tachibana General Laboratories, and the mysterious Protocol Seven scattered across industrial systems by Eiri Masami before his disappearance. Knights of the Eastern Calculus guard the deepest layers.


Author: Eun0us — CTF Espilon 2026