Misc [300pts]
Description: Spentalkux 🐍📦
So the description for the challenge is a little vague. But, looks like its a Python package called Spentalkux.
When we import the latest version of this package, we get a message and a small cipher:
This message is a Vigenere cipher. When we decode this, we get a pastebin link:
“Hello, If you’re reading this you’ve managed to find my little… interface. The next stage of the challenge is over at https://pastebin.com/raw/BCiT0sp6″
The pastebin link contains a large hex value that when decoded using CyberChef, we get what looks to be an image:
We use a small python code to convert to image based on this link: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50734133/convert-hex-text-file-to-original-imagejpeg-in-python-or-java-code/50734487
and what we get is a picture that says:
The binary is decoded into: _herring. Indicating that this is a red herring. Now “look back into the past” can mean many different things. For this, I looked up spentalkux again and it seems there was a previous version as well.
So I ran pip install spentalkux==0.9.
Importing this version of spentalkux, we are greeted with a different message:
Using CyberChef once again, this message is decoded in the sequence of:
From Base32 -> From Base64 -> gzip
Extracting the gzip gives us a large binary. Following this decoding sequence (lots of trial and error), we eventually reach the flag:
