CTF Guide

Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions are cybersecurity contests where players solve challenges to find hidden "flags". They're one of the best ways to build practical security skills.

Getting Started

  1. 01

    Learn the Basics

    Get comfortable with Linux, the command line, Python scripting, and basic networking concepts before diving into CTF challenges.

  2. 02

    Pick a Category

    Choose one category to start with, most beginners find Web Exploitation or Cryptography the most approachable entry points.

  3. 03

    Practice on Platforms

    Use beginner-friendly platforms like PicoCTF, TryHackMe, or HackTheBox to practice in a legal, structured environment.

  4. 04

    Join a Team

    CTFs are more fun (and more winnable) as a team. Join MISC to compete with other students and learn from each other.

Challenge Categories

Web Exploitation

Exploiting vulnerabilities in web applications. Common topics include SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, SSRF, authentication bypasses, and insecure deserialization.

SQL Injection
XSS
CSRF
SSRF
JWT
OAuth

Cryptography

Breaking or exploiting weak cryptographic implementations. Covers classical ciphers, RSA, AES, hashing, padding oracles, and more.

RSA
AES
XOR
Hashing
Padding Oracle
ECC

Reverse Engineering

Analysing compiled binaries to understand their behaviour. Involves disassemblers, decompilers, and understanding assembly code.

x86 ASM
Ghidra
IDA Pro
GDB
ELF
APK

Binary Exploitation (Pwn)

Finding and exploiting memory corruption vulnerabilities in binaries. Topics include buffer overflows, format strings, heap exploitation, and ROP chains.

Buffer Overflow
ROP
Format String
Heap
ret2libc

Forensics

Recovering hidden or deleted data from files, memory dumps, and network captures. Tools like Wireshark, Volatility, and steganography utilities are common.

Wireshark
Steganography
Memory Forensics
PCAP
Exiftool

OSINT

Open Source Intelligence, gathering information from publicly available sources to solve challenges. Involves search engines, social media, geolocation, and metadata analysis.

Google Dorking
Geolocation
Metadata
Shodan
Social Media

Useful Resources

PicoCTF

Beginner-friendly CTF platform with year-round practice problems.

CTFtime

Calendar of upcoming CTF competitions worldwide.

HackTheBox

Labs and challenges across all skill levels.

TryHackMe

Guided learning paths for beginners in cybersecurity.

CryptoHack

Dedicated platform for learning cryptography through challenges.

CTF 101

Introductory guide covering all major CTF categories.