HackTheBox Red Miners Challenge

Explore the basics of cybersecurity in the Red Miners Challenge on Hack The Box. This very-easy-level Challenge introduces encryption reversal and file handling concepts in a clear and accessible way, perfect for beginners.

https://app.hackthebox.com/challenges/514

Description

In the race for Vitalium on Mars, the villainous Board of Arodor resorted to desperate measures, needing funds for their mining attempts. They devised a botnet specifically crafted to mine cryptocurrency covertly. We stumbled upon a sample of Arodor’s miner’s installer on our server. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, we launched a thorough investigation. With you as its leader, you need to unravel the inner workings of the installation mechanism. The discovery served as a turning point, revealing the extent of Arodor’s desperation. However, the battle for Vitalium continued, urging us to remain vigilant and adapt our cyber defenses to counter future threats.

Analysis

part1=$(echo -n "cGFydDE9IkhUQnttMW4xbmciCg==" | base64 -d | sed 's/part1=//; s/"//g')
part2=$(echo -n "cGFydDI9Il90aDMxcl93NHkiCg==" | base64 -d | sed 's/part2=//; s/"//g')
part3=$(echo -n "X3QwX200cnN9Cg==" | base64 -d | sed 's/"//g' | tr -d '}')
part4=$(echo -n "ZXhwb3J0IHBhcnQ0PSJfdGgzX3IzZF9wbDRuM3R9Ig==" | base64 -d | sed 's/export part4=//; s/"//g')
flag="${part1}${part2}${part3}${part4}"
echo "${flag}"

Summary

The Red Miners Challenge on Hack The Box is a beginner-friendly cybersecurity task that introduces participants to decoding obfuscated Base64-encoded strings and reconstructing hidden messages using shell scripting. By employing tools like base64, sed, and tr, participants extract and clean data from a miner script, assembling it into a complete flag. This very-easy-level challenge provides a hands-on experience with string manipulation, data reconstruction, and basic deobfuscation techniques, making it an excellent introduction to cryptographic concepts and practical scripting.