Write-ups

Security research write-ups, CTF solutions, and vulnerability analyses

Write-up•Mar 6, 2026•4 min read

Simple Encryptor HTB Challenge

A walkthrough of HackTheBox's SimpleEncryptor reverse engineering challenge. In this writeup I reverse engineer a 64-bit ELF binary using Ghidra, identify a custom encryption scheme based on XOR and bit rotation seeded by the system time, and exploit the fact that the seed is stored inside the encrypted file itself to recover the plaintext flag.

Reverse EngineeringHTB

Write-up•Mar 4, 2026•5 min read

HackTheBox -- Pterodactyl (MEDIUM) Experience

I’ll walk through my experience tackling the HackTheBox "Pterodactyl" CTF (Medium). I'll showcase my thought process, tools, and methods as I work through each stage — whether I succeed or hit roadblocks. The goal isn't just solving it, but highlighting how I approach challenges and sharpen my skills along the way. As of now this machine remains unsolved.

RCELFI

Write-up•Dec 5, 2025•4 min read

Reverse Engineering Challenge: Silent Oracle

A walk-through of an HTB Neurogrid reversing challenge where you analyze a stripped 64-bit PIE binary in Ghidra, identify a hardcoded comparison function, discover the local flag is a decoy, and brute-force the real flag from the remote service using a Python script that tests prefixes based on response differences.

ReverseEngineeringHTB

Write-up•Nov 15, 2025•14 min read

HackTheBox -- Imagery (MEDIUM) Experience

I’ll walk through my experience tackling the HackTheBox "Imagery" CTF (Medium). I'll showcase my thought process, tools, and methods as I work through each stage — whether I succeed or hit roadblocks. The goal isn't just solving it, but highlighting how I approach challenges and sharpen my skills along the way. As of now this machine remains unsolved.

MediumXSS

Write-up•Sep 22, 2025•5 min read

HackTheBox -- Soulmate (Easy) Experience

I’ll walk through my experience tackling the HackTheBox "Soulmate" CTF (Easy). I'll showcase my thought process, tools, and methods as I work through each stage — whether I succeed or hit roadblocks. The goal isn't just solving it, but highlighting how I approach challenges and sharpen my skills along the way. As of now this machine remains unsolved.

htbeasy

Write-up•Apr 26, 2025•4 min read

HackTheBox -- Code (EASY) Experience

I’ll walk through my experience tackling the HackTheBox "Code" CTF (Easy). I'll showcase my thought process, tools, and methods as I work through each stage — whether I succeed or hit roadblocks. The goal isn't just solving it, but highlighting how I approach challenges and sharpen my skills along the way. As of now this machine remains unsolved.

HackTheBoxCTFWalkthrough