Instructions & Guidelines

 

👋 Hello freshman! Welcome to the Computer Achitecture class of 2024/2025.

We're delighted to let you know that the laboratory will be hosted on this CTF platform. Being a core part of your final grade ( 50% ), you will be tasked with solving weekly challenges and submitting the flag ( proof of solution ) on this platform. Once you've successfully completed a challenge, please make sure to upload your solution script or writeup ( a detailed explanation of your solution ) on Classroom under the designated lab.

🖥️ This platform uses a dynamic scoring system. If you're unfamiliar with this, here's how it works: instead of awarding each student with a fixed amount of points for a solving a challenge, dynamic scoring adjusts the points based on how many students have solved the challenge. So the more students solve a challenge, the fewer points it is worth, and vice versa. Makes sense, right?

🔥 Also, note that along with solving the challenge on the platform, you are required to submit a short video in which you share your screen and demonstrate how did you get the flag, by explaining your method and showing the script(in case you automated the task). For your explanation you can get up to 30 points per task. You will get 10 if the explanation was poor and you did not really understood the solution, then you can get 20 points if you kinda had a good explanation of how did you get the flag, and finally, you can get 30 points if you fully understood the challenge and the explanation was very good. If you haven't managed to submit the explanation within a week(as I've already said at the first lab), you can still submit it until the end of week 14, but in that case, you will get half of the initial points for your video(5p, 10p or 15p).

⚙️ All that is left to do now is to go ahead and register an account with your full real name and your @e-uvt.ro email address ( please note that registered accounts which are not on this year's students list will be deleted ). If you happen to make a mistake during registration, don't worry, the platform allows you to edit the information. You should also prepare your local environment to be able to solve the challenges. Requirements: python3 ( for Windows , Linux , MacOS ) , pwntools ( installation ). Also, it is highly encouraged that you have Linux installed, either using dual-boot or using a VM, as some of the challenges will be hard to solve on Windows.

⛔ Lastly, please remember that sharing flags with strictly prohibited! Although we strongly encourage you to discuss, brainstorm, and figure out solutions, we strongly prohibit stealing or sharing solutions as well as attacking the infrastructure of the lab.

🏆 So, rise up to the weekly challenges! Look at each one as an opportunity to learn, challenge your intellectual curiosity and have fun.

Good luck!