Exploring OverTheWire: Level 6 to Level 7 - Bandit Challenge

Introduction

As we progress further in the Bandit Challenge, Level 7 ↗️ presents us with a new challenge. Our objective is to locate a password file on the server that has specific ownership and size properties.

Challenge Overview

Level 7 challenges us to search for a password file on the server with specific ownership and size properties.

By using commands such as ls, cd, cat, grep, and find we’ll navigate the file system, examine file attributes, and uncover the password.

Approach and Strategy

Follow these steps to successfully solve Level 7:

ssh [email protected] -p 2220

Enter the password you obtained from the previous level.

Once logged in, navigate to the root directory using the cd command:

cd /

This command will change your working directory to the root directory.

To search for the password file with the specific ownership and size properties, use the find command along with specific parameters:

find / -user bandit7 -group bandit6 -size 33c 2>/dev/null

This command will search for files owned by user bandit7, owned by group bandit6, and have a size of 33 bytes.

The 2>/dev/null portion redirects error messages to /dev/null, preventing them from being displayed.

The find command will display the path to the password file that meets the given criteria. Make a note of the path.

To view the contents of the password file and retrieve the password, use the cat command:

cat <path_to_password_file>

Replace <path_to_password_file> with the actual path obtained from the previous step which was /var/lib/dpkg/info/bandit7.password when I ran the command.

The password for Level 7 will be displayed in the output. Take note of it for the next level.

Notes

• The find command is useful for searching files based on specific criteria.

Conclusion

Congratulations on successfully completing Level 7 of the Bandit Challenge! By exploring the server and locating the password file that meets the ownership and size properties, we have obtained the password necessary to progress further.

Stay tuned for the next blog post, where we’ll take on Level 8 and face new challenges in our quest to become skilled cybersecurity practitioners.