Challenge 1: Program Analysis

NEW: the challenge has been updated! please pull the new testbed image before running it:

docker pull secunive/sec:testbed
docker run --rm -it secunive/sec:testbed

NOTE: The program is named password_new so if you still see password you have the old image!

Find the password of /home/secuser/Challenge1/password_new in testbed.

Hints

Hint 1: Compared to /home/secuser/GDB/checkPasswordEasy, this version of the program does not “deobfuscate” a stored password (which can be easily cracked by setting a breakpoint after deobfuscation has happened) but instead “obfuscates” the one typed by the user, similarly to what is done with hash functions. Unfortunately the obfuscation is not strong enough and can be reversed!

Hint 2: Use both static and dynamic analysis.

Useful links

• video 1 (in Italian): how to decompile “by hand”
• video 2 (in Italian): how to script gdb using python and subprocess (solution to previous lab available here)

NOTE: the videos refer to an older version of the challenge

Bonus

Submit a report in moodle, describing how you solved the challenge by October 28th 2026 to get a 0.5 bonus on the final grade! The report should describe the static/dynamic analysis performed to find the solution.