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Pwnversity

Categories (pwn, web, crypto, forensics)

Jeopardy-style CTFs are organized by categories, each training different skills. Knowing them helps you choose challenges for your level and know which cards in this wiki apply to each.

The classic categories

Section titled “The classic categories”
Web        web vulnerabilities (SQLi, XSS, SSRF, logic...) -> see the Web area
Pwn/binary  binary exploitation (BOF, ROP, heap...) -> see pwn-reversing
Reversing  reverse engineering binaries to understand/break their logic
Crypto     break misused cryptography -> see the Cryptography area
Forensics  analyze artifacts (PCAP, memory, disks, files) -> see DFIR/stego
Misc       anything (programming, puzzles, OSINT, esoteric)

Web

Section titled “Web”
- the same real-world vulns: SQLi, XSS, SSRF, SSTI, deserialization, logic
- you often have to read the challenge's source if provided
- tools: Burp (tool-burp), curl, ffuf -> see all cards in the Web area

Pwn (binary exploitation)

Section titled “Pwn (binary exploitation)”
- buffer overflow, format string, ROP, heap exploitation (see pwn-reversing)
- protections: ASLR, NX, canary, PIE, RELRO -> you must know which are enabled
- tools: pwntools, gdb (+pwndbg/GEF), Ghidra, checksec, ROPgadget

Reversing

Section titled “Reversing”
- understand what a binary does: often find a "password"/validation logic
- static (Ghidra/IDA) + dynamic (gdb, debugging); anti-debug/obfuscation
- varied languages: C, Go, Rust, .NET, compiled Python, Android

Crypto

Section titled “Crypto”
- MISUSED cryptography: ECB, nonce reuse, padding oracle, weak RSA, predictable RNG
- see the WHOLE Cryptography area (crypto-*); sage/z3/python for the math
- CyberChef for transformations and fast decoding

Forensics

Section titled “Forensics”
- PCAP (Wireshark, see dfir-red), memory (Volatility, dfir-memoria), disk (dfir-disco)
- steganography (crypto-stego): binwalk, zsteg, steghide, spectrograms
- file recovery, log analysis, metadata

Blue Team / learning

Section titled “Blue Team / learning”
  • Each category maps to an area of this wiki: use the corresponding cards as reference.
  • Start with your strong category for points, but broaden to the others to grow.
  • Categories train skills transferable to real pentesting (web, AD, analysis).
  • Forensics and crypto in CTF are excellent for practicing DFIR and crypto playfully.

Tips and common mistakes

Section titled “Tips and common mistakes”
  • Play to your strong category to score fast, but don’t pigeonhole: high-value challenges usually cross categories.
  • Common mistake: brute-forcing a challenge that calls for analysis (crypto almost always hides a specific flaw, not brute force).
  • Read the prompt hints and point values: low = warm-up, high = convoluted chain or vuln.

Testing checklist

Section titled “Testing checklist”
  • Identify the challenge’s category and applicable cards
  • Web → Web area + Burp/ffuf
  • Pwn/reversing → pwn-reversing + pwntools/Ghidra/gdb
  • Crypto → Cryptography area + CyberChef/sage
  • Forensics → DFIR + binwalk/volatility/wireshark
  • Start with your strength; broaden to the others
  • Document the learned technique (How to write writeups)

References

Section titled “References”