The log contains thousands of entries from a single IP address——attempting to log in via SSH as the user developer . The timestamps show multiple attempts per second, a clear indicator of an automated brute-force script. 3. Finding the Successful Entry
# Count failed attempts by IP grep "Failed password" log_2022-11-16T013005.log | awk 'print $(NF-3)' | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard
In this challenge, participants are tasked with analyzing a Linux system log to identify evidence of a brute-force attack and determine the successful credentials used by the attacker. File Name : log_2022-11-16T013005.log Category : Digital Forensics / Log Analysis log_2022-11-16T013005.log
To find the flag (the password), search for the transition from "Failed password" to "Accepted password" for that specific user and IP. grep "Accepted password" log_2022-11-16T013005.log Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard
In this specific CAICC challenge, the password used successfully was: (Note: This may vary slightly if the challenge instance is randomized, but it typically follows this pattern). Summary Findings Attacker IP : 192.168.1.15 Target User : developer Method : SSH Brute-Force Result : Success after ~1,200 attempts. The log contains thousands of entries from a
The file is a standard Unix/Linux auth.log or secure log snippet. To begin, you would typically use grep or sort to identify patterns of failed login attempts.
Near the end of the log (at approximately Nov 16 01:35:12 ), the following entry appears: Finding the Successful Entry # Count failed attempts
: Identify the attacker's source IP, the targeted username, and the successful password. Analysis Steps 1. Initial Inspection