Address challenge feedback from Discord

challenges/computing-101/hello-hackers/open-read-write-rip-relative/DESCRIPTION.md

@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ path:
 **THIS IS STILL NOT WHAT WE WANT!**
 Why? Because it _reads_ the 8 bytes at `[rip+path]` into `rdi` rather than put the address of those bytes into `rdi`.
 `rdi` would end up holding the values `'f'`, and `'l'`, and so on, but the `open` syscall needs the address and not the values.
+Think of `path` as the address where the first byte of `"/flag\0"` lives: `mov` copies bytes from there, while `lea` copies the address so the kernel can walk those bytes until the null byte.
 
 Luckily, there is an instruction that is _almost_ a read, but instead _does_ put the address that would have been read into `rdi` (or whatever other register).
 That instruction is **l**oad **e**ffective **a**ddress (the word _effective_ here refers to the CPU figuring out all the calculations it needs to do, such as adding an offset to the instruction pointer in this case):

challenges/computing-101/hello-hackers/open-read-write-rip-relative/challenge/.py/chal.py

@@ -29,11 +29,54 @@ def split_operands(insn):
 def normalize_reg(reg):
 	return checker.SUBREG_TO_64.get(reg, reg)
 
+def instruction_sets_reg(insn, reg, value):
+	if not insn.op_str:
+		return False
+
+	if insn.mnemonic == "mov":
+		dst, src = split_operands(insn)
+		return normalize_reg(dst) == reg and normalize_reg(src) == value
+
+	if value == "0" and insn.mnemonic == "xor":
+		dst, src = split_operands(insn)
+		return normalize_reg(dst) == reg and normalize_reg(src) == reg
+
+	return False
+
 def instruction_writes_reg(insn, reg):
-	if insn.mnemonic not in {"lea", "mov"} or not insn.op_str:
+	if insn.mnemonic not in {"lea", "mov", "xor"} or not insn.op_str:
 		return False
 	return normalize_reg(split_operands(insn)[0]) == reg
 
+def rax_value_before(disas, idx):
+	for insn in reversed(disas[:idx]):
+		if instruction_sets_reg(insn, "rax", "0"):
+			return "0"
+		if insn.mnemonic == "mov" and insn.op_str:
+			dst, src = split_operands(insn)
+			if normalize_reg(dst) == "rax":
+				return normalize_reg(src)
+	return None
+
+def assert_write_count_from_read(disas):
+	syscalls = [i for i, insn in enumerate(disas) if insn.mnemonic == "syscall"]
+	read_i = next((i for i in syscalls if rax_value_before(disas, i) == "0"), None)
+	write_i = next((i for i in syscalls if rax_value_before(disas, i) == "1"), None)
+	assert read_i is not None, "You need to invoke the read syscall (set rax to 0)!"
+	assert write_i is not None, "You need to invoke the write syscall (set rax to 1)!"
+	assert read_i < write_i, "You need to read the data before you write it back out!"
+
+	rdx_after_read = [
+		insn
+		for insn in disas[read_i + 1:write_i]
+		if instruction_sets_reg(insn, "rdx", "rax")
+	]
+	assert rdx_after_read, (
+		"write's length (rdx) must come from read's return value (rax).\n"
+		"read returns how many bytes it actually read, so after your read syscall do\n"
+		"`mov rdx, rax` --- write exactly that many bytes --- rather than hardcoding a length."
+	)
+
 def check_disassembly(disas):
 	mov_operands = checker.mov_operands(disas)
 	syscall_indices = [i for i, insn in enumerate(disas) if insn.mnemonic == "syscall"]
@@ -65,7 +108,7 @@ def check_disassembly(disas):
 		"You need to set rax to 2, the syscall number for open!"
 	)
 
-	assert ['rax', '0'] in mov_operands, (
+	assert any(instruction_sets_reg(insn, "rax", "0") for insn in disas), (
 		"You need to set rax to 0, the syscall number for read!"
 	)
 
@@ -82,7 +125,7 @@ def check_disassembly(disas):
 
 	# Write back exactly what you read: write's length (rdx) must come from read's
 	# return value (rax), the idiom you learned in read-exact --- not a hardcoded count.
-	checker.assert_write_count_from_read(disas)
+	assert_write_count_from_read(disas)
 
 	exit_syscall = syscall_indices[-1]
 	rax_writes_before_exit = [

challenges/computing-101/the-stack-revisited/gdb-stack-align-2/DESCRIPTION.md

@@ -32,4 +32,5 @@ hacker@dojo:~$ /challenge/program
 ```
 
 This allows you to have very finegrained control over your environment.
+When you build that one variable, count the bytes in its environment string (`NAME=`, the value, and its trailing null byte), not a separate `envp[]` pointer-table slot.
 In this challenge, you'll use this finegrained control to line up addresses in a slightly more realistic setting, but keep the capability in mind for other situations!

challenges/computing-101/the-stack-revisited/mem-stack-align/DESCRIPTION.md

@@ -46,5 +46,6 @@ hacker@dojo:~$ env -i /challenge/program
 hacker@dojo:~$ env -i FOO=xxxxxxxx /challenge/program
 ```
 
-Remember that the whole environment string is placed on the stack, so `FOO=` and the trailing null byte count toward the shift too.
+Remember that the whole environment string is placed on the stack, so `FOO=`, the value, and the trailing null byte count toward the shift.
+Count those string bytes, not a separate `envp[]` pointer-table slot.
 You're not modifying the program at all, just changing how it's launched, which influences where its data ends up!

challenges/linux-luminarium/piping/procsub-write/DESCRIPTION.md

@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ Above, the following sequence of events took place:
 Now it's your turn!
 In this challenge, we have `/challenge/hack`, `/challenge/the`, and `/challenge/planet`.
 Run the `/challenge/hack` command, and duplicate its output as input to both the `/challenge/the` and the `/challenge/planet` commands!
+Remember that `tee` can take multiple output targets, and `>(command)` is one kind of target.
 Scroll back through the previous challenges "Duplicating piped data with tee" and "Process substitution for input" if you need a refresher on this method.
 
 ----

challenges/web-security/DESCRIPTION.md

@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 You have learned Linux and HTTP.
 Now, let's put these together!
 
+When a level asks you to run `/challenge/server`, the GUI browser is optional.
+Start the server in one terminal and make requests from another terminal to `http://challenge.localhost/`; the challenge images include `curl` for terminal-only work.
+Browser-specific levels will tell you when they need the GUI or `/challenge/victim`.
+
 Web content is served up via the internet by _web servers_, and like everything else, these web servers, and the pages that they serve up, contain vulnerabilities!
 In this module, you will wrap yourself in the mysteries of the web, exploring various types of vulnerabilities that can occur.
 As you work through this module, keep in mind, these aren't theoretical curiosities: these are common, critical vulnerabilities that occur _all the time_ in the modern web and can lead to massive data breaches, account takeover, and more.

challenges/web-security/auth-bypass-cookie/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/auth-bypass-param/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/cmdi-env/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/cmdi-ls-filter/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/cmdi-ls-pipe/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/cmdi-ls-quote/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/cmdi-ls-semicolon/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/cmdi-touch-blind/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/common/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+{% extends "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% block additional_packages %}curl{% endblock %}

challenges/web-security/path-traversal-1/DESCRIPTION.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ We've implemented a simple web server for you --- it will serve up files from /c
 Can you trick it into giving you the flag?
 
 The webserver program is `/challenge/server`.
-You can run it just like any other challenge, then talk to it over HTTP (using a different terminal or a web browser).
+You can run it just like any other challenge, then talk to it over HTTP from another terminal with `curl` or from a web browser.
 We recommend reading through its code to understand what it is doing and to find the weakness!
 
 ----

challenges/web-security/path-traversal-1/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/path-traversal-2/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/sqli-blind/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/sqli-password/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/sqli-pin/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/sqli-tablename/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/sqli-union/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/xss-stored-alert/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/dockerfile.selenium.j2" %}

challenges/web-security/xss-stored-alert/challenge/victim.j2

@@ -1 +1,7 @@
-{%- include "../../common/victim-requests.py.j2" -%}
+{%- extends "../../../common/victim-selenium.py.j2" -%}
+
+{% block setup %}
+  {{- super() -}}
+  {%- set challenge.specify_url = False -%}
+  {%- set challenge.reward_alert = True -%}
+{% endblock %}

challenges/web-security/xss-stored-html/challenge/Dockerfile.j2

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{% include "../../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}
+{% include "../../common/Dockerfile.j2" %}