Level 27

Concept

Data Exfiltration via Git: Version control (Git) is a developer tool, but in security, it is a critical source of information. If a repository has read permissions, an attacker can clone the entire project to their local machine to analyze code and history for forgotten credentials.

Key Commands

• git clone [URL]: Copies a remote repository (including all history and files) to a local directory.
• ls -la: Allows viewing hidden files (such as the .git folder) within the cloned repository.

Command Anatomy (The URL)

The structure used was: ssh://bandit27-git@bandit.labs.overthewire.org:2220/home/bandit27-git/repo

• ssh://: Secure transfer protocol.
• bandit27-git: Repository user (uses bandit27’s password).
• bandit.labs.overthewire.org:2220: Game server and port.
• /home/bandit27-git/repo: Physical path of the repository on the OverTheWire server.

Resolution

• Cloning: Ran the git clone command. When prompted for a password, used the one from Level 27.

git clone ssh://bandit27-git@bandit.labs.overthewire.org:2220/home/bandit27-git/repo

• Inspection: Entered the automatically created directory (cd repo) and listed the files.
• Extraction: Read the text file (e.g., README) which contained the next level’s password.

Key Takeaways

• Git Security: Never upload files containing passwords to version control. Even if deleted later, they remain stored forever in previous commits.
• Local vs. Remote: The git clone command doesn’t just download files; it establishes a bridge between your local folder and the server’s absolute path.

Pass 28

Yz9IpL0sBcCeuG7m9uQFt8ZNpS4HZRcN