Root-me.org

Crypt-art

A Language where the programs are works of modern art

In this challenge we need are given an image what contains a secret key. That secret key is used to encrypt other messages ?

So let’s see, what the image is about.

![Euh what?][1]

So this image looks like random stuff ? I tried playing around with it in gimp and got nothing.

I tried googling the title and that gave me the first hint.

So the title is the description of an esoteric progamming language. All the information about it can be found here.

http://www.dangermouse.net/esoteric/piet.html

So we can either download the code and compile it or we can use an online decoder. I used this website to find whatever the picture had inside.

http://www.bertnase.de/npiet/npiet-execute.php

Once we upload the ppm image, we’re greeted with this message.

Info: upload status: Ok 
Info: Oops - no suitable picture found: Piet peeks at the pic and thinks, maybe this is not a Piet picture ? (found color #202048 at coordinates (31, 16)...) 
Info: Trying to execute anyway...

Info: executing: npiet -e 1000000 ch8.png

key is EYJFRGTT

We got a key, i tried it to use that a the password but nada.

There’s something more ?

After trying a bunch of stuff, i found interesting information when i used strings on the file.

strings ch8.ppm 

# PNM File written by Imlib2
70 50
  Hi! Welcome to
esoteric programming!
The encrypted pass is:
EPCQFBXKWURQCTXOIPMNV
 Bienvenue a la program
mation esoterique!
Le pass encrypte est
EPCQFBXKWURQCTXOIPMNV

So we got a key and now a encrypted password. Let’s try to decrypt using the previous key that we found. Now it’s a matter of finding the right algorithm used.

After more google-fu the vignere cipher gives us something. We can use an online vignere cipher decoder and use EYJFRGTT as key and EPCQFBXKWURQCTXOIPMNV as the text.

The output gives us the following sentence/word artloverswillneverdie. This word is still not the password ?

So after two hours i learned something. Try putting everything from rootme in caps always!