Bandit Level 24

Goal

A cron job runs regularly. For this level you need to create your own first shell script.

Important note: the script is removed once executed.

Hints

Find the cron runner and where it looks for scripts to execute.
Put your script in that directory with executable permissions.
Have your script copy the next password into a file you can read (typically under /tmp/<unique>).

Solution (click to reveal)

SSH in:

ssh bandit24@bandit.labs.overthewire.org -p 2220

Inspect /etc/cron.d to learn which directory is executed (often something like /var/spool/bandit24/):

cat /etc/cron.d/*

Create a unique output file:

out=/tmp/bandit24_$RANDOM.txt

Create a script that writes the next password into that file:

workdir=/var/spool/bandit24
script=$workdir/myjob.sh

cat > "$script" <<'EOF'
#!/bin/sh
cat /etc/bandit_pass/bandit24 > /tmp/bandit24_out.txt
EOF

chmod +x "$script"

Wait ~1 minute for cron to run, then read the output:

cat /tmp/bandit24_out.txt

That output is the password for Level 25.

Notes

Keep a copy of your script in your home dir if you want to iterate.
Adjust paths based on what the cron script actually uses.