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Tanuki: Flashcard Backup Restore

EN medium CTF challenge XXEXML External Entityin-band exfiltrationJS bundle reconAPI enumerationDTD injectionarbitrary file read
Original

Tanuki is a flashcard web app with an XML-based deck export and a JSON-driven restore endpoint. The server secretly round-trips your JSON through an XML template with DTD processing enabled — giving you a path to read arbitrary files off the server without any out-of-band channel. Your goal is to exfiltrate the flag at /app/flag.txt entirely in-band.

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solved
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enumeration

Step 2 · Authenticate and export a deck

Objective: Log in to the application, obtain a JWT, and export an existing deck as a backup to read the raw XML format.

Context: The app seeds a default user. Once authenticated, a Bearer JWT is required for all /api/ calls. Exporting a deck returns its XML representation — read this file carefully before touching the restore endpoint.

Progressive hints

Only reveal the ones you need. Claude tracks how many you used to calibrate the feedback.

Hint 1 — directional nudge

Try common default credentials for a 'learner' type app. After login, inspect how the backup file is structured — every byte of it is a clue.

Hint 2 — technique / vuln class

Log in with admin/learner (or similar seeded credentials) to get a JWT. Then call GET /api/decks/:id/backup and look at the DOCTYPE declaration in the returned XML.

Hint 3 — near solution

POST to /api/auth/login with {"username":"admin","password":"learner"}, extract the token, then GET /api/decks/1/backup. Focus on the empty <!DOCTYPE backup [ ]> — an export file has no business carrying a DTD unless the parser processes it on the way back in.

Your attempt

Spotted something to improve?

Polish the wording, sharpen a hint, add missing context, fix a payload — your version stays separate from the original and other learners can choose it.

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