Description: I found this cipher in an old book. Additional details will be available after launching your challenge instance.
Difficulty: Medium
Author: Alex Fulton/Daniel Tunitis
Summary
This challenge provides an encrypted text from a remote instance. The goal is to identify the cipher and decrypt the message to extract the flag.
Analysis
Since this is an instance-based challenge, we first connect to the service using nc:
$ nc fickle-tempest.picoctf.net 51614Encrypted message:∩â•, â”Ne iy nytkwpsznyg nth it mtsztcy vjzprj zfzjy rkhpibj nrkitt ltc tnnygy ysee itd tte cxjltk
Ifrosr tnj noawde uk siyyzre, yse Bnretèwp Cousex mls hjpn xjtnbjytki xatd eisjd
Iz bls lfwskqj azycihzeej yz Brftsk ip Volpnèxj ls oy hay tcimnyarqj dkxnrogpd os 1553 my Mnzvgs Mazytszf Merqlsu ny hox moup Wa inqrg ipl. Ynr. Gotgat Gltzndtg Gplrfdo
Ltc tnj tmvqpmkseaznzn uk ehox nivmpr g ylbrj ts ltcmki my yqtdosr tnj wocjc hgqq ol fy oxitngwj arusahje fuw ln guaaxjytrd catizm tzxbkw zf vqlckx hizm ceyupcz yz tnj fpvjc hgqqpohzCZK{m311a50_0x_a1rn3x3_h1ah3xim3eKhQa}
Zmp fowdt cjwl-jtnusjytki oeyhcivytot tq a vtwygqahggptoh nivmpr nthebjc, wgx xajj lruzyd 1467 hd Weus Mazytszf Llhjcto.
Yse Bnretèwp Cousex nd tnjceltce ytxeznxey hllrjo tnj Llhjcto Itsi tc Argprzn Nivmpr.
Os 1508, Uonfynkx Eroysesnfs osgetypd zmp su-hllrjo tggflg wpczf (l mgycid tq snnqtki llvmlbkyd) tnfe wuzwd rfeex gp a iwttohll itxpuspnz tq tnj Gimjyèrk Htpnjc.
BkqwaytΓÇÖd skhznj gzoqqpt guaegwpd os 1555 ls g hznznyugytot tq tnj qixxe. Tnj wocjc hgqgey tq tnj llvmlbkyd axj yoc xsilypd xjrurfcle, gft zmp arusahjes gso tnj tnjji lkyeexx lrk rtxki my sjlny tq a sspmustc qjj pnwlsk, bsiim nat gp dokqexjyt cneh kfnh itcrkxaotipnz.The instance responds with a long encrypted message:
∩â•, â”Ne iy nytkwpsznyg nth it mtsztcy vjzprj zfzjy rkhpibj nrkitt ltc tnnygy ysee itd tte cxjltk
Ifrosr tnj noawde uk siyyzre, yse Bnretèwp Cousex mls hjpn xjtnbjytki xatd eisjd
Iz bls lfwskqj azycihzeej yz Brftsk ip Volpnèxj ls oy hay tcimnyarqj dkxnrogpd os 1553 my Mnzvgs Mazytszf Merqlsu ny hox moup Wa inqrg ipl. Ynr. Gotgat Gltzndtg Gplrfdo
Ltc tnj tmvqpmkseaznzn uk ehox nivmpr g ylbrj ts ltcmki my yqtdosr tnj wocjc hgqq ol fy oxitngwj arusahje fuw ln guaaxjytrd catizm tzxbkw zf vqlckx hizm ceyupcz yz tnj fpvjc hgqqpohzCZK{m311a50_0x_a1rn3x3_h1ah3xim3eKhQa}
Zmp fowdt cjwl-jtnusjytki oeyhcivytot tq a vtwygqahggptoh nivmpr nthebjc, wgx xajj lruzyd 1467 hd Weus Mazytszf Llhjcto.
Yse Bnretèwp Cousex nd tnjceltce ytxeznxey hllrjo tnj Llhjcto Itsi tc Argprzn Nivmpr.
Os 1508, Uonfynkx Eroysesnfs osgetypd zmp su-hllrjo tggflg wpczf (l mgycid tq snnqtki llvmlbkyd) tnfe wuzwd rfeex gp a iwttohll itxpuspnz tq tnj Gimjyèrk Htpnjc.
BkqwaytΓÇÖd skhznj gzoqqpt guaegwpd os 1555 ls g hznznyugytot tq tnj qixxe. Tnj wocjc hgqgey tq tnj llvmlbkyd axj yoc xsilypd xjrurfcle, gft zmp arusahjes gso tnj tnjji lkyeexx lrk rtxki my sjlny tq a sspmustc qjj pnwlsk, bsiim nat gp dokqexjyt cneh kfnh itcrkxaotipnz.This is clearly not substitution, since the structure of the text is too varied. It also doesn’t look like transposition — the letter distribution resembles normal English frequency patterns, meaning:
This is likely a polyalphabetic substitution cipher.
To confirm, I run the ciphertext through a cipher identification tool: cipher identifier.
And dcode.fr strongly suggests its Vigenère Cipher.
Decrypting (Using a Vigenère Solver)
Instead of doing key-length analysis manually, we simply use an automated solver
Paste the entire ciphertext into the solver and it automatically:
- Detects the key length
- Recovers the Vigenère key
- Outputs the full decrypted English plaintext
It discovers the key: flag
Decrypted message:
∩â•, â”It is interesting how in history people often receive credit for things they did not create
During the course of history, the Vigenère Cipher has been reinvented many times
It was falsely attributed to Blaise de Vigenère as it was originally described in 1553 by Giovan Battista Bellaso in his book La cifra del. Sig. Giovan Battista Bellaso
For the implementation of this cipher a table is formed by sliding the lower half of an ordinary alphabet for an apparently random number of places with respect to the upper halfpicoCTF{b311a50_0r_v1gn3r3_c1ph3rdb3eEcFa}
The first well-documented description of a polyalphabetic cipher however, was made around 1467 by Leon Battista Alberti.
The Vigenère Cipher is therefore sometimes called the Alberti Disc or Alberti Cipher.
In 1508, Johannes Trithemius invented the so-called tabula recta (a matrix of shifted alphabets) that would later be a critical component of the Vigenère Cipher.
BellasoΓÇÖs second booklet appeared in 1555 as a continuation of the first. The lower halves of the alphabets are now shifted regularly, but the alphabets and the index letters are mixed by means of a mnemonic key phrase, which can be different with each correspondent.âš¡ Raikiri🎉 Flag pwned!
The flag appears to be picoCTF{b311a50_0r_v1gn3r3_c1ph3rdb3eEcFa}
💡 TL;DR / Lesson LearnedLong, natural-looking ciphertext with proper spacing strongly hints at Vigenère or another polyalphabetic cipher. Classical ciphers like Vigenère are trivially broken using modern automated solvers. Always try cipher-identification tools first — they save time.