Cyber Talents : DF : I love images

First, Identification - Definition Goal: To identify the type of digital evidence and its location.

The challenge contained a godot.png image file.

The hint read: "The hacker left something inside the image that can be traced."

So, we define the type of evidence as a digital image that potentially contains hidden or cached data (steganography/metadata/embedded data).


Second, Acquisition.

Goal: Obtain a copy of the digital evidence.

I used the following command to download the file :

sansforensics@as: ~/DF-LAB/CyberTalents
$ wget https://hubchallenges.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/godot.png
--2025-07-28 07:09:44--  https://hubchallenges.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/godot.png
Resolving hubchallenges.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com (hubchallenges.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com)... 3.5.68.114, 52.218.96.227, 52.92.20.130, ...
Connecting to hubchallenges.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com (hubchallenges.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com)|3.5.68.114|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 3539 (3.5K) [image/png]
Saving to: ‘godot.png’

godot.png       100%[=====>]   3.46K  --.-KB/s    in 0s      

2025-07-28 07:09:45 (49.5 MB/s) - ‘godot.png’ saved [3539/3539]

We obtained the full, unaltered version of the image.

File size: 3539 Bytes – indicates it's small but may contain encrypted information.


Third: Preservation Goal: Ensure the directory is not changed during analysis.

We used non-destructive read commands such as:

  • file , stat , exiftool , strings

We did not modify the file.

Preservation can be further enhanced by using sha256sum to calculate the file hash before and after analysis.

Hashing suggestion: Could be improved with:

sha256sum godot.png

Fourth: Analysis Objective: Extract and analyze important data within the image.

Preliminary analysis file type had to be known :

sansforensics@as: ~/DF-LAB/CyberTalents
$ file godot.png 
godot.png: PNG image data, 64 x 64, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced

The stat command is used to display detailed information about a file :

  • To know the actual file size and its internal properties :
sansforensics@as: ~/DF-LAB/CyberTalents
$ stat godot.png 
  File: godot.png
  Size: 3539          Blocks: 8          IO Block: 4096   regular file
Device: 802h/2050d    Inode: 3150185     Links: 1
Access: (0664/-rw-rw-r--)  Uid: ( 1000/sansforensics)   Gid: ( 1000/sansforensics)
Access: 2025-07-28 07:09:45.000000000 +0000
Modify: 2024-11-27 12:57:26.000000000 +0000
Change: 2025-07-28 07:09:45.247300610 +0000
 Birth: -

Examine the metadata using exiftool (or exif) :

The goal here is to determine if any hidden data has been included in the metadata:

  • information about the author, the software used, comments, etc :
sansforensics@as: ~/DF-LAB/CyberTalents
$ exif godot.png 
Corrupt data
The data provided does not follow the specification.
ExifLoader: The data supplied does not seem to contain EXIF data.
sansforensics@as: ~/DF-LAB/CyberTalents
$ exiftool godot.png 
ExifTool Version Number         : 11.88
File Name                       : godot.png
Directory                       : .
File Size                       : 3.5 kB
File Modification Date/Time     : 2024:11:27 12:57:26+00:00
File Access Date/Time           : 2025:07:28 07:17:21+00:00
File Inode Change Date/Time     : 2025:07:28 07:09:45+00:00
File Permissions                : rw-rw-r--
File Type                       : PNG
File Type Extension             : png
MIME Type                       : image/png
Image Width                     : 64
Image Height                    : 64
Bit Depth                       : 8
Color Type                      : RGB with Alpha
Compression                     : Deflate/Inflate
Filter                          : Adaptive
Interlace                       : Noninterlaced
Warning                         : [minor] Trailer data after PNG IEND chunk
Image Size                      : 64x64
Megapixels                      : 0.004

Exif didn't show any EXIF data. This is expected because PNG often doesn't support it.

But Exiftool gave us an important warning:

Trailer data after PNG IEND chunk

Accordingly , We used strings godot.png :

sansforensics@as: ~/DF-LAB/CyberTalents
$ strings godot.png 
IHDR
IEND
IZGECR33JZXXIX2PNZWHSX2CMFZWKNRUPU======

This is the important line:

IZGECR33JZXXIX2PNZWHSX2CMFZWKNRUPU======

💡 Quick line analysis: The string is long and formatted very similarly to Base32 encoding.

It ends with ====== → which is very common in Base32 (not Base64) padding.

Here I used cyberchef.org, and you can also use command lines to output the flag, by using :

sansforensics@as: ~/DF-LAB/CyberTalents
$ echo "IZGECR33JZXXIX2PNZWHSX2CMFZWKNRUPU======" | base64 --decode
!��    �%��!}�5��I}�0VV(�T=base64

sansforensics@as: ~/DF-LAB/CyberTalents
$ echo "IZGECR33JZXXIX2PNZWHSX2CMFZWKNRUPU======" | base32 --decode
FLAG{Not_Only_Base64}

I tried both base64 and base32, base32 succeeded in outputting the required flag .

you can use : Cyberchef

Really, flag is not always base64 .


Fifth : Reporting Objective: Documenting the steps and final results.

📋 The final report includes: 🖼️ File name: godot.png

🔐 Directory type: PNG image with hidden data after IEND

🧪 Analysis : Base32 string found in image data

🏁 Result : Flag successfully extracted

🛠️ Tools used: wget , file , stat , exiftool , strings , base32

✅ Flag: FLAG{Not_Only_Base64}

💬 "Control the code, and you control the world."

Abdelwahab Shandy

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Written by

Abdelwahab A. Shandy 🦅
Abdelwahab A. Shandy 🦅

Welcome to my profile! I'm an Information Systems student with a strong passion for cybersecurity and backend development. My curiosity drives me to dive deep into the complex mechanisms of the digital world and uncover the behind-the-scenes magic of programming. I hold certifications from Google, Infosec, Cisco, Try Hack Me, and the Information Technology Institute (ITI), I'm on an exciting journey of continuous learning and skill expansion—ready to embrace the future of technology! 🌇 Let’s connect, collaborate, and explore the vast world of tech together!