BSidesNYC CTFd Writeup - Rush

I have documented all stages, screenshots and the URL - https://bsidesnyc-rush.chals.io/

Stage 1: Assume Control

• Objective: The goal was to decipher the hidden binary signal 100001000000 to "Assume Control." The page's theme, referencing the "Priests of the Solar Federation," strongly suggested a connection to the Rush song 2112. The signal needed to be interpreted as a pure binary number, not standard ASCII text.
• Solution:
  1. The binary string 100001000000 was treated as a base-2 number.
  2. It was converted to its base-10 (decimal) equivalent. The calculation is $(1 \cdot 2^{11}) + (1 \cdot 2^6)$, which equals $2048 + 64$.
  3. The result, 2112, is the title of a seminal Rush album and song, directly matching the CTF's theme.
• Ans: 2112

Stage 2: Origin

• Objective: The goal was to identify a 3-letter Canadian airport departure code. The solution hinged on analyzing both an audio file and a textual clue. The audio contained chimes and a guitar riff, while the text mentioned "Exit stage left to board at 'Terminal Track-3'," a clear reference to a Rush live album and a specific track.
• Solution:
  1. The chimes in the audio file were identified as Morse code. Decoding the pattern (-.-- -.-- --..) revealed the letters "YYZ".
  2. The subsequent guitar riff is the iconic opening of the Rush song "YYZ".
  3. "YYZ" is the IATA code for Toronto Pearson International Airport, the band's home city. This confirmed the audio clue and matched the textual hint.
• Ans: YYZ

Stage 3: Destination

• Objective: The goal was to determine the 3-letter IATA code for an airport in São Paulo, Brazil. The solution relied on solving a linguistic pun, "Avoid 'Turning Glasses' at this airport," which required translating the key phrase into Portuguese to reveal the airport's name.
• Solution:
  1. The English phrase "Turning Glasses" was translated to Portuguese, resulting in "Virando Copos".
  2. This phrase phonetically matches the name of a major international airport serving São Paulo: Viracopos International Airport.
  3. The IATA code for Viracopos was looked up.
  4. So VCP it is but the morse code is V C P -
     1. V: ...-
     2. C: -.-.
     3. P: .--.
• Ans: ...--.-..--.

Stage 4: Solomon's Sanctum Sanctorum

• Objective: The goal was to discover The Oracle's prophetic message. The solution required synthesizing clues from three sources: a biblical reference to "Matthew's beatitude," a direct lyric from Rush's song 2112, and a misleading visual hint in the input box that acted as a red herring. The core task was to identify the full, correct prophecy.
• Solution:
  1. The puzzle required piecing together the full prophetic phrase from the Rush lyric and biblical verse: "and the meek shall inherit the earth."
  2. The crucial step was to recognize that the visual hint in the input box (a-- t-- m--- s---- i------- t-- e---) was a red herring. This is a common CTF technique to test if a participant will trust the primary textual and thematic evidence over a misleading UI element.
  3. By ignoring the flawed hint and using the complete, verbatim phrase from the Rush lyric, the correct answer was formed.
• Ans: and the meek shall inherit the earth

VOILA... Got the flag -