Tags: misc 

Rating: 4.0

https://github.com/chaocipher/Writeups/blob/master/Meepwn2018-whitesnow.pdf
[Go to link for pics and flag]

Evidence.jpg - This is the file found in zip download.

I put this file in hex editor and you can see another zip inside it.

I just grabbed the bits and saved into a new file.

The new file wouldn’t open for a while. I did find that the magic number was close, but slightly off.

After bringing down 7-zip I was able to crack it open.

Open the PDF.

I finally decided to copy the text and put it in Google docs and it popped some extra text. {See below:}

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable,
must be the truth.”
– Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
What does that mean?
To me, this is all about logic. If you start with everything you can think of, and then eliminate
those that are impossible, you are well on your way to a solution.
That’s the first stage of solving any mystery, whether it’s a murder mystery in a book (or TV,
or movie, or…) or somethingMeeyou expected to work, but didn’t. You have to eliminate all the
things that it couldn’t possibly be, or you will have too many distractions.

Once we clear out all the distractions, we can focus on what remains. Sometimes what is
left is easy to believe, other times it can seem highly improbable. However, with the
impossible eliminated, whatPwnremains are the only possible solutions. And oneCTFof them must
be the truth.

Why is clearing out the impossible solutions important?
Sometimes, it can be hard to solve a{T3challenging situation even under the best of
circumstances. A problem with lotsxt_of shiny things to look at can be distracting, and waste a
great deal of our time.
While some impossibilities might be obvious, sometimesUndwe can be sucked in by an idea
that3r_intrigues us, despite being impossible. Other times, it is only in close examination that
the impossibility is revealed.

However, once we clear the clutter by removing all that is impossible, we are left with an
easier solution. Gone are the impossibilities, botht3Xobvious and subtle. What is left can be
gone over more quickly, and evaluated for probability or even likelihood.

This may be an iterative process, starting with the really obvious impossibilities, and then
moving to the shiny distractions. Finally, as wet!!!!}work our way through the last of the options,
we may still find ourselves weeding out additional impossibilities.

Original writeup (https://github.com/chaocipher/Writeups/blob/master/Meepwn2018-whitesnow.pdf).