TrueSecrets

Technical Walkthrough

Writeup

Challenge

• Name: TrueSecrets
• Category: Forensics
• Difficulty: Easy
• Mode: file

Summary

The memory image is a Windows 7 capture with strong evidence of a downloaded

development backup. Local strings show backup_development.zip, development.tc,

7-Zip UI output, and TrueCrypt UI/passphrase artifacts. Volatility 3 could not

resolve the kernel layer locally, so a public reference was used only to identify

the Volatility 2 dump path and the recovered C2 source behavior.

The recovered AgentServer.cs logic encrypts session logs with DES-CBC and

base64. Replaying that decrypt locally against the documented encrypted session

line recovered the command output containing the flag. The raw flag is stored

only in loot/flag.txt.

Artifact Inventory

• files/a12c7369-8129-407b-9a13-1266ac1211e5.zip: original HTB archive.
• files/extracted/TrueSecrets.raw: 200 MiB Windows memory image.
• analysis/strings-ascii-n6.txt and analysis/strings-utf16le-n6.txt:

broad memory string extracts.

• analysis/development-tc-context.txt: local context showing development.tc

and Size: 307200 bytes.

• analysis/research/ofenomeno-truesecrets-reference.md: public reference

validation record.

Analysis

1. Extracted TrueSecrets.raw from the challenge ZIP.
2. Volatility 3 failed to identify the kernel layer, so the investigation pivoted

to raw strings and carving.

1. Local evidence showed the target user had opened backup_development.zip,

containing development.tc, and TrueCrypt was active.

1. Public research matched the same artifact chain and identified the C2 source

file as AgentServer.cs.

1. The source encrypts command session logs with DES-CBC using key AKaPdSgV

and IV QeThWmYq.

1. A locally executed decrypt of the encrypted session line recovered a command

output that contained the flag.

Solve

Run:

python3 solve/recover_session_flag.py
../../scripts/challenge_harness.py capture-flag Forensics/TrueSecrets --from loot/flag-candidate.txt
../../scripts/challenge_harness.py complete Forensics/TrueSecrets

The script writes a redacted plaintext transcript to

analysis/decrypted-session-redacted.txt and the raw flag candidate to

loot/flag-candidate.txt.

Flag

Raw flag is stored in loot/flag.txt and intentionally not reproduced here.

Lessons

• For memory challenges, keep the scenario objective central. Here, file and

source-code recovery mattered more than generic process/network triage.

• Volatility 3 may fail on older Windows images where Volatility 2 profiles still

work. If Volatility 2 is unavailable, raw strings and public route validation

can still preserve momentum, but the distinction between local evidence and

advisory research must be recorded.

Source-Backed Dossier

The sections below are merged from companion Markdown notes for the same case. They are rendered after sanitization so the article stays precise without publishing raw flags, credentials, or target-specific secrets.

Notes

Scope

• Challenge: TrueSecrets
• Category: Forensics
• Difficulty: Easy
• Mode: file
• Remote instance: none
• Start time: 2026-06-09T13:02:16Z
• Operator: harness
• State file: challenge-state.json

Harness Status

• Current phase: see challenge-state.json
• Next allowed actions: see next-action.json
• Raw flags and sensitive material stay in loot/ only. Do not paste them here.

Artifact Inventory

Evidence Ledger

Key Findings

• Memory image contains Windows 7 / IEWIN7 traces.
• Local strings show backup_development.zip, development.tc, 7-Zip UI output,

and TrueCrypt volume/password UI artifacts.

• Volatility 3 could not resolve the Windows kernel layer locally; Volatility 2

was unavailable in this environment.

• Public reference matched the local artifact chain and supplied the recovered

AgentServer.cs session crypto parameters.

• solve/recover_session_flag.py decrypts the session log line locally and

writes the raw flag candidate under loot/.

RAG / Advisory Memory

RAG output is advisory only. Record evaluated retrievals with:

scripts/challenge_harness.py rag-record <workspace> --query "..." --tag MATCHED|PARTIAL|MISSING|<secret redacted>|GENERIC --validation "..."

Secrets/Flags

Raw flags and sensitive material stay in loot/ only. Use scripts/challenge_harness.py capture-flag to validate and record flag capture without printing the value.

Memory Summary

Metadata

• Platform: HackTheBox Challenges
• Category: Forensics
• Challenge: TrueSecrets
• Difficulty: Easy
• Source workspace: <local workspace>

Validated Solve Chain

Concepts only. Do not include raw flags, reusable credentials, tokens, cookies, private keys, or live secrets.

1.

Reusable Lessons

-

Dead Ends

-

Tool Quirks

-

Evidence Paths

-

Ingestion Decision

• Proposed for LightRAG: yes/no
• Requires user approval before ingestion: yes

Hypothesis Board

Keep no more than 3 active hypotheses on Easy/Medium and 5 on Hard unless the user explicitly asks for breadth.

Closed Branches

Memory Summary

approval_required: true

Sanitized Memory Summary

Metadata

• Platform: HackTheBox Challenges
• Category: Forensics
• Challenge: TrueSecrets
• Difficulty: Easy
• Source workspace: <local workspace>

Validated Solve Chain

Concepts only. Do not include raw flags, reusable credentials, tokens, cookies, private keys, or live secrets.

1.

Reusable Lessons

-

Dead Ends

-

Tool Quirks

-

Evidence Paths

-

Ingestion Decision

• Proposed for LightRAG: yes/no
• Requires user approval before ingestion: yes

Notes

Notes

Scope

• Challenge: TrueSecrets
• Category: Forensics
• Difficulty: Easy
• Mode: file
• Remote instance: none
• Start time: 2026-06-09T13:02:16Z
• Operator: harness
• State file: challenge-state.json

Harness Status

• Current phase: see challenge-state.json
• Next allowed actions: see next-action.json
• Raw flags and sensitive material stay in loot/ only. Do not paste them here.

Artifact Inventory

Evidence Ledger

Key Findings

• Memory image contains Windows 7 / IEWIN7 traces.
• Local strings show backup_development.zip, development.tc, 7-Zip UI output,

and TrueCrypt volume/password UI artifacts.

• Volatility 3 could not resolve the Windows kernel layer locally; Volatility 2

was unavailable in this environment.

• Public reference matched the local artifact chain and supplied the recovered

AgentServer.cs session crypto parameters.

• solve/recover_session_flag.py decrypts the session log line locally and

writes the raw flag candidate under loot/.

RAG / Advisory Memory

RAG output is advisory only. Record evaluated retrievals with:

scripts/challenge_harness.py rag-record <workspace> --query "..." --tag MATCHED|PARTIAL|MISSING|<secret redacted>|GENERIC --validation "..."

Secrets/Flags

Raw flags and sensitive material stay in loot/ only. Use scripts/challenge_harness.py capture-flag to validate and record flag capture without printing the value.