Serpent Sanctum

Offensive, CLI, Python jail

The crooked path of Specter Street has led you to the next house: a sagging Victorian manor surrounded by mist. A tarnished brass plaque reads “Serpent Sanctum”. Rumor has it that one knock goes unanswered, but a second opens a trap…

Long ago, this manor on Specter Street was home to Dr. Vex, an eccentric folklore professor who hosted a notorious All-Hallows symposium every October 31. Vex believed that on Halloween night, when the boundary between myth and reality thins, ancient tales could be recompiled into the modern world – given the right vessel.

Obsessed with the Delphic serpent Python, Dr. Vex set out to fuse mythic spirit with living code. Vex vanished that night, but the neighbors have heard a low hiss every October since. Each Halloween, the code chains relight and the serpent awakens, waiting for anyone brave or foolish enough to knock twice.

Phantom Pages

Offensive, Web applications, lateral movement, privilege escalation

As you approach the door of 11 Specter Street, you notice the garden is littered with ashes. The porch is covered with smoldering book pages, and the smell of smoke still lingers in the air. Despite this, the house sits eerily silent, only interrupted by your knock on the door.

“Trick or Treat!” you yell. No response.

You knock again. A loud “Shhh!” echoes from inside, before the door slowly creaks open. The house is dark, but you can see a gentle glow from a screen casting a soft light on the room at the end of the hall. As you creep closer, it looks like this was an old home library. Or at least the remnants of one…

Morphy’s Mansion

Reverse engineering, exploit development

While making your way down Specter Street, you accidentally kick a small, fragile object along the sidewalk. You bend down to inspect it closely and…

Is that… a chess piece?

You pick it up and roll it between your finger and thumb. Something feels… off. It's not just chilled, as you'd expect from something lying in the street on a frigid night like this – it's freezing.

The shock of the ice-cold surface briefly distracts you, but then you notice something isn't quite right with how it looks, either. The chess piece doesn't capture light as you'd expect it to. You get a sudden, uneasy feeling that it doesn't want you looking at it.

Need help solving the mystery? SabrinaKayaci​  will be on hand in this pre-recorded webinar to walk you through Phantom Pages.

To locate the Trick or Treat on Specter Street challenge navigate to Exercise > Challenges & Scenarios > Trick or Treat on Specter Street