| Threat | Mitigation | |--------|-------------| | Server breach | Attacker gets only ciphertext (without keys, it’s useless). | | Insider threat (malicious admin) | Cannot read pastes. | | MITM on server connection | TLS protects ciphertext in transit; key is never transmitted. | | Permanent data leakage | No plaintext ever stored. | | Brute‑forcing keys | Key space is ~128+ bits; browser‑generated random values are cryptographically strong. |
In the Hacker101 Capture The Flag (CTF) challenges (specifically "Pastebin" themed challenges), there is a recurring lesson: hacker101 encrypted pastebin
: Once you understand the plaintext structure, you can manipulate the ciphertext to "flip" specific bits. Since AES-CBC links blocks together, changing one byte in a ciphertext block directly modifies the corresponding byte in the next decrypted block. This allows you to alter things like IDs or usernames within the application's logic. SQL Injection via Encryption | Threat | Mitigation | |--------|-------------| | Server
This design provides strong guarantees against several common threats: | | Permanent data leakage | No plaintext ever stored
The challenge gifts you the ability to modify the URL parameters: ?id=...&iv=...&data=...
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