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OverTheWire Bandit Level 0 Writeup — Find Your First Password

#security #beginners #ctf

The home directory contains a file called readme holding the password for the next level in plain text.

  • Platform: OverTheWire Bandit
  • Category: Linux Fundamentals
  • Level: 0 → 1
  • Difficulty: Beginner
  • Technique: SSH login, basic file reading

Challenge description

Bandit is a beginner wargame hosted by OverTheWire: each level is an SSH server you log into with a password found in the previous level. Level 0 gives you the starting credentials directly.

"Level Goal: You can find the password for the next level on this level's page."

Step 1 — Connect over SSH

The challenge page gives you a hostname, port, username, and password directly — there's nothing to find yet, just log in:

ssh bandit0@bandit.labs.overthewire.org -p 2220
# password: bandit0
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Step 2 — List the home directory

Once logged in, list what's in the home directory:

ls
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readme
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Step 3 — Read the file

A single file called readme is sitting there. Read it:

cat readme
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[PASSWORD FOR bandit1]
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🔑 password intentionally hidden

The password is deliberately hidden — follow the method, you've earned it. 💪

Key takeaways

Bandit's whole structure boils down to this loop: log in, look around, read something, get the next password. ls and cat are the two commands you'll use most in the entire game.

  • Always start a new level with ls — see what you're working with before doing anything else
  • cat prints a file's contents straight to the terminal
  • Every level's password unlocks the SSH login for the next level

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