Getting Started

Everything you need to know to compete in CSCD 240 CTFs.

1

Sign in with GitHub

Click Login in the top nav and authenticate with your GitHub account. If you don't have a GitHub account yet, create one for free — you'll need it for this course anyway.

2

Try a practice challenge

Navigate to the Challenges page. CTF 0 (Prerequisite Review) is an ungraded practice round with 17 challenges covering types, ASCII, arrays, and recursion. Start with a quickfire (10 pts) to get comfortable with the format.

3

Check the schedule

Your first graded CTF is during Friday lab in Week 3. The home page shows the full schedule with countdown timers. Graded CTFs run for 1 hour 50 minutes during your lab period.

4

Review with the course site

Each CTF tests concepts from that week's lectures. Use the course site to review lessons, try skill drills, and prepare before the graded event.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I get stuck on a challenge?
Start with the quickfire challenges (10 pts) — they build confidence and reinforce fundamentals. Challenge descriptions include context about what's being tested. Review the related lessons on the course site if you need to brush up on a concept. If you're still stuck, ask during office hours.
Can I submit multiple times?
Yes. You can submit as many flag attempts as you want while the CTF is open. Only correct submissions earn points. There is no penalty for wrong answers.
How is scoring done?
Challenges are organized by difficulty tier:

Quickfire (10 pts) — warm up, direct recall
Warmup (25 pts) — fundamentals, single concept
Standard (50 pts) — application, multi-step
Advanced (75 pts) — deeper understanding, integration
Expert (100 pts) — challenge yourself, creative problem solving

Your score is the total points from all correct submissions during the CTF window.
What tools do I need?
A terminal (SSH to the EWU lab machines, or use WSL on Windows), a text editor, and a C compiler (gcc). Everything you need is already installed on the EWU lab machines. Some challenges are pure knowledge questions that you can answer from any device.
What does a flag look like?
Flags follow the format FLAG{...}. The value inside the braces depends on the challenge — it might be a number, a word, or the output of a program. Read the challenge description carefully for what to submit.
Is CTF 0 graded?
No. CTF 0 (Prerequisite Review) is an ungraded practice round. It's designed to help you get comfortable with the platform and review Java-to-C bridge concepts before the first graded CTF.