Flash CTF - Boarding School

Overview

This challenge involves extracting information from a boarding pass, specifically reading a barcode and identifying the booking reference number.

Solution

Step 1: Read the PDF417 Barcode

Extract the barcode data from the boarding pass file. The PDF417 barcode contains machine-readable passenger and booking information.

Step 2: Parse the Data

The barcode data follows the IATA (International Air Transport Association) standard format for boarding passes. The data is structured as:

M1WANG/SIHYAO E5RUYUF


Breaking down the format:

• M1 - Format code (indicates IATA boarding pass)
• WANG/SIHYAO - Passenger name (Last name/First name)
• E5RUYUF - Booking reference/Confirmation number (6 characters)

Step 3: Extract the Booking Reference

The booking reference is the 5-8 character alphanumeric code found after the passenger name in the IATA barcode data. In this example, it's E5RUYUF.

Step 4: Submit the Flag

Submit the booking reference as the flag in the format: MetaCTF{E5RUYUF}