Unix 15

In this challenge, the root user has created an unprotected copy of the sensitive /etc/shadow file, which contains user passwords. Due to weak permissions, you can read this file's content and extract the password hash for the 'victim' user. The password hash is encrypted using DES, a weak encryption algorithm that only considers the first eight characters of the password.

By using John-the-Ripper, a popular password-cracking tool, you can decrypt the DES-encrypted password. John-the-Ripper is designed to help administrators test the strength of passwords within their systems. Once you've cracked the password, you can switch to the 'victim' user account and access their home directory to find the key for this challenge.