│ Category: Forensics
│ Author: Imattas aka Zemi
│ Flag: byuctf{Th3_C4k3_!s_4_L!3_HTC56zeE}
│ Source Path: forensics/there_will_be_cake/ThereWillBeCake.md
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--[ Challenge Description ]--
-- text --
---
## Challenge Description
The Enrichment Center is required to remind you that
all test subject activity will be logged,
analyzed, and stored for scientific purposes.
"Cake and grief counseling will be available at the conclusion of the test."
*The pcap file contains a flag for each of the following challenges: "There will be cake", "Are you still there?", "Alright. Paradox time", and "Corrupted Cores".
If the flag you found doesn't work, then it most likely belongs to one of the other 3 challenges.
Hint: what is a baked treat similar to a cake that you can find on almost any website?
---
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--[ Provided Materials ]--
- Repository folder
https://github.com/BYU-CSA/BYUCTF-2026/tree/main/forensics/there_will_be_cake
- forensics/therewillbe_cake/ThereWillBeCake.md https://github.com/BYU-CSA/BYUCT
F-2026/blob/main/forensics/there_will_be_cake/ThereWillBeCake.md
- forensics/therewillbecake/GLaDOSNetwork.pcapng https://github.com/BYU-CSA/BYUC
TF-2026/blob/main/forensics/there_will_be_cake/GLaDOS_Network.pcapng
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--[ Recon / Initial Analysis ]--
This page imports the BYUCTF 2026 source material for the Forensics challenge
There Will Be Cake. The prompt is kept separate from the solve notes, and
upstream artifacts are linked so the challenge can be replayed from the original
repository.
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--[ Vulnerability / Observation ]--
The useful observation comes from the imported solve notes below. I kept the
original technical path intact while normalizing the page metadata, challenge
grouping, and author attribution for the Volume 2 writeup archive.
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--[ Exploitation / Solution ]--
Source: forensics/therewillbe_cake/ThereWillBeCake.md https://github.com/BYU-CSA
/BYUCTF-2026/blob/main/forensics/there_will_be_cake/ThereWillBeCake.md
This one is fairly straightforward. Since the challenge description is talking
about storing data, the
player should look for any packets that resemble an API request. The only
packets that fit this description
are the HTTP request and response packets, so we start our search there.
After looking around in the HTTP request packet, we see that there is a cookie
being sent titled cake, which has
a base64 string associated with it. If we take the base64 string and decode it,
we end up with the following flag:
byuctf{Th3C4k3!s4L!3_HTC56zeE}
(also, please forgive me for the vibe-codded api. I only noticed after the fact
that it was a POST request and not a
GET request lol)
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--[ Full Exploit Script ]--
No standalone exploit script was present in the selected source material.
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--[ Key Takeaways ]--
- The BYUCTF 2026 challenge material is preserved with local archive formatting.
- The page author is normalized to Imattas aka Zemi.
- The source repository remains linked for handouts, services, and solve
artifacts.