How we learn
Observe the supplied artefact, form a hypothesis, test it in the authorized environment, and explain the result.
Course overview
A hands-on introduction to cyber security through authorized Capture The Flag challenges and laboratory exercises.
In-class practice
Short practical exercises build confidence with tools, program behaviour, and security reasoning.
Course rule
Work only on files, binaries, and systems explicitly provided for this course or a CTF event.
Teaching Assistant
Teaching Assistant
Zhentao XIE
Office: SHB 725 & 726
Weekly outline
Tentative. Topics and materials may be adjusted as the course progresses. New slides will appear in the lecture materials list.
Week 9 (6 Nov) was the web lab. HTTP, cookies, same-origin/CORS, XSS and CSRF, run against a local app with a live scoreboard. Lab manual · slides.
The outline changed from 13 Nov. The client-side web lecture was folded into Week 9, so Week 10 is now backend web, reverse engineering moves up one week, and the freed slot at the end is kernel exploitation. Check the table below.
The outline changed from 13 Nov. The client-side web lecture was folded into Week 9, so Week 10 is now backend web, reverse engineering moves up one week, and the freed slot at the end is kernel exploitation. Check the table below.
| Week | Date | Topic | Slides |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 11 | Course Introduction & In-class Quiz; lab environment setup | 00 · Course Overview 01 · Introduction to CTF 01-06 · Exercise Readmes Ungraded report: Blackboard, 17 Sep 23:59 |
| 2 | Sep 18 | Pwn 1 — Buffer Overflow & ret2libc | 02-01 · Buffer Overflow & ret2libc (PDF) 02 Lab · In-Class Manual Ungraded practice record: Blackboard, Sep 24 23:59 |
| 3 | Sep 25 | Pwn 2 — ret2libc with ASLR & ret2libc 64bit | 03-01 · ret2libc with ASLR, 32-bit (PDF) 03-02 · ret2libc 64-bit (PDF) 03 Lab · In-Class Manual 03 Demo/Lab · Classroom Code |
| 4 | Oct 2 | No class — Academic leave | No lecture |
| 5 | Oct 9 | Pwn 3 — Format String | 05-01 · Format String (PDF) 05 Lab · In-Class Manual |
| 6 | Oct 16 | Pwn 4 — Heap | 06-01 · Heap (PDF) 06 Lab · In-Class Manual |
| 7 | Oct 23 | In-class CTF — 60 min solving, then walk-throughs | In class · no slides |
| 8 | Oct 30 | Contactless Cards — MIFARE Classic, its keys and access bits, live scoreboard | 08 Slides · Contactless Cards, Inside Out 08 Lab · In-Class Manual 08 Demo · card & reader In class · scoreboard on the projector |
| 9 | Nov 6 | The Web, from the Request Up — HTTP, cookies, XSS, CSRF, live scoreboard | 09 Slides · The Web 09 Lab · In-Class Manual In class · scoreboard on the projector |
| 10 | Nov 13 | Web 2 — Backend Vulnerabilities (SQLi, SSRF, upload, command injection) | To be posted |
| 11 | Nov 20 | Reverse 1 — RE Basics (Ghidra, static/dynamic) | To be posted |
| 12 | Nov 27 | Reverse 2 — Advanced RE (VM reversing, anti-debug, obfuscation) | To be posted |
| 13 | Dec 4 | Pwn 5 — Kernel Exploitation (Linux kernel, Kernel ROP) | To be posted |
| Make-up | Dec 8 Tue, 1:30 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. | Crypto — Classical, Symmetric & RSA/Asymmetric; Forensics + AI/Web3 taster | Make-up session · Venue: SC 139 (Science Centre, Room 139) |