OverTheWire Bandit Level 10 → 11 tutorial!!

Login

Log in as bandit10 using the password you just obtained from Level 9 → 10.

ssh bandit10@bandit.labs.overthewire.org -p 2220
# password: FGUW5ilLVJrxX9kMYMmlN4MgbpfMiqey

Why? Each Bandit level is a separate UNIX user. To solve 10 → 11, you must be the bandit10 user.

Task

The password for the next level is stored in data.txt, which contains Base64-encoded data.

A little bit of Theory

• Base64 is an encoding scheme (not encryption) that maps binary to 64 printable characters.

• On Linux, use the base64 utility:

  • Decode: base64 -d FILE
  • Encode: base64 FILE
• Base64 output often ends with = padding to reach a multiple of 4 characters.

Further reading:

• Base64 — Wikipedia
• GNU coreutils: base64

Solution

1. Confirm the file is present

   ls -l
   

   Why? Sanity check that data.txt exists and you’re in the right place.

1. (Optional) Peek at the data — looks Base64

   head -c 80 data.txt
   

   Why? You’ll typically see A–Z, a–z, 0–9, +, /, and maybe = padding.

1. Decode the file with base64 -d

   base64 -d data.txt
   

   Why? Decodes the Base64 text back to the original message containing the password.

1. Copy the password (no extra spaces/newlines).

2. Log into the next level (bandit11)

   exit
   ssh bandit11@bandit.labs.overthewire.org -p 2220
   # paste the password you just found when prompted
   

Password

This is the password shown in my run; if yours differs, copy the one from your own terminal output.

dtR173fZKb0RRsDFSGsg2RWnpNVj3qRr

Troubleshooting

• base64: invalid input → File may have wrapped lines oddly; try base64 --ignore-garbage -d data.txt.
• Empty/garbled output? → Ensure you didn’t include shell prompt text when copying; re-run base64 -d data.txt.
• Still unsure it’s Base64? → file data.txt may show ASCII text; Base64 isn’t a “format”, just text—decoding is the test.

Congrats 🎉 You decoded the Base64 message and can now play as bandit11.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time — Otsumachi!! 💖☄️✨