OverTheWire Bandit Level 7 → 8 tutorial!!

Login

Log in as bandit7 using the password you just obtained from Level 6 → 7.

ssh bandit7@bandit.labs.overthewire.org -p 2220
# password: morbNTDkSW6jIlUc0ymOdMaLnOlFVAaj

Why? Each Bandit level is a separate UNIX user. To solve 7 → 8, you must be the bandit7 user.

Task

The password for the next level is stored in the file data.txt and is on the same line as the word millionth.

A little bit of Theory

• grep searches for lines that match a pattern.

  • Basic: grep PATTERN FILE
  • With line numbers: grep -n PATTERN FILE
  • Match a whole word: grep -w PATTERN FILE

• The output line typically looks like: millionth <password> → copy the second field. You can also extract it with awk or cut.

Further reading:

• grep command manual
• Search: grep basics

Solution

1. Verify the file is present

   ls -l
   

   Why? Sanity check; the challenge states data.txt is here.

1. Search for the keyword

   grep -nw 'millionth' data.txt
   

   Why? -n shows the line number; -w forces a whole-word match.

2. (Optional) Extract only the password

   awk '/\bmillionth\b/ {print $2}' data.txt
   # or:
   grep -w 'millionth' data.txt | cut -d' ' -f2
   

   Why? Prints just the second field (the password) — copy-friendly.

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

2. Log into the next level (bandit8)

   exit
   ssh bandit8@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.

dfwvzFQi4mU0wfNbFOe9RoWskMLg7eEc

Troubleshooting

• grep: data.txt: No such file or directory → Check pwd; you should be in /home/bandit7.
• Multiple matches? → Use -w to match the whole word.
• Output formatting odd? → Use awk/cut as shown to isolate the second field.

Congrats 🎉 You plucked the right line out of a huge file and can now play as bandit8.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time — Otsumachi!! 💖☄️✨