OverTheWire Bandit — Complete Walkthrough Index

OverTheWire Bandit — Complete Walkthrough Index

Halloo SuiiKawaii dessu!! Glad to see you again. This page is the master index for my Bandit walkthroughs — actually i don’t have much to say because the title and desciption already help you figure out what is this post about so yeah today we gonna do some OverTheWire Bandit 🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥!!

Introduction

If you’re getting into cybersecurity or ethical hacking, OverTheWire (open in new tab) is one of the best beginner-friendly playgrounds.

Bandit is basically a fun Linux bootcamp disguised as a wargame. It starts simple (“how do I even log in?”) and ramps up to decoding, grepping, piping, and small forensics. You’ll build real skills you’ll reuse in CTFs, pentesting, and sysadmin work.

Why start with Bandit?

• Hands-on from minute one — no walls of theory.
• Builds real Linux muscle memory.
• Trains the hacker mindset: read, research, experiment.
• Totally free — just a terminal + internet.

By the end you’ll be comfortable with:

• Navigating the shell quickly.
• Hunting files, reading permissions, decoding formats.
• Chaining commands into powerful one-liners.

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About This Series

Each level has its own post with:

1. Login Info — how to connect for that level
2. Task — the original OTW prompt
3. Theory — short notes on the commands/concepts
4. Solution — step-by-step, reproducible walkthrough

My goal isn’t to dump passwords but to show why each step works so you can solve similar problems on your own.

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How to Play Bandit (and actually learn)

1. Read the challenge carefully.
2. Try first, then peek at hints if stuck.
3. Use man/--help aggressively.
4. Keep a logbook of commands, ideas, dead ends.
5. Fail fast, retry until you can solve it without notes.

Pro tip: the real magic is in pipes (|) and redirection (>, >>, 2>).

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Levels Index (0 → 34)

Each link opens in a new tab. The one-liner tells you the main idea for that level.

• 🐣 Level 0 — SSH Login
  Read post → — First SSH into the Bandit server.

• 📄 Level 1 — Reading a File
  Read post → — Use cat to read the password.

• 🌀 Level 2 — Weird Filenames
  Read post → — Handle names with spaces/special chars.

• 💬 Level 3 — Spaces in Filenames
  Read post → — Quote/escape filenames.

• 👀 Level 4 — Hidden Files
  Read post → — Reveal dotfiles with ls -a.

• 🧾 Level 5 — File Types
  Read post → — Identify with file.

• 📏 Level 6 — Size & Permissions
  Read post → — find by size/owner/type.

• 🧍 Level 7 — Owner/Group Search
  Read post → — Search by ownership.

• 🔍 Level 8 — Grep & Pipe
  Read post → — Filter with grep.

• 🔄 Level 9 — Unique Lines
  Read post → — sort + uniq.

• 💻 Level 10 — Strings in Binary
  Read post → — Extract text with strings.

• 🧩 Level 11 — Base64
  Read post → — Decode with base64 -d.

• 🔡 Level 12 — Rot13 / Substitution
  Read post → — Transform with tr.

• 🪄 Level 13 — Hexdump Magic
  Read post → — Recognize file types by hex.

• 🔑 Level 14 — SSH Keys
  Read post → — Login using a private key.

• 📡 Level 15 — Netcat Basics
  Read post → — Read from a TCP service.

• 📂 Level 16 — Port Scanning
  Read post → — Find the right port.

• 🕵️ Level 17 — Diff Files
  Read post → — Compare with diff.

• 🔐 Level 18 — Hidden in Plain Sight
  Read post → — Spot secrets in text.

• 📜 Level 19 — Permissions Trick
  Read post → — Exploit file permissions.

• 🛠️ Level 20 — Netcat & Scripts
  Read post → — Interact with a server script.

• 🔄 Level 21 — Cron Jobs
  Read post → — Abuse scheduled tasks.

• 🗂️ Level 22 — Cron & Scripts
  Read post → — Read what cron runs.

• 🧵 Level 23 — More Cron Fun
  Read post → — Chain cron scripts.

• ⚙️ Level 24 — TCP & Scripts
  Read post → — Connect to a custom TCP service.

• 📨 Level 25 — SSH & Port Forwarding
  Read post → — Forward ports with SSH.

• 📦 Level 26 — Special Shells
  Read post → — Escape restricted shells.

• 🧪 Level 27 — Git Basics
  Read post → — Clone and inspect a repo.

• 🕳️ Level 28 — Git History
  Read post → — Dig secrets from commits.

• 🗝️ Level 29 — Git Tags
  Read post → — Check tags for clues.

• 📖 Level 30 — Git Branches
  Read post → — Inspect branches.

• 🌀 Level 31 — Git Remotes
  Read post → — Explore remotes.

• 📚 Level 32 — Bash Loops
  Read post → — Automate with loops.

• 🧠 Level 33 — Knowledge Check
  Read post → — Combine previous skills.

• 🏁 Level 34 — The End!
  Read post → — Final challenge 🎓

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Conclusion

There are tons of Bandit guides out there from other Blog to Youtube videos, but i made this series is my take with my own style of workflow, notes, and explanations. Even if you just skim, I hope it will helps you learn faster.

Finishing Bandit feels like leveling up from “Linux noob” to “terminal ninja” 🥷:

• The command line becomes a friendly tool.
• You can chain small utilities like LEGO bricks.
• You can learn anything by slicing it into tiny, winnable steps.

Next adventures:

• Krypton (crypto)
• Narnia (binary exploitation)
• Labs: TryHackMe / Hack The Box

Keep playing, keep breaking (legally!), keep notes — you got this 💪

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Thanks for reading!

Until next time — Otsumachi!! 💖☄️✨