Autonomous CTF / boot-to-root campaign driver. Runs a box end to end with no operator approvals - the deterministic driver (scripts/campaign.py) owns pass state, generates the killchain board from recon, and prints the exact next action (Skill + tool) every turn. Use when handed a box/IP to own end to end, "run the ctf workflow", "root this box", "foothold to root". Single agent, wiki-first, tool-first. OSINT is OFF unless you invoke with an osint argument. Delegates box recipes to ctf-box.
npx skills add https://github.com/Encod3d-Sec/TORCH --skill ctf-workflow
The driver is the plan. Run one command, do exactly what it prints, record the result, repeat. The
gates are enforced by scripts/campaign.py.
python3 scripts/campaign.py next
python3 scripts/campaign.py note <row> --arsenal <slug>
python3 scripts/campaign.py done <row> --poc <img> --kind req # | --dead R | --park Q | --find F
Every next now prints an APPROACH:/AVOID:/REFS: block for the served row (the distilled
ctf-box method for that vuln class) - read it before acting.
python3 scripts/campaign.py init --type ctf - validates scope.md (for a box, scope is justthe target IP/host) + envelope.
with an explicit osint argument - a box's answer is on the box, not in Wayback.
state.md - rustscan/nmap + web enum. Read every service banner, page source andconfig end to end.
python3 scripts/campaign.py board - writes the 4a foothold rows; once an asset is a foothold,re-run board and it seeds the 4b privesc rows (pspy/linpeas auto + the manual checklist) for
that asset.
vm-scan.sh --win shell, or ameterpreter/msfconsole session via --win msf), record it: `python3 scripts/campaign.py foothold
<target> --win shell (or --win msf; or ride it on the closing find with done ... --win`). The
driver flips the asset's state.md row to access=foothold and routes its 4b privesc rows through
vm-rsh --win <win> (persistent session + operator visibility past foothold), and prints `tmux
attach -t <eng>` for manual takeover. msf itself is operator-attach / drop-to-shell, not
vm-rsh-driven (its wrapper frames a bash shell, not the msf6 > REPL). **After recording a
foothold, re-run python3 scripts/campaign.py board so the 4b privesc rows are seeded** - next
will not surface them until you do.
moment code-exec lands (a web-RCE primitive, an LFI->session-poison, a deser gadget), STOP
hand-poking one-shot payloads: (a) catch it with a real handler by default - msfconsole's
exploit/multi/handler (meterpreter first; a plain shell_reverse_tcp is the backup when
meterpreter is blocked, e.g. Windows/EDR) (record via campaign.py foothold <target> --win msf,
step 6). Reserve a raw nc -lvnp listener for when msf is unavailable: a raw nc pane's Ctrl-C
kills the LISTENER (dropping the shell back to your own prompt, the false-root attacker-prompt
trap) and it has no session management, while
meterpreter also carries post/multi/recon/local_exploit_suggester escalation modules and
built-in file transfer. (b) **Before picking the LPORT, test target egress on common ports
(80/443/53)** - high ports like 4444 are frequently filtered, so pick an egress-allowed LPORT. (scripts/vm-handler.sh <eng> <lhost> picks a free egress port and launches the handler for you, printing the LPORT.)
(c) If you did fall back to raw nc, stabilize it immediately with `bash
scripts/vm-stabilize.sh --win shell <eng>` (pty + job control + window size). (d) Then record the
foothold (step 6) and drive with vm-rsh. An unstabilized nc shell (no job control, mid-line
wrapping) is what makes post-ex drift back into one-liners. Full discipline: Skill(ctf-box)
Phase 3 (Deliver). The recon-capture hook fires this reflex once on the first service-account
id.
ctf-workflow owns pass sequencing and the board; the per-service exploitation recipes live in
Skill(ctf-box), which the driver hands off to - do not duplicate them here. Route a fingerprinted
service to its Skill(hunt-*) as the board names it; use Skill(ctf-category) for a standalone
challenge (pwn/rev/crypto/forensics/stego).
A box is VPN-boxed, so the local chrome-devtools MCP browser cannot reach it - use the **VM-side
browser** (scripts/browser.sh <url> / capture.sh web) to render a JS-heavy web service and read
its DOM + network requests (the rendered XHR/fetch calls reveal API routes a curl crawl misses -
often the intended path). Rendered screenshots of the flag/exploited state are valid web PoCs.
A service needing a manual login / MFA / CAPTCHA the agent can't do headlessly -> Skill(chrome-devtools-browser): a VISIBLE chromium on the VM desktop (scripts/browser-visible.sh) the operator drives, observed live via the chrome-devtools MCP.
G1 arsenal-first, G2 skill-first, G3 typed evidence (a flag on screen is a valid web PoC), G8
tool-first. Privesc always includes pspy + linpeas/winpeas - the board seeds these as 4b rows once
an asset is recorded as a foothold (re-run board after foothold/done --win to seed them).
Once a foothold and a working escalation vector are identified, hand the exploit compile +
escalation run to a sub-agent via Skill(delegate) - checklist, model choice, and the
mandatory false-root/false-RCE hostname+uid guardrail all live there; keep the main agent
driving the board.
Prefer a clean post-ex command channel over driving msf sessions -c (delayed output, quoting
pain): a webshell writing enum output to a web-served file then curl it, or a single-tool
read/decrypt done locally on already-exfiltrated data.
No approvals. The verifier is optional for CTF (a captured flag self-verifies). Both flags captured ->
set ## STATUS: SOLVED in state.md, then the driver prints the close-out chain.
superpowers:brainstorming/writing-plans mid-box; keep no parallel task list.scripts/vm-scan.sh), never ablind background pipe -- you must WATCH a scanner that can trip a target's rate-limiter/ban.
poc/ AS IT LANDS (scripts/capture.sh), even on a curl/ssh-onlybox -- a transient exploited state cannot be re-shot after the turn.
Run the printed chain: Skill(walkthrough) -> Skill(learn).
Manual fallback: read Approach.md, take the top open row, run its wiki lookup then its hunt skill
or Skill(ctf-box), capture evidence, mark [x]; on exhaustion one Deadends.md line + [!].
Take encod3d-sec/ctf-workflow from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal
use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.
The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the
same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.