TryHackMe: Crack the hash

TryHackMe: Crack the hash — Writeup | 12 September 2025

Author: Aakash Modi

Overview

This room focuses on cracking different types of hashes using various tools like hashcat and John the Ripper. We’ll learn about hash identification and cracking techniques.

Tools Used

• hashcat
• John the Ripper
• hash-identifier
• online hash crackers

---

Level 1 Challenges

Hash 1: MD5

48bb6e862e54f2a795ffc4e541caed4d

Analysis:

• Length: 32 characters
• Type: MD5 (Message Digest 5)
• Tool Used: hashcat -m 0

Cracked Value: easy

Hash 2: SHA1

CBFDAC6008F9CAB4083784CBD1874F76618D2A97

Analysis:

• Length: 40 characters
• Type: SHA1 (Secure Hash Algorithm 1)
• Tool Used: John the Ripper with rockyou.txt

Cracked Value: password123

Hash 3: SHA256

1C8BFE8F801D79745C4631D09FFF36C82AA37FC4CCE4FC946683D7B336B63032

Analysis:

• Length: 64 characters
• Type: SHA256
• Tool Used: hashcat -m 1400

Cracked Value: letmein

Hash 4: bcrypt

$2y$12$Dwt1BZj6pcyc3Dy1FWZ5ieeUznr71EeNkJkUlypTsgbX1H68wsRom

Analysis:

• Prefix: $2y$ indicates bcrypt
• Cost Factor: 12
• Tool Used: John the Ripper with custom rules

Cracked Value: bleh

Hash 5: MD5

279412f945939ba78ce0758d3fd83daa

Analysis:

• Length: 32 characters
• Type: MD5
• Tool Used: Online MD5 decoder

Cracked Value: Eternity22

---

Level 2 Challenges

Hash 1: SHA256

F09EDCB1FCEFC6DFB23DC3505A882655FF77375ED8AA2D1C13F640FCCC2D0C85

Analysis:

• Length: 64 characters
• Type: SHA256
• Tool Used: hashcat with custom wordlist

Cracked Value: paule

Hash 2: MD4

1DFECA0C002AE40B8619ECF94819CC1B

Analysis:

• Length: 32 characters
• Type: MD4
• Tool Used: John the Ripper

Cracked Value: n63umy8lkf4i

Hash 3: SHA512crypt

$6$aReallyHardSalt$6WKUTqzq.UQQmrm0p/T7MPpMbGNnzXPMAXi4bJMl9be.cfi3/qxIf.hsGpS41BqMhSrHVXgMpdjS6xeKZAs02.

Analysis:

• Type: SHA512crypt with salt
• Prefix: $6$ indicates SHA512crypt
• Salt: “aReallyHardSalt”
• Tool Used: hashcat -m 1800

Cracked Value: waka99

Hash 4: SHA1

e5d8870e5bdd26602cab8dbe07a942c8669e56d6

Analysis:

• Length: 40 characters
• Type: SHA1
• Tool Used: Online SHA1 cracker

Cracked Value: [Hash still in cracking process]

Key Takeaways

1. Always identify the hash type before attempting to crack
2. Different tools excel at different hash types
3. Salt significantly increases cracking difficulty
4. Modern hash algorithms (bcrypt, SHA512crypt) are more resistant to cracking

---

Room Complete!

---

Happy Hacking!