On May 13-14th, VolgaCTF.org team held its annual qualifier event, namely VolgaCTF 2023 Qualifier.
The report sheds light on some key metrics that were collected during the competition this year. As always, the data is compared against the previous year event, that is VolgaCTF 2022 Qualifier.
Key metrics
- Sign up
- Number of teams
- Team sign in activity
- Task submit attempts distribution
- Task hit distribution
- Task review distribution
- Team/country distribution
Tasks
- Recurrent
- Letters
- SysVM
- Find the flag2
- 1337
- TruCrypt
- Muk-jji-ppa
- PHP
- SPlin
- Classic
- DOOM2
- Groovy
- Accelerated
- ponGO
- PwnExam
- Feedback
Sign up
Sign up was made available on April 14th and teams could register up to the end of the competition. The most number of teams (103), unsurprisingly, joined the event on the first day of the contest, May 13th.
Number of teams
This year saw an slight decrease in the number of teams playing:
| Number of teams | VolgaCTF 2023 Qualifier | VolgaCTF 2022 Qualifier | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 426 | 481 | -55 |
| Qualified | 346 | 404 | -58 |
| Disqualified | 0 | 0 | – |
| Signed in during the competition | 343 | 307 | +36 |
| Submitted at least one flag | 181 | 195 | -14 |
| Solved at least one task | 140 | 176 | -36 |
| Reviewed at least one task | 88 | 85 | +3 |
Team sign in activity
The chart below shows how many different teams signed in during the competition.
Task submit attempts distribution
The chart shows the number of teams who submitted flags to the given number of tasks (at least).
Task hit distribution
The chart shows the number of teams who solved the given number of tasks (at least).
Task review distribution
A team can write a review to the task they solved. The chart below shows the number of teams who reviewed the given number of tasks (at least).
Team/country distribution
Traditionally, VolgaCTF is played in all areas of the world. The most represented countries are shown in the diagram:
And here is a comparison table:
| # | Country | Number of teams (2023) | Number of teams (2022) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 151 | 178 | -27 |
| 2 | India | 21 | 25 | -4 |
| 3 | International | 18 | 16 | +2 |
| 4 | Vietnam | 15 | 14 | +1 |
| 5 | Japan | 14 | 12 | +2 |
| 6 | United States | 12 | 17 | -5 |
| 7 | Republic of Korea | 9 | 7 | +2 |
| 8 | China | 9 | 31 | -22 |
| 9 | Mongolia | 8 | 0 | +8 |
| 10 | France | 6 | 4 | +2 |
| 11 | Bangladesh | 6 | 9 | -3 |
| 12 | Iran | 5 | 2 | +3 |
| 13 | Indonesia | 5 | 3 | +2 |
| 14 | Tanzania | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| 15 | Hong Kong | 4 | 4 | – |
| 16 | United Kingdom | 3 | 3 | – |
| 17 | Singapore | 3 | 6 | -3 |
| 18 | Poland | 3 | 3 | – |
| 19 | Italy | 3 | 3 | – |
| 20 | Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | 3 | 2 | +1 |
| 21 | Greece | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| 22 | Germany | 3 | 3 | – |
| 23 | Ukraine | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| 24 | Thailand | 2 | 4 | -2 |
| 25 | Spain | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| 26 | Morocco | 2 | 4 | -2 |
| 27 | Malaysia | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 28 | Kazakhstan | 2 | 4 | -2 |
| 29 | Australia | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| 30 | Algeria | 2 | 2 | – |
| 31 | Uzbekistan | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 32 | Turkey | 1 | 5 | -4 |
| 33 | Tunisia | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 34 | Taiwan | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| 35 | Syria | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 36 | Somalia | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 37 | Serbia | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 38 | Saudi Arabia | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| 39 | Mexico | 1 | 1 | – |
| 40 | Marshall Islands | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 41 | Lesotho | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 42 | Ivory Coast | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 43 | Israel | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 44 | Hungary | 1 | 1 | – |
| 45 | Egypt | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 46 | Dominica | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 47 | Cyprus | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 48 | Costa Rica | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 49 | Canada | 1 | 1 | – |
| 50 | Belarus | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| 51 | Armenia | 1 | 1 | – |
| 52 | Albania | 1 | 1 | – |
Recurrent
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 213 |
| Categories | crypto |
| Opened | May 13 at 15:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 216 first on May 13 at 15:06 UTC last on May 14 at 14:59 UTC |
| Solved | by 57 teams first on May 13 at 15:07 UTC by dtl last on May 14 at 14:51 UTC |
| Rated | 4.5 (based on 23 reviews) |
Letters
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 50 |
| Categories | stego |
| Opened | May 13 at 15:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 280 first on May 13 at 15:02 UTC last on May 14 at 14:58 UTC |
| Solved | by 27 teams first on May 13 at 16:40 UTC by Dizzy spell last on May 14 at 14:15 UTC |
| Rated | 3.6 (based on 14 reviews) |
SysVM
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 454 |
| Categories | reverse |
| Opened | May 13 at 15:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 26 first on May 13 at 15:45 UTC last on May 14 at 11:29 UTC |
| Solved | by 3 teams first on May 14 at 00:14 UTC by C4T BuT S4D last on May 14 at 11:29 UTC |
| Rated | 5.0 (based on 3 reviews) |
Find the flag2
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 172 |
| Categories | web |
| Opened | May 13 at 15:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 616 first on May 13 at 15:02 UTC last on May 14 at 14:37 UTC |
| Solved | by 87 teams first on May 13 at 15:08 UTC by gwf last on May 14 at 14:08 UTC |
| Rated | 4.1 (based on 39 reviews) |
1337
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 281 |
| Categories | web |
| Opened | May 13 at 16:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 37 first on May 13 at 16:07 UTC last on May 14 at 13:59 UTC |
| Solved | by 28 teams first on May 13 at 16:39 UTC by Red Cadets last on May 14 at 13:59 UTC |
| Rated | 4.0 (based on 16 reviews) |
TruCrypt
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 410 |
| Categories | crypto |
| Opened | May 13 at 17:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 18 first on May 13 at 17:20 UTC last on May 14 at 14:33 UTC |
| Solved | by 6 teams first on May 14 at 00:13 UTC by FaKappa last on May 14 at 14:33 UTC |
| Rated | 4.0 (based on 2 reviews) |
Muk-jji-ppa
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 228 |
| Categories | misc |
| Opened | May 13 at 17:30 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 69 first on May 13 at 17:36 UTC last on May 14 at 14:48 UTC |
| Solved | by 49 teams first on May 13 at 17:54 UTC by Dizzy spell last on May 14 at 14:48 UTC |
| Rated | 4.4 (based on 27 reviews) |
PHP
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 194 |
| Categories | web |
| Opened | May 13 at 18:30 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 113 first on May 13 at 18:43 UTC last on May 14 at 14:50 UTC |
| Solved | by 70 teams first on May 13 at 18:58 UTC by Dizzy spell last on May 14 at 14:50 UTC |
| Rated | 4.6 (based on 34 reviews) |
SPlin
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 500 |
| Categories | crypto |
| Opened | May 13 at 18:30 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 10 first on May 13 at 18:45 UTC last on May 14 at 12:54 UTC |
| Solved | by 0 teams |
| Rated | n/a |
Classic
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 250 |
| Categories | stego |
| Opened | May 13 at 19:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 129 first on May 13 at 19:05 UTC last on May 14 at 14:43 UTC |
| Solved | by 1 teams on May 14 at 00:26 UTC by dtl |
| Rated | 4.0 (based on 1 review) |
DOOM2
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 221 |
| Categories | misc |
| Opened | May 13 at 20:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 165 first on May 13 at 20:11 UTC last on May 14 at 14:41 UTC |
| Solved | by 53 teams first on May 13 at 20:13 UTC by Karasique last on May 14 at 14:41 UTC |
| Rated | 4.5 (based on 19 reviews) |
Groovy
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 199 |
| Categories | stego |
| Opened | May 13 at 20:30 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 46 first on May 13 at 20:43 UTC last on May 14 at 14:45 UTC |
| Solved | by 7 teams first on May 14 at 05:53 UTC by CySoc last on May 14 at 14:18 UTC |
| Rated | 4.8 (based on 4 reviews) |
Accelerated
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 500 |
| Categories | reverse |
| Opened | May 13 at 21:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 1 on May 14 at 12:56 UTC |
| Solved | by 0 teams |
| Rated | n/a |
ponGO
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 326 |
| Categories | pwn |
| Opened | May 13 at 21:30 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 18 first on May 13 at 23:31 UTC last on May 14 at 14:49 UTC |
| Solved | by 17 teams first on May 14 at 02:28 UTC by dtl last on May 14 at 14:49 UTC |
| Rated | 4.8 (based on 10 reviews) |
PwnExam
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 500 |
| Categories | pwn |
| Opened | May 14 at 06:30 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 2 first on May 14 at 12:47 UTC last on May 14 at 12:56 UTC |
| Solved | by 1 teams on May 14 at 12:47 UTC by r4kapig |
| Rated | 3.0 (based on 1 review) |
Feedback
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 10 |
| Categories | misc |
| Opened | May 14 at 12:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 137 first on May 14 at 12:00 UTC last on May 14 at 14:55 UTC |
| Solved | by 84 teams first on May 14 at 12:00 UTC by Team Mazala last on May 14 at 14:55 UTC |
| Rated | 4.7 (based on 23 reviews) |
P.S. Thanks for participating and see you next year!