On March 29-30th, VolgaCTF.org team held its annual qualifier event, namely VolgaCTF 2025 Qualifier.
The report elaborates on some key metrics that were collected during the competition this year. The data is compared against VolgaCTF 2024 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
- Baby-Welcome
- sbsbx
- Warez
- Sneaky
- Charge of Darkness
- Ponsense
- Ponality
- Field Rules
- Gaussian Curve
- SQL injection task
- Breaking Bad
- nasOS
- Broke Bloke
- Broke Bloke Revenge
- Cursed Notes
- Сockfighting
- Utils
- Cloud
- Feedback
Sign up
Sign up was made available on March 3rd and teams could register up to the end of the competition. Unsurprisingly, the maximum number of teams (85) joined the event on the first day of the contest, March 29th.
Number of teams
This year saw a continuous decline in the number of teams playing:
| Number of teams | VolgaCTF 2025 Qualifier | VolgaCTF 2024 Qualifier | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 457 | 807 | -350 |
| Qualified | 380 | 678 | -298 |
| Disqualified | 0 | 0 | – |
| Signed in during the competition | 344 | 569 | -225 |
| Submitted at least one flag | 177 | 302 | -125 |
| Solved at least one task | 125 | 257 | -132 |
| Reviewed at least one task | 66 | 144 | -78 |
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 (2025) | Number of teams (2024) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 274 | 281 | -7 |
| 2 | Vietnam | 15 | 22 | -7 |
| 3 | Mongolia | 12 | 18 | -6 |
| 4 | India | 7 | 60 | -53 |
| 5 | China | 7 | 25 | -18 |
| 6 | International | 7 | 24 | -17 |
| 7 | Belarus | 5 | 6 | -1 |
| 8 | France | 4 | 8 | -4 |
| 9 | Republic of Korea | 3 | 18 | -15 |
| 10 | Pakistan | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| 11 | Kyrgyzstan | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| 12 | Kazakhstan | 3 | 16 | -13 |
| 13 | Japan | 3 | 11 | -8 |
| 14 | Antarctica | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| 15 | United States | 2 | 16 | -14 |
| 16 | United Kingdom | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| 17 | Netherlands | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 18 | Hong Kong | 2 | 7 | -5 |
| 19 | Uzbekistan | 1 | 1 | – |
| 20 | Uruguay | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 21 | Turkey | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 22 | Tanzania | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 23 | Peru | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 24 | Nigeria | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 25 | Niger | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 26 | Nepal | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 27 | Morocco | 1 | 10 | -9 |
| 28 | Mauritius | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 29 | Kiribati | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 30 | Italy | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| 31 | Iran | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| 32 | Indonesia | 1 | 8 | -7 |
| 33 | Iceland | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 34 | Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| 35 | Greece | 1 | 5 | -4 |
| 36 | Egypt | 1 | 5 | -4 |
| 37 | Christmas Island | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 38 | Bangladesh | 1 | 9 | -8 |
| 39 | Australia | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 40 | Armenia | 1 | 1 | – |
| 41 | Albania | 1 | 1 | – |
Baby-Welcome
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 331 |
| Categories | pwn |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 12:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 73 first on Mar 29 at 12:00 UTC last on Mar 30 at 11:49 UTC |
| Solved | by 16 teams first on Mar 29 at 13:01 UTC by bi0s last on Mar 30 at 10:39 UTC |
| Rated | 5.0 (based on 3 reviews) |
sbsbx
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 316 |
| Categories | pwn |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 12:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 34 first on Mar 29 at 12:14 UTC last on Mar 30 at 11:09 UTC |
| Solved | by 19 teams first on Mar 29 at 13:34 UTC by bi0s last on Mar 30 at 11:09 UTC |
| Rated | 4.4 (based on 5 reviews) |
Warez
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 500 |
| Categories | reverse |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 12:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 8 first on Mar 29 at 15:22 UTC last on Mar 29 at 22:01 UTC |
| Solved | by 1 team first on Mar 29 at 21:13 UTC by Drovosec last on Mar 29 at 21:13 UTC |
| Rated | n/a |
Sneaky
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 474 |
| Categories | reverse |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 12:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 37 first on Mar 29 at 12:17 UTC last on Mar 30 at 10:16 UTC |
| Solved | by 2 teams first on Mar 29 at 18:49 UTC by cR4.sh last on Mar 30 at 08:47 UTC |
| Rated | n/a |
Charge of Darkness
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 500 |
| Categories | reverse |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 12:00 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 40 first on Mar 29 at 12:31 UTC last on Mar 30 at 09:09 UTC |
| Solved | by 0 teams |
| Rated | n/a |
Ponsense
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 437 |
| Categories | pwn |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 12:10 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 7 first on Mar 29 at 12:42 UTC last on Mar 30 at 11:25 UTC |
| Solved | by 4 teams first on Mar 29 at 17:24 UTC by bi0s last on Mar 30 at 11:25 UTC |
| Rated | n/a |
Ponality
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 437 |
| Categories | pwn |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 12:10 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 12 first on Mar 29 at 13:26 UTC last on Mar 30 at 01:49 UTC |
| Solved | by 4 teams first on Mar 29 at 19:09 UTC by bi0s last on Mar 30 at 01:49 UTC |
| Rated | n/a |
Field Rules
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 186 |
| Categories | crypto |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 12:10 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 740 first on Mar 29 at 12:15 UTC last on Mar 30 at 11:44 UTC |
| Solved | by 76 teams first on Mar 29 at 12:24 UTC by Drovosec last on Mar 30 at 11:34 UTC |
| Rated | 4.0 (based on 26 reviews) |
Gaussian Curve
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 349 |
| Categories | crypto |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 12:10 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 157 first on Mar 29 at 12:25 UTC last on Mar 30 at 10:33 UTC |
| Solved | by 13 teams first on Mar 29 at 13:14 UTC by The Balamoshkas last on Mar 30 at 10:33 UTC |
| Rated | 5.0 (based on 5 reviews) |
SQL injection task
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 371 |
| Categories | web |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 13:10 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 150 first on Mar 29 at 13:19 UTC last on Mar 30 at 11:57 UTC |
| Solved | by 10 teams first on Mar 29 at 16:40 UTC by The Balamoshkas last on Mar 30 at 11:26 UTC |
| Rated | 4.3 (based on 7 reviews) |
Breaking Bad
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 454 |
| Categories | pwn |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 13:35 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 15 first on Mar 29 at 13:36 UTC last on Mar 30 at 00:45 UTC |
| Solved | by 3 teams first on Mar 29 at 21:23 UTC by L0stAx3s last on Mar 30 at 00:45 UTC |
| Rated | 5.0 (based on 2 reviews) |
nasOS
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 182 |
| Categories | web |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 14:10 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 260 first on Mar 29 at 14:12 UTC last on Mar 30 at 11:59 UTC |
| Solved | by 79 teams first on Mar 29 at 14:29 UTC by N1gh7m4reFu3L last on Mar 30 at 11:04 UTC |
| Rated | 4.4 (based on 24 reviews) |
Broke Bloke
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 215 |
| Categories | crypto |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 14:12 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 96 first on Mar 29 at 14:16 UTC last on Mar 30 at 11:49 UTC |
| Solved | by 56 teams first on Mar 29 at 14:16 UTC by The Balamoshkas last on Mar 30 at 10:32 UTC |
| Rated | 3.3 (based on 22 reviews) |
Broke Bloke Revenge
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 437 |
| Categories | crypto |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 17:05 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 36 first on Mar 29 at 18:10 UTC last on Mar 30 at 10:26 UTC |
| Solved | by 4 teams first on Mar 29 at 18:17 UTC by The Balamoshkas last on Mar 30 at 00:10 UTC |
| Rated | 5.0 (based on 3 reviews) |
Cursed Notes
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 454 |
| Categories | web |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 17:05 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 7 first on Mar 29 at 19:41 UTC last on Mar 30 at 11:13 UTC |
| Solved | by 3 teams first on Mar 30 at 00:04 UTC by C4T BuT S4D last on Mar 30 at 11:13 UTC |
| Rated | 5.0 (based on 2 reviews) |
Сockfighting
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 363 |
| Categories | crypto |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 17:50 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 28 first on Mar 29 at 18:22 UTC last on Mar 30 at 11:39 UTC |
| Solved | by 11 teams first on Mar 29 at 19:53 UTC by BinaryBears last on Mar 30 at 10:32 UTC |
| Rated | 4.3 (based on 4 reviews) |
Utils
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 343 |
| Categories | web |
| Opened | Mar 29 at 21:19 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 35 first on Mar 29 at 21:23 UTC last on Mar 30 at 10:34 UTC |
| Solved | by 14 teams first on Mar 29 at 22:33 UTC by L0stAx3s last on Mar 30 at 10:34 UTC |
| Rated | 2.4 (based on 5 reviews) |
Cloud
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 379 |
| Categories | web |
| Opened | Mar 30 at 00:07 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 16 first on Mar 30 at 01:29 UTC last on Mar 30 at 11:51 UTC |
| Solved | by 9 teams first on Mar 30 at 01:29 UTC by C4T BuT S4D last on Mar 30 at 11:51 UTC |
| Rated | 5.0 (based on 5 reviews) |
Feedback
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Value | 10 |
| Categories | misc |
| Opened | Mar 30 at 10:40 UTC |
| Flags submitted | 72 first on Mar 30 at 10:43 UTC last on Mar 30 at 11:59 UTC |
| Solved | by 66 teams first on Mar 30 at 10:43 UTC by AreD@Yush? last on Mar 30 at 11:59 UTC |
| Rated | 4.6 (based on 14 reviews) |
P.S. Thanks for participating and see you next year!