Brute_force

bug-makers

Task: a password-protected (AES-encrypted) PDF whose password is the release date of a popular song in dd.mm.YYYY format. Solution: instead of guessing the song, brute-force the entire date keyspace (1950-2025, ~27,700 candidates) with pikepdf, recover 27.07.1987 (Never Gonna Give You Up), then decrypt with qpdf and extract the flag.