Find your path

ringzer0ctf

Task: a 'graph-theory cryptosystem' encodes a zlib-compressed message as consecutive edge weights of a Hamiltonian path inside a relabeled, noise-padded directed graph; the key is the path. Solution: identify path endpoints by unique in/out-degree 0 vertices, then DFS for the Hamiltonian path pruned by zlib-stream validity, yielding a unique weight sequence that decompresses to the flag without the key.