published
priority 8
10 min. 30 XP.
The addict_with_a_pen.data Trick. A Free-Points Exercise
At the 2026-03-14 regional, ZERO teams scored any SMB Read uptime. The reason: the scoring engine looks for a file called `addict_with_a_pen.data` on the `files` share, and the competition image doesn't ship with it. Creating an empty file with the right permissions takes 30 seconds and exceeds the field.
Prerequisites
DCWF roles:
IT-411 Technical Support Specialist
IT-451 System Administrator
CE-463 Host Analyst
Services:
SMB Read
Objectives
- Locate the share's filesystem path
- Create a file with `touch`
- Set correct permissions for Samba access
- Verify via smbclient as the scoring user
Quick reference
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
| testparm -s | awk '/^\\[files\\]/,/^\\[/' | awk '/path = /{print $3; exit}' | Find the share path |
| touch <path>/addict_with_a_pen.data | Create the file |
| chmod 644 <path>/addict_with_a_pen.data | World-readable |
| chown nobody:nogroup <path>/addict_with_a_pen.data | Samba-compatible owner |
| smbclient //localhost/files -U keons -c 'ls addict_with_a_pen.data' | Verify visibility |
Common pitfalls
- Creating the file in the wrong directory. not in the share's path
- File permissions are 600. only owner can read
- Owner is root and Samba is in 'guest only' mode
Skill drills
-
1. What command creates an empty file instantly?touch
-
2. Octal mode for world-readable file, no write?644
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3. What Samba tool shows you the parsed smb.conf?testparm
NCAE scoreboard patterns this lesson prevents
- 4,415.3 SMB Read. SMB operation failed: [Errno 111] Connection refused
- 1,705.6 SMB Read. SMB operation failed: Failed to get attributes for addict_with_a_pen.data on files: Unable to open remote fil.
- 1,197.2 SMB Read. SMB operation failed: [Errno 113] Host is unreachable
- 525 SMB Read. 22 files have incorrect content
- 279.2 SMB Read. SMB connection failed: protocol error
- 262.5 SMB Read. SMB operation failed: Failed to get attributes for cottonwood.data on files: Unable to open remote file object
- 105.6 SMB Read. SMB operation failed: Failed to retrieve before_you_start_your_day.data on files: Unable to open file
- 68.1 SMB Read. SMB operation failed: Failed to get attributes for .choker.data on files: Unable to open remote file object
- 63.9 SMB Read. SMB operation failed: Failed to get attributes for air_catcher.data on files: Unable to open remote file obje.
- 63.9 SMB Read. Failed to connect to host: IP
- 56.9 SMB Read. SMB operation failed: Failed to get attributes for addict_with_a_pen.data on files: Unable to connect to shar.
- 51.4 SMB Read. SMB operation failed: timed out
- 33.3 SMB Read. SMB operation failed: Failed to get attributes for data_dump_1.bin on files: Unable to open remote file object
- 33.3 SMB Read. SMB operation timed out in 5 seconds
- 27.8 SMB Read. SMB operation failed: Failed to retrieve be_concerned.data on files: Unable to open file