Руны, руны, и ещё раз руны! (Runes, Runes, and More Runes!)
Руны, руны, и ещё раз руны! (Runes, Runes, and More Runes!)
Platform: CUSTOM | Category: Crypto | Type: Challenge | Difficulty: Medium | OS: N/A | **Author: XESXOR Techniques: Ancient alphabet substitution, Elder Futhark runic alphabet decryption, Visual symbol recognition
Summary
Walkthrough of the CUSTOM Crypto Руны, руны, и ещё раз руны! (Runes, Runes, and More Runes!). Task: Decode runic symbols from an image. Solution: Identified Elder Futhark alphabet and translated each rune to its phonetic equivalent to reveal the flag.
Description
Все мы любим руны... Да? Нет? Да! Поэтому флаг я записал в рунах, попробуй расшифровать.
File: task.png
Analysis
The image contains Elder Futhark symbols - an ancient Germanic runic alphabet (used from 2nd to 8th century AD). The runes are arranged in 4 rows, forming words.
Elder Futhark Alphabet Reference
Elder Futhark consists of 24 runes, each with a phonetic value:
| Rune | Sound | Name |
|---|---|---|
| ᚱ | R | Raido (journey) |
| ᚢ | U | Uruz (aurochs) |
| ᚾ | N | Nauthiz (need) |
| ᛖ | E | Ehwaz (horse) |
| ᛊ | S | Sowilo (sun) |
| ᚨ | A | Ansuz (god) |
| ᛏ | T | Tiwaz (Tyr) |
| ᛟ | O | Othala (heritage) |
| ᚺ | H | Hagalaz (hail) |
| ᛞ | D | Dagaz (day) |
| |
Solution
Decryption by rows
Row 1: ᚱ ᚢ ᚾ ᛖ ᛊ
ᚱ = R (Raido)
ᚢ = U (Uruz)
ᚾ = N (Nauthiz)
ᛖ = E (Ehwaz)
ᛊ = S (Sowilo)
→ RUNES
Row 2: ᚨ ᚱ ᛖ
ᚨ = A (Ansuz)
ᚱ = R (Raido)
ᛖ = E (Ehwaz)
→ ARE
Row 3: ᛏ ᛟ ᛟ
ᛏ = T (Tiwaz)
ᛟ = O (Othala)
ᛟ = O (Othala)
→ TOO
Row 4: ᚺ ᚨ ᚱ ᛞ
ᚺ = H (Hagalaz)
ᚨ = A (Ansuz)
ᚱ = R (Raido)
ᛞ = D (Dagaz)
→ HARD
Final phrase
RUNES ARE TOO HARD
The flag uses lowercase with underscores instead of spaces.
Useful Resources
- Elder Futhark на Wikipedia
- Runic Alphabet Decoder
- Omniglot - Elder Futhark
Notes
Elder Futhark is the oldest runic alphabet. The name comes from the first six runes: ᚠ (F), ᚢ (U), ᚦ (Th), ᚨ (A), ᚱ (R), ᚲ (K). In CTF challenges, you may also encounter:
- Younger Futhark (Scandinavian, 16 runes)
- Anglo-Saxon Futhorc (Anglo-Saxon, 33 runes)
Key Takeaways / Lessons
- Mastering Ancient alphabet substitution, Elder Futhark runic alphabet decryption, Visual symbol recognition was key to this challenge.
- Always check for common misconfigurations and verify assumptions.
Crafted by XESXOR Research • 2026-01-02 • CUSTOM • Руны, руны, и ещё раз руны! (Runes, Runes, and More Runes!) • Difficulty: Medium