# Petey the Panther's Guide to the Galaxy

> Petey the Panther has stumbled upon the greatest treasure this side of the Milky Way: a bonafide Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy! What kind of secrets does this thing hold?
>
> Author: Zero

Solution:

We are given with an image file: `A_Real_Space_Hero.jpg`


Let's check the strings...


Oh, there are hidden images inside of it. Let's extract using `binwalk --dd=".*" A_Real_Space_Hero.jpg`...


There we go!


Hmm, black pixels, this is likely a QR code.

Was trying to find tools to combine it, and landed on https://github.com/Tamcode/intigriti-ctf

Since it was created 6 years ago, time to enhance it. Also, since it uses 21x21, which is more than our 400 images, I thought of limiting it to 20x20.

```python
import numpy as np
import cv2
import os

def createImageGrid(imageFolder, rows, cols):
files = os.listdir(imageFolder))
files.sort(key=lambda x: int(x.split("_")[1].split(".")[0])) # Filename is like image_1.jpg, image_2.jpg, image_3.jpg
print(files)

if not files:
print("No files found in the directory.")
return

# Read the first image to determine the size
sampleImagePath = os.path.join(imageFolder, files[0])
sampleImage = cv2.imread(sampleImagePath, cv2.IMREAD_COLOR)
if sampleImage is None:
print(f"Failed to read the first image at {sampleImagePath}")
return

# Initialize the finalImage array with assumed max dimensions
if len(files) < rows * cols:
print(f"Not enough images to fill a {rows}x{cols} grid.")
return

finalImage = np.zeros((sampleImage.shape[0] * rows, sampleImage.shape[1] * cols, 3), dtype=np.uint8)

# Processing images to fit into the specified grid
for i in range(0, len(files), cols): # Process images in batches
tempImage = np.zeros((sampleImage.shape[0], 0, 3), dtype=np.uint8) # Reset tempImage for each row
for j in range(cols):
index = i + j
if index >= len(files):
break # Break if no more images to process
file = files[index]
filepath = os.path.join(imageFolder, file)
img = cv2.imread(filepath, cv2.IMREAD_COLOR)
if img is None:
print(f"Failed to read an image at {filepath}")
continue
if img.shape != sampleImage.shape:
img = cv2.resize(img, (sampleImage.shape[1], sampleImage.shape[0]))
tempImage = np.concatenate((tempImage, img), axis=1)

# Concatenate the current row with the final image
currentRow = i // cols
if currentRow >= rows:
break # Prevent exceeding the specified number of rows
finalImage[sampleImage.shape[0] * currentRow:(sampleImage.shape[0] * currentRow + sampleImage.shape[0]), :, :] = tempImage

print(finalImage.shape)
cv2.imwrite("qr.jpg", finalImage)
print("Image grid saved as 'qr.jpg'.")

imageFolder = "secrets" # Specify directory here
rows = 20 # Number of rows in the grid
cols = 20 # Number of columns in the grid
createImageGrid(imageFolder, rows, cols)
```


Let's scan using Cyberchef...


Nice!!!!!

Flag: `shctf{s0_l0ng_4nd_th4nks_f0r_4ll_th3_flags}`

Original writeup (https://github.com/pspspsps-ctf/writeups/tree/main/2024/Space%20Heroes%202024/Forensics/Petey%20the%20Panther's%20Guide%20to%20the%20Galaxy).