writeup-template

Generate a security workflow writeup

This is MANDATORY after every substantive security workflow per CLAUDE.md. Writeups MUST pass markdownlint.

File location

writeups/<category>/<descriptive-case-name>.md

Examples:

• writeups/ctf/htb-pilgrimage.md
• writeups/bug-bounty/example-idor.md
• writeups/cve/CVE-2024-xxxx-reproduction.md
• writeups/dfir/suspicious-powershell-investigation.md
• writeups/guided-assessment/example-web-recon.md

If the directory doesn't exist, create it.

Required structure

# <Challenge Name>

**Platform/Program:** HTB / TryHackMe / CTF Name / Bug Bounty Program / Lab / Internal Scope
**Category:** Web / Pwn / Crypto / Forensics / CVE / DFIR / Cloud / Mobile / Network / Guided Assessment
**Difficulty/Severity:** Easy / Medium / Hard / Insane / Low / Medium / High / Critical
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD

## Context / Scope

[What was being investigated and what was authorized.]

## Recon / Analysis

[What we discovered during initial enumeration or analysis. Include exact commands and trimmed output.]

## Exploitation / Validation

[Step-by-step attack path, validation path, exact commands, exact payloads, and exact flags.]

## Dead Ends

[Approaches that didn't work and why. So we don't repeat the mistake.]

## Finding / Result

[The flag, vulnerability, conclusion, or operational result. Do NOT paste credentials.]

## Tools Used

[Bullet list of tools that were key to the solve.]

## Lessons Learned

[1-3 bullets on what to remember next time.]

## Cleanup / Safety Notes

[Cleanup performed, sensitive data handling, or safety notes where relevant.]

Writing style (HARD RULES)

• No AI-isms. Banned phrases: "Let's", "I'll", "Great question", "Here's what we found", "It's worth noting", "In conclusion".
• Use we or passive voice. Examples: "Ran nmap", "The binary was stripped", "Found SQLi in the login endpoint".
• Be detailed: exact commands, trimmed real output, exact payloads.
• Document failures too — they prevent repeat dead ends.
• If multi-session: add a rough timeline.

Markdownlint compliance

Default project config at .markdownlint.jsonc. Common issues to avoid:

• Surround headings with blank lines
• Surround fenced code blocks with blank lines
• No trailing whitespace
• Specify language on every fenced block
• ATX-style headings (#, not ===)
• One blank line between sections (no double-blank)

Run before considering done:

npx markdownlint-cli2 "writeups/**/*.md"

Sensitive data

• Flag credentials/keys clearly but do NOT spread across multiple sections
• Bug bounty: report existence + access method, NOT the actual credentials
• Strip session tokens, real IPs of unrelated systems, PII
• Trim output blocks aggressively — full nmap output is noise, the open ports are the signal