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# 29.08.2026 - A Message has 3 dates
- URL: https://hacktoria.com/29-08-2026-a-message-has-3-dates/
- Published: 2026-09-06T11:32:24.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-06T11:32:24.000Z
- Author: Klumgongyn
- Tags: 24/7 OSINT

This OSINT challenge was made by "Lost" in the Hacktoria Discord.

A message has three dates.   
One is shown.   
One is stored.   
One never happened.   
A fourth is the key. 

It is not in the file. It was seen on *here* **16 June 2026** 

Flag:`ctf{...}`

Hint #1: There is something off if you search it *here* \- One of the three dates is impossible. Impossible days still have hours. 

Hint #2: Three channels carry the picture. A fourth carries nothing you can see. 

Hint #3: Even the colours were described by someone. Read the description. 

Hint #4: You have numbers. You have words. You used them once. Use them again, differently. 

Hint #5: The signature signs nothing.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e6/2e/e62eae9f-a79f-46be-ac8a-229291d9f459/content/images/2026/09/image-2.png)

#### Answer

`ctf{the_message_existed_before_the_puzzle}`

## Write-up

[Nobody Solved It: Post-Mortem of a Stego ChainA PNG, a Discord snowflake as the seed, scattered alpha-LSB, a rogue ICC tag. Six stages, zero solves in a week, and what a chain without redundancy costs.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e6/2e/e62eae9f-a79f-46be-ac8a-229291d9f459/content/images/icon/fav-8fcc1ed0-4bc5-4326-a6ec-75319426bb17.png)SPURIAKevin Sander![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e6/2e/e62eae9f-a79f-46be-ac8a-229291d9f459/content/images/thumbnail/cover.B-gEJ1KB_ZLVTgK-34c24c1e-5d27-4357-8d55-3ac2f3c2554f.jpeg)](https://blog.spuria.app/writeups/a-message-has-three-dates/?ref=hacktoria.com)