# SecLeaf Q4 CTF 2026

> SecLeaf Q4 CTF 2026 is an international 24-hour Capture The Flag (CTF) cybersecurity competition organized by SecLeaf. It is designed for students, security researchers, ethical hackers, and industry professionals worldwide.

## Overview

- Name: SecLeaf Q4 CTF 2026
- Organizer: SecLeaf (https://secleaf.xyz)
- Official Website: https://ctf.secleaf.xyz
- Format: 24-hour online Jeopardy-style CTF
- Eligibility: Open globally to all individuals and teams (students, researchers, professionals)
- Entry Fee: Free
- Primary Contact: contact@secleaf.xyz

## Key Dates and Schedule

- Official Start: Saturday, October 31, 2026 at 14:00 IST (08:30 UTC)
- Official End: Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 14:00 IST (08:30 UTC)
- Duration: 24 hours non-stop
- Schedule & Timezone Directory: https://ctf.secleaf.xyz/schedule
- Calendar Integration: Direct Google Calendar, Apple / iCal (.ics), and Outlook web calendar events available on the schedule page. All calendar dates automatically convert to visitor local time.

## Challenge Categories

The competition features challenges crafted across primary cybersecurity domains:

- Web Exploitation: Vulnerabilities in modern web architectures, API security, authentication bypasses, client-side & server-side flaws.
- Cryptography: Classical ciphers, modern cryptographic implementations, key exchange protocols, mathematical attacks.
- Reverse Engineering: Decompilation and binary analysis of x86/ARM executables, bytecode, obfuscated logic, and firmware.
- Binary Exploitation (Pwn): Memory corruption, buffer overflows, ROP chains, format strings, and heap exploitation.
- Digital Forensics: Memory analysis, network packet pcaps, disk forensics, file carving, steganography, and log investigations.
- OSINT (Open Source Intelligence): Reconnaissance, public record analysis, geolocation, threat intel gathering.
- Miscellaneous: Scripting, esoteric programming, automation, and mixed-discipline puzzles.

## Rules and Integrity Policy

- Rules of Engagement: https://ctf.secleaf.xyz/rules
- Flag Submission: Flags follow the canonical format (e.g. `secleaf{...}`) and must be submitted with exact casing and wrappers.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy: AI assistance is permitted strictly for conceptual learning, syntax reference, regex debugging, and documentation reading. Feeding raw challenge binaries/files to automated solve pipelines or outsourcing flags to autonomous AI agents is strictly prohibited.
- Winner Verification: Top 10 teams on the final leaderboard are required to submit reproducible technical writeups within 24 hours of event conclusion.
- Infrastructure Policy: Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS) attacks, brute-forcing organizers' platform infrastructure, or disrupting fellow competitors will result in immediate disqualification.

## Pages and Resources

- [Home](https://ctf.secleaf.xyz): Main landing page with event overview, countdown, sponsors, and prize pool.
- [Schedule](https://ctf.secleaf.xyz/schedule): Interactive global schedule covering 49 countries and timezones, live countdown, and Add-to-Calendar links.
- [Rules](https://ctf.secleaf.xyz/rules): Complete rules of engagement, code of conduct, scoring policies, and winner verification requirements.
- [Early CTF](https://ctf.secleaf.xyz/early-ctf): Warmup challenges, early solve submission portal, and pre-event leaderboard.
- [Code of Conduct](https://ctf.secleaf.xyz/code-of-conduct): Participant standards, community guidelines, and reporting procedures.
- [Privacy Policy](https://ctf.secleaf.xyz/privacy-policy): Privacy commitments and data processing disclosures.
- [Terms of Service](https://ctf.secleaf.xyz/terms-of-service): Terms governing participation and platform access.

## Official Community Channels

- Discord: https://discord.gg/secleaf
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/secleaf/
- SecLeaf Official: https://secleaf.xyz