Steganography

Part 1: LSB Steganography with Images

Task 1.1: Encode a message in a PNG using encode.py

1. Firstly, create a script in a new folder called stego/encode.py

   Terminal

   $ mkdir stego && touch stego/encode.py
   

2. Open the stego/encode.py in your text editor of choice (I am using vim):

   Terminal

   $ cd stego/ 
   $ vim encode.py
   

3. Reproduce the following code:

   encode.py, 53 lines

   from PIL import Image
   import sys
   
   def encode(image_path, output_path, message, bit_plane):
       if bit_plane < 1 or bit_plane > 7:
           raise ValueError("Bit plane must be between 1 and 7")
   
       img = Image.open(image_path)
       img = img.convert('RGBA')
       binary_msg = ''.join(f"{ord(c):08b}" for c in message) + '00000000'  # NULL terminator
   
       pixels = list(img.getdata())
       encoded_pixels = []
   
       bit_idx = 0
       mask = 1 << (bit_plane - 1)
       inverse_mask = 255 - mask
   
       for r, g, b, a in pixels:
           if bit_idx < len(binary_msg):
               r = (r & inverse_mask) | (int(binary_msg[bit_idx]) << (bit_plane - 1))
               bit_idx += 1
           if bit_idx < len(binary_msg):           
               g = (g & inverse_mask) | (int(binary_msg[bit_idx]) << (bit_plane - 1))
               bit_idx += 1
           if bit_idx < len(binary_msg):
               b = (b & inverse_mask) | (int(binary_msg[bit_idx]) << (bit_plane - 1))
               bit_idx += 1
           encoded_pixels.append((r, g, b, a))
   
       img.putdata(encoded_pixels)
       img.save(output_path)
       print(f"Message encoded and saved to: {output_path}")
   
   if __name__ == "__main__":
       if len(sys.argv) != 5:
           print("Usage: encode.py <input_image> <output_image> <message> <bit_plane>")
           sys.exit(1)
   
       input_path = sys.argv[1]
       output_path = sys.argv[2]
       message = sys.argv[3]
       try:
           bit_plane = int(sys.argv[4])
       except ValueError:
           print("Bit plane must be an integer between 1 and 7")
           sys.exit(1)
   
       try:
           encode(input_path, output_path, message, bit_plane)
       except Exception as e:
           print(f"Error: {e}")
           sys.exit(1)
   

   Explanation

   Convert the Message to Binary

   binary_msg = ''.join(f"{ord(c):08b}" for c in message) + '00000000'
   

   • ord(c) converts each character (e.g., 'A') to its ASCII value (65)

   • f"{...:08b}" formats it as 8-bit binary ('01000001')

   • '00000000' is a null terminator, signalling the end of the message

     • "This" → 01010100 01101000 01101001 01110011 + 00000000

   Bit Mask Setup

   mask = 1 << (bit_plane - 1)
   inverse_mask = 255 - mask
   

   • These control which bit of the byte we modify:

     • 1 << (bit_plane - 1) shifts 1 left to target the desired bit.
     
     

     Bit Plane	Binary	Decimal
     1 (LSB)	00000001	1
     2	00000010	2
     3	00000100	4
     ...	...	...

   • mask = 0b00000100 (for bit plane 3)

   • inverse_mask = 0b11111011 — used to clear the target bit

   Iterate Through Pixels and Modify Bits

   for r, g, b in pixels:
   if bit_idx < len(binary_msg):
       r = (r & inverse_mask) | (int(binary_msg[bit_idx]) << (bit_plane - 1))
   

   • Let’s break this math down:

     • r & inverse_mask: clears the target bit

       e.g., r = 10110110, mask = 11111011 → 10110010

     • (int(binary_msg[bit_idx]) << (bit_plane - 1)):

       • Converts the current binary digit (0 or 1) into the correct bit position

       • If bit_plane = 3 and bit = 1, you shift: 1 << 2 = 0b00000100

     • | (bitwise OR) inserts the bit

       • This replaces just 1 bit in the color channel, leaving the rest untouched.

     • The same logic is applied to G and B if more bits remain.

   Update the Image and Save

   img.putdata(encoded_pixels)
   img.save(output_path)
   

   • This writes your modified pixel data back and saves the output image.

   Visual Summary (Example for R = 182, bit_plane = 3, bit = 1)

   Step	Binary	Decimal
   Original R	10110110	182
   Clear bit 3	10110010	178
   Bit to embed (1)	00000100	4
   New R	10110110	182

   If bit = 0:

   | Clear + 0 → 10110010 | = 178 (b3 cleared)

4. Copy ,cp, the watefall_image from /opt/gre/steganography_lab/waterfall_image.png to the current directory and then run the program supplying the file name and other arguments as shown here:

   Terminal

   $ cp /opt/gre/steganography_lab/iceland_waterfall_image.png .
   $ python3 encode.py iceland_waterfall_image.png iceland_waterfall_image_stego_1.png "TEST" 1
   $ python3 encode.py iceland_waterfall_image.png iceland_waterfall_image_stego_2.png "TEST" 2
   $ python3 encode.py iceland_waterfall_image.png iceland_waterfall_image_stego_3.png "TEST" 3
   

   • python3 encode.py input_file output_file message bit_plane

5. Open images side by side using

   Terminal

   $ feh -i -X -W 1476 -y 350 -E 700 iceland_waterfall*
   

   Output

   

   Notice how even though we modified the LSB the original file has decreased by 100k.

6. Now use pngcheck to check the integrity of the *.png

   Terminal

   $ pngcheck -ts iceland_waterfall*
   

   Output

   OK: iceland_waterfall.png         (499x888, 32-bit RGB+alpha, non-interlaced, 51.1%).
   OK: iceland_waterfall_stego_1.png (499x888, 32-bit RGB+alpha, non-interlaced, 51.3%).
   OK: iceland_waterfall_stego_2.png (499x888, 32-bit RGB+alpha, non-interlaced, 51.3%).
   OK: iceland_waterfall_stego_3.png (499x888, 32-bit RGB+alpha, non-interlaced, 51.3%).
   
   No errors were detected in 4 of the 4 files tested.
   

   The images are structurally valid and pass PNG validation — which demonstrates how well steganography can hide in plain sight, even when tools like pngcheck say 'OK'

   Though we know that because we have the original to compare against, we do use the change in non-interlaced by 0.2%.

7. Experiment with pngcheck, see pngcheck --help or man pngcheck to see what else you can do?

Task 1.2: Reflection

Bit positions: [7][6][5][4][3][2][1][0]  ← Bit plane
               MSB                  LSB

Part 2: Steganalysis Tools

Task 2.1: Analyze a stego image with zsteg and extract message

So far we have seen the results of enccoding text into images. We should therefore try to extract the text.

1. Using s to try to extract the message out of bit plane 1, iceland_waterfall_stego_1.png

   Terminal

   $ zsteg iceland_waterfall_stego_1.png
   

   Output

   imagedata         .. text: "\"\"!!JJDFE>(.1==7"
   b1,r,msb,xy       .. text: "QqJ\"q_bx'"
   b1,b,msb,xy       .. text: "2\tK1pyf8p"
   ...
   

   • Repeat for the other two iceland_waterfall_stego_2.png and iceland_waterfall_stego_3.png

Task 2.2 decode.py

1. Let's try and decode this ourselves using a python script will be write, Create a new python file called decode.py and reproduce the following

   decode.py, 35 lines

   from PIL import Image
   import sys
   
   def decode(image_path, bit_plane):
       if bit_plane < 1 or bit_plane > 7:
           raise ValueError("Bit plane must be between 1 and 7")
   
       img = Image.open(image_path)
       img = img.convert('RGB')
       pixels = list(img.getdata())
   
       bits = []
       mask = 1 << (bit_plane - 1)
   
       for r, g, b in pixels:
           bits.append(str((r & mask) >> (bit_plane - 1)))
           bits.append(str((g & mask) >> (bit_plane - 1)))
           bits.append(str((b & mask) >> (bit_plane - 1)))
   
       chars = []
       for i in range(0, len(bits), 8):
           byte = ''.join(bits[i:i+8])
           if byte == '00000000':  # NULL terminator
               break
           chars.append(chr(int(byte, 2)))
   
       message = ''.join(chars)
       print("Decoded message:", message)
   
   if __name__ == "__main__":
       if len(sys.argv) != 3:
           print("Usage: decode.py <image> <bit_plane>")
           sys.exit(1)
   
       image_path = sys.argv[1]
       try:
           bit_plane = int(sys.argv[2])
       except ValueError:
           print("Bit plane must be an integer between 1 and 7")
           sys.exit(1)
   
       try:
           decode(image_path, bit_plane)
       except Exception as e:
           print(f"❌ Error: {e}")
           sys.exit(1)
   

   Explanation

2. It is very good that we can encode, we need to be able to decode or it is pointless to encode in the first place. Lets try running decode.py on iceland_waterfall_stego_1.png

   Terminal

   $ python3 decode.py iceland_waterfall_stego_1.png 1
   

Task 2.3: What about file --mime-type?

The utility file can tell you what the magic number of the file is. Useful for matching extentsion to the acutal file encoding.

1. Do this quickly, which will demonstrate the above

   Terminal

   $ cp iceland_watefall.png iceland_watefall.txt 
   

2. Now you can do two things first run

   Terminal

   $ file --mime-type iceland_waterfall.txt
   

   Output

   iceland_waterfall.txt: image/png
   

   Still recognised as a png, despite the extension change.

3. We can look at hex with xxd tool.

   Terminal

   $ xxd iceland_waterfall.txt | head -n1
   

   Output

   00000000: 8950 4e47 0d0a 1a0a 0000 000d 4948 4452  .PNG........IHDR
   

   See how the magic number is 8950 4E47... it is still encoded as a png!

Part 3: Text-Based Steganography

Task 3.1: Use snow to hide a message in a .txt file via whitespace

1. Let's look at snow's man page, read to understand how it works.

   Terminal

   $ man snow
   

2. Create a file called snow_in.txt and fill it with the following:

   Code

   Lorem Ipsum comes from a latin text written in 45BC by Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, and philosopher, Marcus Tullius Cicero.
   
   The text is titled "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" which means "The Extremes of Good and Evil". The most common form of Lorem ipsum is the following:
   
   Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
   
   Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
   

3. Now use snow to encode TEST into the file snow_in.txt to snow_out.txt:

   Terminal

   $ snow -C -m "TEST" snow_in.txt snow_out.txt
   

   Terminal

   Compressed by 0.00%
   Message used approximately 34.41% of available space.
   

Task 3.2: Extract and decode the message

1. Now we try to extract the hidden text from snow_out.txt file using snow

   Terminal

   $ snow -C snow_out.txt
   

   Output

   $ TEST
   

Task 3.3: Inspect files with cat, and od to reveal anomalies

1. Let's see how detectable stegnography in text is, we will use od and cat to see what is going on. Find a way to use cat to determine the content of the file, hint you may need to pass in arguments to cat (see man cat)

   Terminal

   $ cat -A snow_out.txt
   

   Output

   Lorem Ipsum comes from a latin text written in 45BC by Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, and philosopher, Marcus Tullius Cicero.$
   ^I     ^I      ^I ^I  ^I    ^I  ^I ^I ^I     $
   The text is titled "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" which means "The Extremes of Good and Evil". The most common form of Lorem ipsum is the following:$
       ^I $
   Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.$
   $
   Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.$
   $
   Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.$
   

   We can see that there are extra whitespace and ^I indicating tabs embedded after the first line. This is the encoded message.

2. If you compare this to the original file snow_in.txt

   Terminal

   $ cat -A snow_in.txt
   

   Output

   Lorem Ipsum comes from a latin text written in 45BC by Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, and philosopher, Marcus Tullius Cicero. $
   $
   The text is titled "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" which means "The Extremes of Good and Evil". The most common form of Lorem ipsum is the following:$
   $
   Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.$
   $
   Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. $
   $
   Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.$
   

Challenge