The Ultimate Guide to Upcoming CTFs: From Beginner to Elite Hacker in 6 Months (October 2025 - April 2026)

Capture the flag competitions vary significantly in their difficulty. The difficulty assessment criteria typically consider several factors:

• CTF Time Weight Ratings

• Target audience and prerequisites

• Historical reputation

• Challenge complexity and diversity

• prize pools and career implications

CTF Time Weight Ratings serve as the industry standard metric, ranging from 0 to 100, where higher weights indicate more prestigious and challenging competitions. This rating system is based on public voting, among other things. But, for a rough rule of thumb, you can consider the following: events with weights above 90 are typically elite-level competitions, 50-89 represent intermediate to advanced challenges, and below 50 often indicate more accessible events. 

For some events, public weight voting is open from the beginning of the CTF event and a week after (or by the end of the current year if it happens). Team members of last year's top 50 and teams that scored > 0 points can vote. 

Since 2021, only teams that participated in at least two events can vote, and only team players who joined the team before the event can vote. 

The vote counts on behalf of the team. When multiple teammates vote, the average will be taken. If you change your mind, you can re-vote, but only once, and your first vote will be discarded. Event organizers and the winning team can't vote. 

The vote limit for first-time events and events with a weight less than 25 is 25*. For the others, the weight is multiplied by last year's weight. X = 2 for attack-defence events and 1.5 for the rest. 

*If there is more than one event during the first year, all of them will get a maximum weight of 25.

Target audience and prerequisites play a crucial role - competitions explicitly designed for students or beginners typically fall into easier categories, while those requiring qualification rounds or targeting professional teams lean toward harder classifications. 

Historical reputation matters significantly, with long-running events like DEF CON CTF and SECCON maintaining consistently high difficulty standards. 

Challenge complexity and diversity also influence ratings - events featuring advanced attack-defense formats or requiring specialized knowledge in areas like embedded systems or hardware security tend toward higher difficulty. 

Finally, prize pools and career implications often correlate with difficulty, as more challenging events attract larger sponsorships and offer more significant career opportunities.

Easy difficulty CTFs for beginners and students

picoCTF Mini Competition

Carnegie Mellon University hosts this educational CTF from October 1-15, 2025, providing a full two-week window for participants to complete challenges at their own pace. Registration opens September 15, 2025, welcoming participants aged 13 and above with no cybersecurity prerequisites. The competition follows an individual or small team format (1-5 members) delivered entirely online through CMU's dedicated platform.

This CTF is specifically designed for beginners and students, offering comprehensive tutorials alongside each challenge category. The educational focus emphasizes learning over competition, with challenges that span web exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, forensics, general skills, and binary exploitation—all scaled appropriately for newcomers. While no monetary prizes are offered, participants gain access to CMU's year-round picoGym practice platform and receive certificates of completion. The event has earned consistent praise for its gentle learning curve and exceptional educational resources, making it the gold standard for CTF beginners.

CSAW CTF 2025 Finals

⚹ The qualification round has passed

NYU Tandon School of Engineering's OSIRIS Lab presents this student-focused competition in early November 2025, following qualification rounds held September 12-14, 2025. Teams that qualified can register through the CSAW platform with unlimited team sizes permitted. The finals adopt a hybrid format with regional hubs in Brooklyn, Abu Dhabi, and India, alongside online participation options.

Designed specifically for students from high school through doctoral levels, CSAW offers entry-level to advanced challenges scaled to participant experience. The competition provides over $1 million in scholarships and cash prizes, making it one of the most financially rewarding student CTFs globally. Challenge categories encompass traditional jeopardy-style problems with special emphasis on practical security skills applicable to industry careers. CSAW's reputation as a launching pad for cybersecurity careers stems from its comprehensive educational components and extensive industry partnerships.

eCTF 2026 Embedded Security Competition

MITRE Corporation opens team registration in September 2025 (after September 28) for this unique semester-long competition running January through April 2026. Individual registration opens in December 2025. The competition welcomes participants aged 13+ for US citizens and 18+ internationally. Teams of 3-10 members work with faculty advisors in this design-build-attack format delivered through MITRE's platform.

This competition stands apart by focusing exclusively on embedded systems security - a rare specialization among CTFs. MITRE provides free embedded development boards to all teams and offers extensive educational support, specifically designed for newcomers to security. The $25,000+ prize pool includes travel grants to present at the MITRE conference. The unique format involves teams designing secure embedded systems in the first phase, then attempting to compromise other teams' designs in the attack phase. Academic institutions can offer college credit for participation, and the competition's emphasis on mentorship and progressive skill development makes it exceptionally beginner-friendly despite its specialized focus.

Medium difficulty CTFs for intermediate players

Securinets CTF Quals 2025

Securinets runs this qualification event from October 4-5, 2025 (Friday 13:00 UTC to Saturday 21:00 UTC). It features a 32-hour online jeopardy format open to teams worldwide. Registration details will be announced on CTFtime closer to the event date. With a CTFtime weight of 70.50, this event represents a significant step up in difficulty from beginner competitions.

The competition targets intermediate to advanced players seeking to qualify for more prestigious events. While specific prize information hasn't been announced, top teams typically earn qualification spots for the Securinets Finals. Challenge categories span the full spectrum of security domains with particular emphasis on cryptography, web exploitation, and reverse engineering. Securinets has built a strong reputation in the North African and Mediterranean CTF community, consistently delivering well-crafted challenges that balance educational value with competitive rigor.

BuckeyeCTF 2025

Ohio State University's Cyber Security Club hosts this event from November 8-10, 2025 (Saturday 01:00 UTC to Monday 01:00 UTC), offering 48 hours of online jeopardy-style challenges. Registration through ctf.osucyber.club remains open to all teams with special divisions for undergraduates and Ohio State students.

With a CTFtime weight of 50.00, BuckeyeCTF strikes a balance between accessibility and challenge. The competition offers substantial prizes: $400, $300, and $200 for the top three finishers in both undergraduate and Ohio State divisions, plus $50 awards for outstanding writeups. Categories include web security, reversing, binary exploitation, and cryptography, with challenges designed to be approachable yet educational. The event's reputation for clear problem statements and responsive organizers makes it particularly suitable for teams transitioning from beginner to intermediate levels.

GlacierCTF 2025

LosFuzzys presents this 24-hour marathon from November 22-23, 2025 (Saturday 18:00 UTC to Sunday 18:00 UTC), maintaining their tradition of inclusive yet challenging competitions. The online jeopardy format through glacierctf.com welcomes teams of all skill levels, with special recognition for student teams.

Carrying a CTFtime weight of 52.57, GlacierCTF features diverse categories including pwn, reverse engineering, web, cryptography, smart contracts, and miscellaneous challenges. The inclusion of smart contract challenges reflects the CTF community's recognition of blockchain security topics. LosFuzzys has earned praise for creating challenges that teach while they test, with detailed solution write-ups published post-competition to maximize educational value.

HeroCTF v7

Running from November 28-30, 2025 (Friday 20:00 UTC to Sunday 22:00 UTC), this seventh edition limits teams to five players while maintaining an inclusive atmosphere for beginners and advanced players alike. Registration occurs through their Discord community at discord.gg/mgk9bv7, fostering pre-competition engagement and team formation.

With a CTFtime weight of 65.00, HeroCTF v7 positions itself in the upper-medium difficulty range. The 50-hour duration allows teams to tackle challenges without the intensity of shorter competitions. While specific prize details remain unannounced, previous editions have featured creative challenge narratives and strong community engagement through their Discord platform, making this event particularly appealing to teams seeking both competition and community.

Black Hat MEA CTF 2025

⚹ The qualification round has passed

Black Hat Middle East & Africa brings this prestigious event to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 2-4, 2025, following online qualifications held on September 7, 2025. The three-day on-site finals format requires physical attendance, with team-based competition structure details pending announcement.

This event holds the Guinness World Record for the largest CTF and offers an extraordinary 700,000 SAR prize pool (approximately $187,000 USD), with first place earning 300,000 SAR ($80,000). Categories span web security, reverse engineering, pwn, cryptography, and forensics, all calibrated to professional competition standards. The partnership with the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity emphasizes the event's role in developing regional talent. While technically medium-to-hard difficulty, the substantial prizes and professional atmosphere make this a pivotal competition for serious teams.

Hard difficulty CTFs for advanced teams

Hack.lu CTF 2025

FluxFingers from Ruhr-University Bochum presents its 15th edition from October 17-19, 2025 (Friday 18:00 UTC to Sunday 18:00 UTC), maintaining its position as one of Europe's premier CTF events. The 48-hour online jeopardy format attracts elite teams globally, and registration details are forthcoming on CTFtime and on their Discord.

Boasting a CTFtime weight of 98.02, Hack.lu represents top-tier competitive difficulty. The event's longevity and consistent quality have established it as a proving ground for teams aspiring to compete at DEF CON CTF level. Challenge categories traditionally emphasize innovative problem design across cryptography, exploitation, and reverse engineering, with FluxFingers known for creating challenges that push the boundaries of conventional CTF problems.

N1CTF 2025

Nu1L Team hosts this elite competition from November 1-2, 2025 (Saturday 12:00 UTC to Sunday 12:00 UTC), concentrating intense competition into a 24-hour sprint. The online jeopardy format maintains Nu1L's reputation for technically demanding challenges requiring deep expertise.

With a CTFtime weight of 94.50, N1CTF ranks among the most challenging annual competitions. Nu1L's challenges typically feature complex exploitation scenarios, advanced cryptographic constructions, and multi-stage problems requiring sophisticated problem-solving approaches. The compressed timeframe adds pressure, demanding efficient team coordination and rapid problem-solving under stress.

saarCTF 2025

Saarland University's saarsec team delivers this unique attack-defense format competition on November 8, 2025 (Saturday 13:00-22:00 UTC), condensing intense competitive action into nine hours. The online infrastructure opens at 14:00 UTC with 2-3 minute tick intervals and flags valid for 10 ticks.

Earning a CTFtime weight of 97.22, saarCTF stands out for its attack-defense format - a rarity among online CTFs. Teams must simultaneously maintain and patch vulnerable services while exploiting opponents' systems, demanding both offensive and defensive expertise. This format closely simulates real-world security operations, making it particularly valuable for teams preparing for professional security roles or other attack-defense competitions like DEF CON CTF finals.

SECCON CTF 14 Quals 2025

Japan's premier CTF runs from December 13-14, 2025 (Friday 05:00 UTC to Saturday 05:00 UTC), serving as the qualification round for SECCON 2026 finals. The 24-hour online jeopardy format maintains SECCON's tradition of technical excellence and innovative challenge design.

Achieving the maximum CTFtime weight of 100.00, SECCON Quals represents the pinnacle of competitive difficulty. The event features meticulously crafted challenges across all traditional categories with particular strength in cryptography and exploitation. SECCON's challenges often incorporate elements of Japanese computing culture and technology, adding a unique flavor to the competition. Top teams earn invitations to the prestigious on-site finals in Tokyo, with travel support provided.

ASIS CTF Final 2025

⚹ The qualification round has passed

This invitation-only final will be held December 27-28, 2025 (Saturday 14:00 UTC to Sunday 14:00 UTC), and it is restricted to teams that qualified through ASIS CTF Quals in early September. The 24-hour online jeopardy format maintains the highest competitive standards.

With a perfect CTFtime weight of 100.00, ASIS CTF Final serves as a year-end championship for elite teams. Qualification requirements ensure only proven teams compete, creating an environment of exceptional technical challenge. ASIS has built a reputation for cryptography and reverse engineering challenges that push theoretical and practical boundaries, often requiring novel approaches and deep technical knowledge to solve.

39C3 HXP CTF

Coinciding with the Chaos Communication Congress from December 27-30, 2025, in Hamburg, Germany, HXP CTF traditionally runs as the Congress's official competition. The on-site jeopardy format at Congress Center Hamburg creates a unique atmosphere combining competition with the world's largest hacker conference.

While the specific CTFtime weight isn't confirmed for 2025, HXP CTF historically maintains elite difficulty status and serves as a DEF CON CTF qualifier. The competition draws top international teams to Hamburg, with challenges reflecting the Congress theme "Power Cycles." HXP's challenges emphasize innovative exploitation techniques, cryptographic attacks, and creative problem-solving that often influence CTF challenge design trends for the following year.

DEF CON Singapore 2026

DEF CON, HTX, and CSIT bring the DEF CON experience to Asia from April 28-30, 2026, at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, with training April 26-27. This full DEF CON experience includes CTF components, maintaining DEF CON's legendary difficulty standards.

As part of DEF CON's global expansion, this event targets medium to hard difficulty with team-based competitions following standard DEF CON structures. While specific CTF details await announcement, DEF CON's reputation ensures world-class challenges across all security domains. The Singapore venue's accessibility to Asian teams creates new opportunities for regional participation in DEF CON-caliber competitions without transcontinental travel.

Participation strategies

The concentration of events in October through December 2025 creates an intensive competition season requiring strategic planning for teams attempting multiple events. eCTF's embedded systems focus, saarCTF's attack-defense format, and the inclusion of smart contract challenges in events like GlacierCTF reflect the expanding scope of security competitions beyond traditional categories. Corporate sponsorship has noticeably increased prize pools, with Black Hat MEA's $187,000 pool signaling growing industry investment in competitive security skill development. Geographic accessibility continues to improve through regional hubs and online participation options, although premier events increasingly favor on-site finals for enhanced competitive integrity.

New teams should start with educational platforms like picoCTF, progress through university-hosted events like CSAW and BuckeyeCTF, challenge themselves with weighted competitions like Hack.lu, and ultimately compete for DEF CON CTF qualification through events like SECCON or HXP CTF.

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