Codex cracks a 2010 crackme challenge in 20 minutes that a dev couldn't solve for years
Character_Patient_42 · reddit · 2026-10-16
A Reddit developer shares that an old crackme (reverse-engineering) challenge from 2010, which he had failed to solve for years, was cracked by Codex in just 20 minutes using ultra mode after prepping the environment via the ChatGPT website. Pasting the solution back into ChatGPT produced a perfect, accurate explanation of how the code worked.
The author, who admits he never even got comfortable with Ghidra, calls the experience "as impressive as it's depressing" — acknowledging he may never reach that level himself. The post sparked discussion about AI reshaping reverse engineering and the boundaries of programmer skill.
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