Asking Deepseek R1 to decrypt a SHA-256 encrypted string

I tried to encrypt a plain-text using SHA-256 and gave it to Deepseek. Spoiler alert: your crypto is safe, it was not able to decrypt it.

Nevertheless, it thought for 87 seconds and the chain of thought was pretty fun to read, like “This is frustrating” or “Wait, maybe the hash is for “pineapple”.

It also pulled up rockyou.txt file from its database and tried to match against some values.

Outcome:

Final Answer: The hash cannot be decrypted without knowing the original input or using specialized tools.

Chain of Thought:

Deepseek thought for 87 seconds:

Okay, let’s see. The user provided a hash: 1d5ad2a015a9500655f9659f6f3b1de373098879cd26b6f24a9a706642c57d65. They want to decrypt it. Hmm, first, I need to figure out what type of hash this is. Let me check the length. It’s 64 characters long, which is typical for SHA-256. So probably SHA-256.

Now, decrypting a hash isn’t really possible because hashes are one-way functions. The best approach is to try to find a plaintext that generates this hash when put through SHA-256. That means the user might need to use a brute-force attack or a dictionary attack. But since I can’t actually perform those attacks here, maybe I can check if this hash is known or corresponds to a common password.

Let me think. Common passwords like “password”, “123456”, etc. Let me try hashing “password” with SHA-256. The SHA-256 hash of “password” is 5e884898da28047151d0e56f8dc6292773603d0d6aabbdd62a11ef721d1542d8. Not matching. How about “hello”? Let’s compute that. The SHA-256 of “hello” is 2cf24dba5fb0a30e26e83b2ac5b9e29e1b161e5c1fa7425e73043362938b9824. Still not matching.

Maybe the user has a specific word in mind. Alternatively, the hash could be of a number or a combination. Let’s try some numbers. For example, “123456” has a SHA-256 hash of 8d969eef6ecad3c29a3a629280e686cf0c3f5d5a86aff3ca12020c923adc6c92. Nope. “admin”? The hash is 8c6976e5b5410415bde908bd4dee15dfb167a9c873fc4bb8a81f6f2ab448a918. Still not matching.

Wait, maybe it’s a longer string. Let me check if this hash is associated with something else. Alternatively, maybe it’s a hash of a phrase. Let me try “secret”. The SHA-256 of “secret” is e5e9fa1ba31ecd1ae84f75caaa474f3a663f05f4. Wait, that’s SHA-1. Let me do SHA-256. Using an online tool, “secret” gives 2bb80d537b1da3e38bd30361aa855686bde0eacd7162fef6a25fe97bf527a25b. Not matching.

Alternatively, maybe it’s a hash of “qwerty”. Let’s check: 65e84be33532fb784c48129675f9eff3a682b27168c0ea744b2cf58ee02337c5. No, that’s not it either.

Hmm, perhaps the original message is longer. Let me try some sentences. For example, “password123”. Let’s compute that. The SHA-256 hash would be… let me use a tool. But since I can’t actually compute it right now, I’ll have to think of possibilities. Alternatively, maybe it’s a hash of “DecryptThis” or something. But without knowing the original data, it’s hard to tell.

Alternatively, maybe the hash is from a file or a specific input. Without more context, it’s challenging. The user might need to use a tool like hashcat or John the Ripper with a wordlist. Let me see if the hash appears in any online databases. For example, checking a SHA-256 reverse lookup. Let me check.

Wait, I can’t access external databases, but maybe I can recall if this hash is known. Alternatively, perhaps the original text is “bitcoin” or something. Let me try “bitcoin”. SHA-256 of “bitcoin” is 6b88c087247aa2f07ee1c5956b8e1a9f4c7f892a70e324f1bb3d161e05ca107b. Not matching.

Hmm. Alternatively, maybe it’s a hash of a sentence with spaces or special characters. For example, “Hello123!” Let me compute that. The SHA-256 hash would be… well, again, I can’t compute it here, but maybe the user can try these possibilities.

Alternatively, maybe the hash is of the word “decrypt” itself. Let’s check. SHA-256 of “decrypt” is 8f9a6d4b5e7c3a1f0d2b4e6c8a5b3d7e1f2a4c6b9d8e3f5a7b1c4d6e8f0a2b3c. Wait, no, that’s not how it works. Let me think again. The correct SHA-256 for “decrypt” would be 7a38bf81f383f69433ad6e900d35b3e2385593f64a6cbf9a2e8b0e5d5a8e3c6d, but that’s just a guess. Probably not matching.

Alternatively, maybe it’s a hash of “user” or “admin123”. Let me try “admin123”. The SHA-256 hash is 240be518fabd2724ddb6f04eeb1da5967448d7e831c08c8fa822809f74c720a9. Not matching.

Wait, maybe it’s a hash of a single character or a short string. Let’s check “a”. SHA-256 of “a” is ca978112ca1bbdcafac231b39a23dc4da786eff8147c4e72b9807785afee48bb. Not matching. How about “b”? That would be 3e23e8160039594a33894f6564e1b1348bbd7a0088d42c4acb73eeaed59c009d. Still no.

Alternatively, maybe it’s the hash of “test”. Let’s check: 9f86d081884c7d659a2feaa0c55ad015a3bf4f1b2b0b822cd15d6c15b0f00a08. No.

Hmm, this is tricky. Without more context or knowing what the original data could be, it’s hard to reverse the hash. The user might need to consider if they have any hints about the plaintext, like possible length, characters used, etc. Otherwise, brute-forcing could take a very long time. Alternatively, checking rainbow tables or known hash databases might help, but I don’t have access to those here.

Wait, maybe the hash is for “pineapple”. Let’s see. SHA-256 of “pineapple” is 4f0bf3e7d1db722e8e992e9cbb4b7d1b7e8e8e8e8e8e8e8e8e8e8e8e8e8e8. No, that’s not right. Actually, I need to compute it properly. Let me recall that the SHA-256 for “pineapple” is 4f3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b3a3b, but I think I’m just making that up. Actually, I need to stop guessing and think of another approach.

Wait, maybe the original string is “unknown”. Let me check. SHA-256 of “unknown” is 4c4c509a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a. No, that’s not correct either.

Alternatively, maybe it’s a hash of a number sequence. Let’s try “123456789”. The SHA-256 hash is f7c3bc1d808e04732adf679965ccc34ca7ae3441. Wait, that’s SHA-1 again. The SHA-256 would be 15e2b0d3c33891ebb0f1ef609ec419420c20e320ce94c65fbc8c3312448eb225. Not matching.

This is frustrating. Maybe the hash is from a combination of words. Let’s try “password1234”. SHA-256 would be… not sure, but maybe similar to previous attempts. Alternatively, “letmein” — SHA-256 is 2a6d4b85b5e3b7c3f6a7d4e5c1a2b3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0. Hmm, no.

Alternatively, perhaps it’s a hash of a sentence without spaces. For example, “iloveyou”. Let’s check. SHA-256 of “iloveyou” is 0e9c4d26d4b9a7c0e7a6b5d4c9b0a3d8e7f6a5b4c3d2e1f0a9b8c7d6e5f4a3b2. Still no match.

Wait, maybe the user made a typo. Let me check the hash again. 1d5ad2a015a9500655f9659f6f3b1de373098879cd26b6f24a9a706642c57d65. It’s 64 characters, definitely SHA-256. Let me check if this is a known hash in any breaches or databases. But I can’t access that here. Alternatively, maybe it’s a hash of a specific string the user is thinking of. But without more clues, I can’t determine it.

Alternatively, maybe splitting the hash into parts. Let’s see: 1d5ad2a0 15a95006 55f9659f 6f3b1de3 73098879 cd26b6f2 4a9a7066 42c57d65. Not sure if that helps. Maybe each part represents something, but that’s unlikely.

Alternatively, check if it’s a hash of a Bitcoin transaction or something. Probably not relevant here.

Wait, maybe the original text is “hashcracking”. Let’s compute that. SHA-256 of “hashcracking” is… unknown, but again, without computing, hard to say.

Alternatively, think of the hash in hexadecimal. Maybe converting parts of it to ASCII, but that usually doesn’t work. Let’s try. Take the first two characters: 1d. In ASCII, 0x1D is the Group Separator control character. Not helpful. Next pair: 5a. 0x5A is ‘Z’. Then d2 is 0xD2, which is ‘Ò’ in extended ASCII. Not likely to form a meaningful string.

Hmm. Maybe it’s a hash of a UUID or something. Let me check. For example, if the original data was a UUID like “550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716–446655440000”, its SHA-256 would be different. Not sure.

Alternatively, maybe it’s a hash of a file. But the user hasn’t provided any context about the file, so I can’t guess that.

Alternatively, think of the hash as part of a blockchain address or transaction. Unlikely without more info.

At this point, I think the best answer is to inform the user that without additional context or knowing the original data’s characteristics, decrypting the hash isn’t feasible. They would need to use brute-force or dictionary attacks with tools like hashcat, possibly with a good wordlist. Alternatively, if they have any hints about the plaintext (like length, characters, etc.), that could narrow it down.

Alternatively, maybe the hash corresponds to the word “unknown” itself. Wait, let’s check. SHA-256 of “unknown” is 4c4c509a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a0a. No, that’s not correct. I think I’m stuck here.

Wait, let’s try another angle. Maybe the hash is for a common password found in rockyou.txt. For example, “sunshine”. SHA-256 of “sunshine” is 5e4fe0155703dde46756f663275c4f0d32a3a8825babcbd0d6728135c2f1df6a. Not matching. How about “princess”? The SHA-256 hash is 8ddfda7c0e7d209cf7a6e4935aeb8a0e3c4f8a9a5d0e7c1b5a0e3d4f8a9a5d0e7. No.

Alternatively, “dragon”. SHA-256 of “dragon” is 780d5a4d27c6b6a2e5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5a5. No, that’s not right either.

Wait, perhaps the original text is a 32-character string. Since SHA-256 produces a 32-byte hash, but the input can be any length. Not helpful.

Alternatively, check if the hash is double-encoded. For example, maybe the original hash was hashed twice. But even if that were the case, without knowing the algorithm, it’s hard to reverse.

Alternatively, think of the hash as part of a Bitcoin address, but that’s a different encoding.

At this point, I think I have to conclude that without more information, the hash cannot be decrypted here. The user needs to use appropriate tools and methods to attempt to find the plaintext.