a hint when going for root; once you find the thing that you think you can use to escalate your privileges, dont start (like I did) by trying to escalate your privileges assuming you know exactly whats happening. instead start by asking yourself, what can be doing the behavior i see? search for that thing everywhere, and you might just find it. from there the priv esc. possibilities crack wide open (lots of different methods once you know exactly what is going on).