It took me quite a while to finish this box, mostly because I got very fed up with constant resets and having to go through all steps to get a shell again… Even on VIP, this kinda ruined the fun for me.
The initial steps of the box aren’t that realistic, but overall it’s still pretty kinda educational as it touches several techniques and there’s different ways of getting root.
For foothold&user: make sure you enum the website properly. The site isn’t actually big and what you’re looking for stands out a lot, so this really shouldn’t be an issue. Then, use the hint that has been given earlier regarding ‘being evil’. Then, continue enumerating.
For root: There is something going on in your home folder (which is pretty easy to find as your home folder isn’t so big). Find out what’s triggering it, go through it properly and think of ways to exploit it.
Thanks to @Center for some hints!