And rooted
Just a couple things.
1 - The hint that says “think like a user”. I still don’t understand the relevance
2 - Deleting necessary files is just dumb. Make a backup instead !!!
User :
I went for the “Old Backdoor” . Enumerate services, find out what is running. if you cant execute regular commands, again use a search engine to find out what this shell can do.
Once you have figured this a little basic php code will be useful. You should be able to find a very useful file for the next step and something that can make this shell a little more stable
Back to the website - there is more than enough information on this thread for generating whats needed
Root :
By this time you should have a means to quickly get back into the box. I’d recommend resetting before going for root as there are a LOT of idiots who are messing with files and screwing it up for others
Don’t waste time searching through folders - everything you need is there in front of you, just check the permissions and it will become obvious