Anatomy of a Breach: The Complete Attack Chain from Web to Root Compromise

This penetration testing walkthrough illustrates how attackers chain multiple vulnerabilities across layers—WordPress enumeration, password cracking, and privilege escalation—to achieve complete system compromise. Understanding these sequential attack techniques is essential for defenders to identify and block each stage of the exploitation path. The lab demonstrates why security must be hardened at every level: from web application access controls to proper file permissions and sudo configuration.