000

000 Permission Code:

Use 000 only as a quarantine and investigation tool, never as a normal WP file permission.

Summary:

No	Statement	Status
1	000 removes all access for everyone	✅
2	Useful for isolating malware or suspicious files	✅
3	Root can still override	✅
4	Never use on core WP files or directories	✅
5	This is a forensic & security containment tool	✅

Key Takeaways

1. Restore after testing

   chmod 644 test.php
   

2. Confirm access denied

3. Set to 000

   chmod 000 test.php
   

4. Copy a harmless test file

Practice Exercise (Safe Only)

No	Issue	Fix
1	Locked file cannot be opened	become root or restore perms
2	Plugin broken after applying	revert permissions
3	Can't delete file	root remove only

Troubleshooting

chmod 644 filename

Restore normal state

Access: (0000/----------)

Expected:

stat filename

Verify

chmod 000 filename

Apply lockdown

Commands

Use **only on isolated files during emergency or investigation.

No	File/Dir	Result	Allowed?
1	wp-config.php	site fatal error	❌
2	wp-content/	site fails to load content	❌
3	plugin/theme file	WP fatal error	❌
4	.htaccess or server config	routing breaks	❌
5	uploads folder	media inaccessible	❌

Situations Where 000 Will Break WordPress

• Want to prevent execution before deleting
• Backdoor found after plugin/theme exploit
• Unknown file discovered in /wp-content/uploads/ or /tmp
• Malware detected but you want forensic evidence intact
• WordPress site suspected of compromise

Scenarios Where 000 is Useful

rm suspicious.php

or remove:

chmod 644 suspicious.php

Restore after analysis (if safe)

sudo cat suspicious.php

Investigate safely afterward (root only)

chmod -R 000 wp-content/uploads/.tmp/

Freeze an entire malicious folder

chmod 000 suspicious.php

Quarantine a suspicious script

Typical Security Operations

No	Use Case	Suitable	Reason
1	Malware quarantine	✅	isolate active malicious file
2	Suspicious PHP backdoor	✅	neutralize without deleting yet
3	Lock unknown script during audit	✅	prevents execution & viewing
4	Secure forensic investigation	✅	preserve evidence
5	Normal WP operations	❌	breaks functionality
6	WP core, themes, plugins, uploads	❌	site will fail

WordPress Use Cases

Only root can override this state.

• File becomes completely inaccessible and inert
• No one can modify or delete (unless via root)
• No one can execute the file
• No one can read the file

Behavior

No	Role	Bits	Access	Allowed?
1	Owner	---	no access	✅
2	Group	---	no access	✅
3	Others	---	no access	✅

Technical Structure

It is a **special-purpose, emergency, or isolation permission used only when you want to quarantine files or freeze access entirely.

This mode is almost never used in normal WordPress operations.

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000 removes **all permissions from a file or directory: no read, no write, no execute for owner, group, or others.

Permission Code: 000 No Access for Anyone (Quarantine Mode)