750

750 Permission Code**

Permission Code: 750 Owner Full, Group Read/Execute, Public No Access

750 allows the owner full control, the group read/execute, and denies all access to others (public).

rwxr-x---

This configuration is used when only the site owner and system/webserver group should access directories, and **no one else should have visibility or traversal capabilities.

Technical Permission Structure

No	Role	Bits	Access Granted	Symbol
1	Owner	rwx	✓ full	🔑
2	Group	r-x	✓ read/execute	👥
3	Others	---	✗ no access	🚫

Behavior in Linux

• Owner can read, write, execute
• Group can read and enter directory (no write)
• Others cannot read, traverse, or execute
• Directory becomes private to owner + trusted group

WordPress Use Cases

No	Use Case	Suitability	Reason
1	Hardened single-site VPS	✅ recommended	restrict public filesystem access
2	Private intranet WordPress	✅ recommended	full privacy
3	Staging server behind auth	✅ ideal	limit exposure
4	Multi-site shared dev	❌ avoid	group needs write (use 775)
5	Shared hosting	❌ avoid	others may need read access

Why Choose 750

750 is a **security-first variant of 755.

755

• Public can read and traverse directories
• Standard WordPress hosting

750

• Public cannot access directories
• Only owner + web server group allowed
• Better for hardened private WordPress servers

Required Ownership Model

To use 750, web server must belong to the same group:

Example:

wpuser:www-data

Command

chown -R wpuser:www-data /var/www/your-site

Then apply:

find . -type d -exec chmod 750 {} ;
find . -type f -exec chmod 640 {} ;

Default File Permissions with 750 Directory Strategy

No	Component	Permission
1	Directories	750
2	Files	640
3	wp-config.php	600

This is stricter than the standard 755/644 pattern.

Myth vs Reality

No	Statement	Truth	Symbol
1	750 breaks WordPress	✗ not if ownership correct	⚙️
2	Better than 755 for privacy	✓ yes	🔐
3	Suitable for shared hosting	✗ avoid	❌
4	Safe for hardened VPS	✓ ideal	🛡️

Scenarios Where 750 Shines

• Dedicated VPS with strict isolation
• Projects storing sensitive files or internal docs
• WordPress membership systems private to users
• Corporate/internal WP used only by a controlled team
• When server runs Cloudflare Access or VPN-only

Practical Example

Harden a WordPress site on private VPS

chown -R wpuser:www-data /var/www/your-site
find . -type d -exec chmod 750 {} ;
find . -type f -exec chmod 640 {} ;
chmod 600 wp-config.php

Verify

stat wp-content/
stat wp-config.php

Expected:

Directories: 750
Files: 640
wp-config.php: 600

Troubleshooting Notes

No	Issue	Cause	Fix
1	Site breaks	group mismatch	chown to wpuser:www-data
2	Cannot upload via WP admin	missing write for group	add wpuser to web group or use 775
3	CLI errors	wrong PHP/OLS group	align group permissions

Alternate for strict mode with uploads:

chmod 770 wp-content/uploads

Practice Exercise

1. Assign correct group

chown -R wpuser:www-data /var/www/your-site

1. Apply secure permissions

find . -type d -exec chmod 750 {} ;
find . -type f -exec chmod 640 {} ;

1. Test normal WP usage
2. Confirm no public directory traversal

Key Takeaways

No	Rule	Value
1	750 = private directories	✓
2	Only owner + group access	✓
3	Requires correct ownership	✓
4	Ideal for hardened or private WP	✓
5	Not suitable for shared hosting	✗

Summary:

Use 750 when you control the server user + group and want tighter filesystem security than 755.