Well…this is indeed an easy machine in term of knowledge needed to go ahead.
But it’s also a trap.
It is indeed not so easy when it comes to the path to follow and the risk of getting sucked in the quicksands of overthinking.
IMHO, this is that kind of boxes that can be solved easily by beginners but not by someone more experienced…
Lesson learnt: DO NOT OVERTHINK!
hints here are everywhere…just remember that a root reverse shell is not always the final goal: if some command does not work as expected in your shell it does not means that the command is wrong…