Recommended File Permissions (755 & 644) for Script Security

Proper file and folder permissions are essential to prevent unauthorized scripts from modifying your source code or executing malicious binaries.

1. Standard Linux Permissions

• Directories: Set to 755 (rwxr-xr-x). Allows the web server and owner to read, write, and execute directories.
• Files: Set to 644 (rw-r--r--). Allows owner read/write and public read-only access.
• Configuration Files: Sensitive files like config/config.php can be set to 640 or 600 if your hosting environment permits.

2. Securing the Uploads Directory

User-uploaded files (such as payment receipts, avatars, and thumbnails) reside in uploads/. To prevent PHP execution inside uploads:

Ensure an .htaccess file exists inside uploads/ containing:

<FilesMatch "\.(php|php5|php7|php8|phtml|pl|py|cgi)$">
  Order Deny,Allow
  Deny from all
</FilesMatch>

This guarantees that even if a malicious file is uploaded, the web server refuses to execute it.