Securing WordPress Sites Against Common Vulnerabilities And Attacks
Understanding WordPress Security Threats
As a content management system powering over 30% of all websites, WordPress is an obvious target for cybercriminals seeking to infiltrate sites to steal data, spread malware, or deface pages. Website owners relying on the WordPress platform must understand the most common vulnerability types and attack vectors threatening their sites in order to properly defend against them.
Common Vulnerability Types
The three most widespread vulnerability types leveraged to attack WordPress sites are:
- SQL Injection (SQLi) – Exploiting gaps in input validation of online forms, comments sections, etc. to inject malicious SQL code and gain access to the backend database.
- Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) – Injecting client-side scripts into pages to redirect users to malicious sites, steal login cookies, or extract sensitive browser data.
- Broken Authentication – Exploiting default or weak usernames and passwords to gain administrator access and control over the site.
Most Frequent Attack Vectors
Hackers tend to target these three primary vectors when attempting to infiltrate WordPress sites:
- Vulnerable Plugins – Plugins expand functionality but also introduce vulnerabilities if not properly coded or kept updated.
- Vulnerable Themes – Like plugins, compromised themes can be used to inject malicious code into sites undetected.
- Weak Passwords – If admin credentials are guessed or hacked, the entire site is exposed.
Potential Impacts of Attacks
Successful attacks on WordPress sites can lead to:
- Site Defacement – Hackers infiltrate sites and replace content with threatening messages, inappropriate videos/images, or propaganda.
- Data Theft – Attackers can steal customer information entered into online forms, breach user account credentials, and misuse credit card data submitted for purchases.
- Malware Injection – Sites can be turned into launch pads for phishing schemes, virus distribution, spam campaigns, botnets, and other criminal operations once compromised by hackers.
Hardening Your WordPress Configuration
Properly configuring the core WordPress installation is crucial to limiting vulnerabilities. Key steps include:
Enabling Automatic Updates
WordPress releases security patches to address vulnerabilities through automatic background updates. Enable these ASAP under Dashboard > Updates to ensure your site benefits from the latest protections.
Removing Unused Plugins/Themes
Minimize your site’s attack surface by uninstalling all inactive plugins and switching to a minimalist theme if you don’t need complex functionality. Every installed component expands the number of potential vulnerabilities.
Strong Password Policies
Use extended, randomly-generated passwords for all Administrator accounts and require regular password changes to restrict access. You can strengthen passwords site-wide with a plugin like iThemes Security.
Limiting User Roles and Permissions
Reduce individual user capabilities to only those explicitly needed for their role. Don’t assign Administrator clearance broadly. Plugins like User Role Editor can help fine-tune access.
Securing Your WordPress Plugins and Themes
Carefully vetting and maintaining the WordPress plugins and themes used on your site is imperative:
Vetting Third-Party Plugins and Themes
Only download plugins and themes from the official WordPress directories, then check user reviews, support availability, and recent updates to gauge quality and security dedication from developers before installing.
Using Only Reputable Sources
Be wary of code from less trustworthy sources like random GitHub repos. Stick to plugins and themes with many installations, positive reviews, and a commitment to timely security updates.
Checking for Security Vulnerabilities
Regularly check your preferred plugins and themes against the WordPress vulnerability database to see if any have been compromised and need upgrading or removal.
Protecting Against Malware and Spam
Malicious botnets and spam networks target vulnerabilities in WordPress installs to conscript them into criminal operations. Protect your site with these proactive measures:
Security Plugins
Deploy trusted WordPress security plugins like Wordfence and iThemes to lock down vulnerabilities and detect early signs of malicious activity targeting your site automatically.
Blocking Suspicious Traffic
Use .htaccess rules, proxy filtering, IP blacklists, and tools like Cloudflare to block suspicious traffic from reaching your infrastructure.
Monitoring for Malware and Spam
Check server logs regularly for signals of compromise like spikes in outbound spam, redirections to shady domains, and injections of obfuscated code in files associated with your WordPress installation.
Ongoing Maintenance and Monitoring
Vigilantly adhering to WordPress security best practices is the only way to truly minimize risk:
Regular Backups
Back up WordPress database tables and all file directories frequently to enable quick recovery from catastrophic attacks.
Periodic Vulnerability Scans
Scan your WordPress site routinely for known security gaps to address newly discovered vulnerabilities before criminals have a chance to exploit them.
Reviewing Server and WordPress Logs
Analyze logs from the web server, database, firewall, WordPress itself, and other layers for red flags of compromise like brute force login attempts, file changes, and errors.
Updating Everything Frequently
Run regular updates on WordPress core software plus all plugins, themes and PHP components like cURL to ensure you stay on top of the latest security patches.
Example .htaccess File Security Rules
Key .htaccess directives to boost WordPress security include:
Block Malicious User Agents
SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent "BadBot" block_bad_bots Deny from env=block_bad_bots
Disable File Execution
php_flag engine 0 AddHandler cgi-script .php .phtml .php3 .pl .py .jsp .asp .htm .shtml .sh .cgi Options -ExecCGI
Disable Directory Browsing
Options All -Indexes
