WordPress
Security Issues
Helpful information about WordPress Security
If you currently run or host a WordPress website or you are using a different CMS and considering changing to WordPress, you might find it useful to read about any potential security issues surrounding the use of WordPress.
How secure is WordPress?
With WordPress being a popular CMS for personal and business users alike, its security depends on its users, and like any product, it is as secure as you make it, and only if you follow WordPress security best practices.
WordPress has a dedicated team who spend all their time fixing bugs and closing security holes, and post regular information about vulnerabilities in the version being used by its audience, which helps everyone keep informed and up to date and protected, but at the same time, it flags all the issues to be exploited by hackers to those who do not update regularly.
Here is some information you may find useful for current WordPress users, or those who are thinking about moving to WordPress.
WordPress Security Vulnerabilities
WordPress security vulnerabilities extend beyond WordPress core into the themes or plugins you install on your site.
According to a recent wpscan.org report, of the 3,972 known WordPress security vulnerabilities, 11% are from themes, 37% are from core WordPress and 52% are from Plugins.
Brute Force Attacks
The brute force attack method exploits the simplest way to get access to your website: your WordPress login screen.
File Inclusion Exploits
After brute-force attacks, vulnerabilities in your WordPress website’s PHP code are the next most common security issue that can be exploited by attackers.
(PHP is the code that runs your WordPress website, along with your plugins and themes.)
File inclusion exploits occur when vulnerable code is used to load remote files that allow attackers to gain access to your website. File inclusion exploits are one of the most common ways an attacker can gain access to your WordPress website’s
wp-config.php file, one of the most important files in your WordPress installation.
SQL Injections
SQL injections can also be used to insert new data into your database, including links to malicious or spam websites.
Cross-Site Scripting
84% of all security vulnerabilities on the entire internet are called Cross-Site Scripting or XSS attacks. Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities are the most common vulnerability found in WordPress plugins.
The basic mechanism of Cross-Site Scripting works like this: an attacker finds a way to get a victim to load web pages with insecure javascript scripts.
These scripts load without the knowledge of the visitor and are then used to steal data from their browsers. An example of a Cross-Site Scripting attack would be a hijacked form that appears to reside on your website. If a user inputs data into that form, that data would be stolen.
Malware
Although there are thousands of types of malware infections on the web, WordPress is not vulnerable to all of them. The four most common WordPress malware infections are:
- Backdoors
- Drive-by downloads
- Pharma hacks
- Malicious redirects
Each of these types of malware can be easily identified and cleaned up either by manually removing the malicious file, installing a fresh version of WordPress or by restoring your WordPress site from a previous, non-infected backup.
This small thing will be the single best thing you can do to add credibility to your business and can only takes a few minutes.
You can get help from just about anywhere to get this done, and best of all, in most cases its absolutely FREE to do yourself.
Keep WordPress up to date
Use Strong Passwords
Use Two-Factor Authentication
Run Malware Scans
Backup your site regularly
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