the CMS an attractive target for all cyber-criminals.
Table of Contents:
WordPress Vulnerabilities
Backdoor
Pharma Hacks
Brute force login attempts
Malicious Redirects
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Denial of Service
How to secure your WordPress site?
1. Keep WordPress, plugins and themes up to date
2. Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA)
3. Install firewall and security plugins
4. Perform automatic or manual backups
5. Hide your login URL and WordPress version
In conclusion
WordPress Vulnerabilities
What are the most common vulnerabilities?
Backdoor
Backdoors provide hackers with unexposed openings to bypass security encryption and access WordPress sites. Specifically, they are often created by taking advantage of:
Compromised themes or plugins (especially if downloaded from unofficial sources).
Vulnerability in out-of-date WordPress core files.
Inserting malicious code into server files, such as wp-config.php or . htaccess .
WordPress backdoors allow you to modify your site’s files, infect pages with malware, compromise user accounts, and use your server for phishing or DDoS attacks. They are often undetectable because they appear to be legitimate files. So, how can you prevent backdoor attacks?
Perform regular updates to WordPress core, plugins and themes.
Install plugins and resources only from official and trusted repositories.
Run scans with tools like SiteCheck to find common backdoors.
Implement advanced protection tools such as firewall, two-factor authentication, access restrictions.
Pharma Hacks
The Pharma Hack is used to insert malicious code into outdated versions of WordPress so that search engines return ads for regulated pharmaceutical products such as Cialis, Viagra, and Xanax.
The main goal
of this attack is to manipulate search engine results: visitors see the site as normal, but search engine crawlers are directed to spam pages or illegal promotional content. This damages the site's reputation, reduces legitimate traffic, and can lead to SEO penalties from Google.
Brute force login attempts
Brute force attacks are repeated, automated attempts by hackers to guess your login credentials by trying all possible combinations. These attempts use automated scripts to exploit weak passwords and gain access to your site. To prevent this type of attack, it is good practice to:
Opt for strong passwords, using a mix of letters, numbers and special characters.
Implement two-factor authentication to access the backend of your WordPress site.
Malicious Redirects
This type of attack exploits backdoors in WordPress using FTSP, SFTP, wp-admin and other protocols and injects malicious redirect codes into the website. Often the redirects are inserted into the .htaccess file and other WP core files in hardcoded modules.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-site Scripting (XSS) is the insertion of a malicious script into a trusted website. The goal is to grab cookie or session data and then rewrite the HTML of a page. This is one of the most common WordPress vulnerabilities.
Denial of Service
The DoS (Denial of Service) vulnerability exploits errors and bugs in the code to overload the memory of website operating systems by exploiting outdated versions of the WordPress software.
How to secure your WordPress site?
Here are 5 tips and best practices to increase the security of your WordPress site.