A comprehensive understanding of common threats is crucial for securing any WordPress site. While WordPress is a robust platform, its widespread use makes it a frequent target for cyberattacks. Many of these attacks are designed to inject malware, steal data, or disrupt your site’s functionality.

This article explores the most common types of attacks that WordPress sites face, the risks they pose, and the steps you can take to protect your website.

1. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks

In an XSS attack, a malicious actor exploits a vulnerability to inject harmful JavaScript into a website. This script lies dormant until an unsuspecting user interacts with the site, perhaps by filling out a form or clicking a link. Once triggered, the script can steal user information, redirect them to dangerous sites, or alter the site’s content. Essentially, the attacker uses the user’s browser against them, which can lead to significant damage.

For example, a vulnerability in the Popup Builder plugin in March 2024 put over 100,000 sites at risk daily. An attacker could exploit this flaw to inject malware, steal confidential information, and take over the compromised site.

Symptoms: An XSS attack can manifest in various ways, including unauthorized actions on your site or the appearance of suspicious user accounts. The main goal of these attacks is to gain control, so be on the lookout for any behavior that indicates a takeover.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Update Everything: Regularly update all plugins, themes, and the WordPress core to patch known vulnerabilities.
• Use a Firewall: Install a reputable WordPress firewall plugin like MalCare to block such attacks.
• Implement CSP Headers: Use Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to specify which forms of content are trusted on your site.

2. SQL Injection Attacks

A SQL injection attack occurs when a hacker inserts malicious SQL code into insecure input fields on a website. When the site’s database processes this code, it can lead to unauthorized access, data theft, or the deletion of critical information.

In April 2024, vulnerabilities in the Icegram Express and WP Activity Log plugins exposed over 290,000 sites to these attacks.

Symptoms: Look for unexpected changes in your site’s database content, unauthorized access to sensitive areas, or unusual database queries in your server logs.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Install a Firewall: Use a WordPress-specific firewall like MalCare to identify and block attack attempts.
• Scan for Malware: Install a security plugin that can scan for malware inserted via SQL injection.
• Avoid Nulled Extensions: Never use pirated or “nulled” plugins and themes, as they often contain backdoors.
• Keep Software Updated: Always keep your WordPress core, themes, and plugins up to date.

3. Spam Link Injection Attacks

As the name suggests, a spam link injection attack involves hackers inserting spammy links into your site’s content or code. These links typically lead to unrelated, low-quality, or illegal websites. The attacker’s goal is to leverage your site’s SEO to improve their own search rankings, but this can significantly harm your site’s SEO and user experience.

In October 2023, the Balada Injector campaign exploited a flaw in the tagDiv Composer plugin, hacking over 17,000 WordPress sites. Visitors to these sites were redirected to scam pages.

Symptoms: Signs of this attack include the sudden appearance of irrelevant or suspicious links, a drop in your site’s search engine rankings, and an increase in traffic to unrelated websites.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Avoid Nulled Extensions: Do not use nulled plugins or themes.
• Change Passwords: Regularly change all your passwords, including database passwords.
• Stay Updated: Ensure your WordPress core, themes, and plugins are up to date.
• Use a Security Plugin: Install a security plugin designed to detect and prevent these attacks.

4. Remote Code Execution (RCE) Attacks

RCE attacks allow a malicious actor to gain unauthorized access to a website’s server and execute code remotely. This can give them control over various aspects of your site, leading to data theft, defacement, or a complete server compromise.

In October 2023, MalCare’s firewall blocked over 11,000 attempts to exploit a WP Elementor vulnerability and more than 2,000 attacks targeting the Forminator plugin. Both attacks aimed to upload a malicious file to gain remote access.

Symptoms: Look for unusual or unauthorized changes to your website, degraded performance, or evidence of unauthorized activity in your server logs.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Strong Passwords & 2FA: Implement strong password policies and use two-factor authentication (2FA).
• File Permissions: Set appropriate file permissions and limit access to critical files.
• Monitor Logs: Regularly review your logs for unusual file uploads or executions.
• Keep Software Updated: Keep your plugins, themes, and WordPress core updated.
• Use a Firewall: Use a robust firewall to detect and block suspicious access requests.

5. Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks target users with deceptive emails, messages, or fake websites to trick them into revealing sensitive information like login credentials or financial details. Attackers can use compromised WordPress sites to host these fake pages.

In January 2022, a vulnerability in the WP HTML Mail plugin put over 20,000 sites at risk by allowing code injection and the distribution of convincing phishing emails that impersonated the hacked websites.

Symptoms: Your users may report receiving suspicious emails that appear to be from your site, asking for sensitive information or leading to a fake login page.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Educate Users: Inform your users about the dangers of phishing and social engineering.
• Use SSL: Install and configure an SSL certificate to encrypt data transmitted between your site and its users.
• Monitor Activity: Regularly scan your site for suspicious activity.

6. Brute-Force Attacks

A brute-force attack attempts to gain unauthorized access by repeatedly trying different combinations of usernames and passwords until the correct credentials are found. Attackers often use automated bots to guess these credentials.

In 2015, a brute-force attack on Dunkin’ Donuts compromised gift card money from nearly 20,000 users.

Symptoms: A sudden increase in failed login attempts, often from multiple IP addresses, is a key sign. Your site’s performance may also slow down due to the excessive load on the login page.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Enforce Strong Passwords: Encourage users to create complex and unique passwords.
• Limit Login Attempts: Implement a feature that temporarily locks out users after a certain number of failed login attempts.
• Use 2FA: Enforce 2FA for an additional layer of security.
• Use a Firewall: Use a firewall with bot protection to detect and block these malicious attempts.

7. Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Attacks

CSRF attacks trick an authenticated user into unknowingly executing actions on a web application without their consent. This happens when a logged-in user visits a malicious website, which then sends unauthorized requests to the target site on their behalf.

In February 2023, a vulnerability in the Forms by CaptainForm plugin allowed CSRF attacks, putting over 10,000 sites at risk.

Symptoms: Look for unexpected changes to user accounts or settings and unusual activity in server logs that indicate unauthorized actions.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Check Headers: Check the “referer” header to ensure that requests originate from your domain.
• Use Security Headers: Utilize security headers like CSP to mitigate the risk of certain CSRF attacks.
• Conduct Audits: Perform regular security audits and penetration testing to identify and address vulnerabilities.

8. Session Hijacking Attacks

Session hijacking occurs when an attacker gains unauthorized access to a user’s active session by stealing their session ID or token. This allows the attacker to impersonate the user and perform actions on their behalf.

A vulnerability in the Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner plugin in May 2023 exposed more than 1.5 million sites to malicious code that could perform session hijacking.

Symptoms: Users may report unauthorized access or activity in their accounts, and you might see suspicious records in your site logs.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Use HTTPS: Ensure your site uses HTTPS to encrypt communication.
• Implement Session Timeouts: Automatically log users out after a period of inactivity.
• Enforce 2FA: Use 2FA as an additional security layer.

9. Cookie Stealing Attacks

Cookie stealing attacks happen when an attacker intercepts unencrypted cookies transmitted between a user’s browser and your server. By getting these cookies, the attacker can gain unauthorized access to the user’s session and impersonate them.

In March 2023, hackers stole cookies by exploiting a vulnerability in an old version of the W3 Total Cache plugin, gaining access to the official Ferrari website’s credentials.

Symptoms: Users report unauthorized access to their accounts, or you see unauthorized logins in your site logs.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Use HTTPS: Employ HTTPS to encrypt communication and make it harder for attackers to intercept cookies.
• Use a Firewall: Use a WordPress-specific firewall to detect and block suspicious requests.
• Monitor Logs: Keep an eye on your site logs for unusual login patterns.

10. Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) Attacks

SSRF attacks trick a web application into making malicious requests on the attacker’s behalf. While not a direct WordPress vulnerability, these can exist in poorly coded plugins or themes. The attacks often target internal or external resources that should not be accessible.

In November 2022, an SSRF vulnerability was discovered in the Paytm Payment Gateway plugin, exposing over 9,000 WordPress sites.

Symptoms: Look for unauthorized server requests or modifications to resources in your site logs.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Use Security Headers: Utilize security headers like CSP to mitigate the risk.
• Stay Updated: Keep your plugins, themes, and WordPress core updated.
• Use a Firewall: Use a firewall to monitor and filter incoming traffic.

11. Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks

A DDoS attack overwhelms a website with a flood of traffic, making it unavailable to legitimate users. While WordPress sites are rarely the direct targets, they can be hacked and used as part of a botnet to launch attacks on other websites.

In 2014, over 162,000 compromised WordPress sites were used in a DDoS attack.

Symptoms: Watch for unusually slow website performance, the site becoming completely unavailable, or a significant increase in server resource consumption.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Use DDoS Protection: Use a hosting provider or service with DDoS mitigation.
• Implement a CDN: Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to distribute the load.
• Use a Firewall: A WordPress-specific firewall with rate-limiting rules can help block malicious traffic.

12. XML External Entity (XXE) Attacks

XXE attacks exploit applications that parse XML input. An attacker injects malicious XML, which can lead to sensitive information disclosure, denial of service, or SSRF attacks.

In June 2015, an XXE vulnerability in the popular WooCommerce plugin exposed millions of sites to potential attacks.

Symptoms: Your site might run very slowly, send out an unusual amount of data, or display error messages related to XML.

How to Protect Your Site:

• Stay Updated: Keep your plugins, themes, and WordPress core updated.
• Use a Firewall: Employ a firewall to monitor and filter incoming traffic.

How to Ensure Overall Protection for Your WordPress Site

To safeguard your site from these threats, you must be proactive. Here are some key measures:

• Install a Robust Firewall: A firewall acts as a critical barrier, filtering out malicious traffic before it can reach your site.
• Use a Security Plugin: A plugin like MalCare provides a comprehensive solution with a firewall, malware scanner, and other essential features.
• Keep Everything Updated: Outdated plugins and themes are common weak points. Regularly updating them is non-negotiable.
• Avoid Nulled Extensions: Never use pirated or “nulled” extensions, as they often contain hidden backdoors.
• Strengthen Login Security: Use strong, unique passwords and enforce two-factor authentication (2FA).
• Monitor User Accounts: Regularly review user accounts and activity logs for any suspicious behavior.
• Use a CDN: A CDN can help distribute traffic and reduce the impact of DDoS attacks.

The Impact of Attacks on Your WordPress Site

Understanding the consequences of an attack is crucial for recognizing the importance of security. A successful attack can lead to:

• Malware Insertion: Compromising your site’s integrity with malicious code.
• Data Compromise: Putting sensitive user information at risk, which can lead to privacy breaches and legal consequences.
• High Costs: The expense of cleaning up an attack can be significant, including security services and lost revenue.
• SEO & Branding Damage: Attacks like SEO spam can tarnish your brand’s reputation and harm your search engine rankings.
• Eroded Trust: A compromised site erodes trust with visitors and customers, potentially leading to a loss of credibility.

Why is WordPress a Popular Target?

WordPress’s popularity is a double-edged sword. It’s the most widely used content management system in the world, powering over 1.3 billion active sites. This makes it a prime target for hackers. However, WordPress is also incredibly robust, and most vulnerabilities are introduced through poorly coded or outdated plugins and themes, not the core platform itself.

By taking security seriously and using a comprehensive security solution, you can leverage all the advantages of WordPress while staying protected from a vast array of threats.