Hidden Security Risks in WordPress and their Solutions

on 3 Oct 2023, by Bogdan, in Blog, WordPress, Guides

by Bogdan

Several WordPress security risks are not immediately obvious to website administrators who develop and manage client websites on WordPress. It’s our job, as WordPress site owners and agencies, to be fully aware of these WordPress security issues and take proper precautions to avoid them.

In this article, we will explain some hidden security issues of using WordPress and offer suggestions that can help you fix them effectively. We’ll cover the following:

Why businesses need to secure their WordPress sites
Hidden security challenges associated with using the WordPress platform and their solution.
What makes security in WordPress challenging
Cloud-based CMS: the best way to manage your site’s security

But first, let’s begin with a brief overview of why it is vital to secure your WordPress website.

Why you need to secure your WordPress site?

WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) that powers a significant portion of websites on the internet. While it is a robust and versatile platform, it is not immune to security vulnerabilities.

WordPress is reported as one of the most commonly hacked CMS platforms on the internet with at least 13,000 WordPress sites attacked per day. In fact, according to Sucuri’s annual hacked website report in 2021, over 95.6% of infections detected were on websites running WordPress.

Source: Colorlib

Cybercriminals are actively looking for vulnerabilities in WordPress daily. This reason alone is enough to cause you to secure your WordPress website. This is because if cybercriminals can breach your WordPress site, this will put the safety of your website, client’s sensitive data, and site user information at risk.

By staying on top of security and routinely performing security audits, you can ensure that client WordPress sites are as secure as they can be.

Note: Make sure to update the latest WordPress version 6.3. From time to time, WordPress releases new updates that are optimized for security and maintenance. That being said, let's look at some of the WordPress security issues cybercriminals often exploit.

Hidden Security Challenges in WordPress and Their Solutions

Vulnerabilities in WordPress themes and plugins

WordPress websites rely on third-party themes and plugins to enhance their functionality and appearance. However, certain files in these themes and plugins can make your website vulnerable to attacks.

For instance, on March 18, 2023, a security researcher from NinTechNet discovered a bug in Elementor Pro. This bug allowed hackers to take control of websites, especially if Elementor Pro was used alongside WooCommerce. Luckily, Elementor Pro's developers acted fast and released a patch to fix this issue. They advised users to update to the latest version for better security.

Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in outdated WordPress themes and plugins for various reasons. These include to:

Steal sensitive data or compromise user sessions.
Gain unauthorized access to a website or modification of the database.
Upload malicious files which can be used to execute arbitrary code on the server.
Access or manipulate objects (e.g., files, database records) they shouldn't have access to, such as other users' data or sensitive configuration files.

Typically, WordPress recommends that theme and plugin developers regularly provide updates containing security fixes and bug corrections. For WordPress site owners and digital agencies, we advise using software, plugins, and themes that receive updates at least twice a month. This help ensure better security and performance for your website.

Other recommended solutions you can implement to prevent this security issue include:

Using themes and plugins from reputable, and trusted sources. You can even check for user reviews and ratings to gauge the reliability of a theme or plugin.
Delete any themes and plugins you're not actively using. This is because they can still pose security risks if not kept up to date.
Set up automated backups of your website data. In case of a security breach, you can restore your site to a clean state.
And lots more.

Cross-site scripting (XSS)

Cross-site scripting, on the other hand, is often seen in WordPress plugins when cybercriminals load pages with insecure script files to steal sensitive user information.

These codes normally target user input fields like search bars, contact forms, registration forms, login forms, profile settings, checkout forms, or comment sections. As long as your WordPress site is infected with these script files, sensitive data can be stolen the next time a site visitor comes to your website and fills out a form.

The best way to prevent cross-site scripting is to ensure that the WordPress site is updated at all times. You can also use WordPress security plugins such as Wordfence Security, iThemes Security, Defender, All In One WP Security & Firewall, and much more.

Hidden malware

Cybercriminals can also infect your WordPress websites with malicious software and operate discreetly once they’re inside.

Usually, malware gets in through weak spots in the websites, like insecure themes and plugins, unpatched software, weak passwords, poor hosting security, and the list goes on and on.

Once in, malware can steal sensitive information, change how your website looks or works, and even make it stop working altogether. It also creates backdoors for persistent access, results in malicious redirects, or allows drive-by downloads (which exposes your users to different types of threats).

A good example of this attack would be the Balada Injector Malware campaign which has been ongoing since 2017. Since then, over 1 million WordPress websites have been infected with this malware.

The Balada Injector enabled hackers to create fake WordPress admin users and gain access to all websites that are hosted on the same server, putting the site owners’ data and privacy at risk.

Typically, malware can be a huge threat to small businesses if appropriate measures aren’t taken as early as possible to avoid them.

The first step involves scanning your WordPress website for files, directories, or folders infected with malware. You can do this using the Wordfence Security plugin that checks for malicious software on your site.

Similarly, you can implement a Web Application Firewall service such as Sucuri or a firewall plugin to filter out malicious traffic and protect your site from common attacks.

Weak Passwords

While this may seem obvious, most site users, and even some site owners, often use weak or easy-to-guess passwords. Cybercriminals, on the contrary, are actively inventing new ways to gain unauthorized access to your website – even if it means targeting your on-site users with weak passwords.

One of the most common cyberattacks that involve passwords is the brute-force attack. In this attack, hackers attempt to guess login credentials repeatedly until they successfully breach your site’s login page.

It’s therefore crucial for WordPress site owners and their clients or site users to use complex passwords. For this, you can use a password generator tool like the WordPress Password Hash Generator. This tool converts plaintext passwords into long alphanumeric values.

In addition, you can update all passwords periodically, enable two-factor authentication (2FA), limit login attempts, etc. By default, WordPress doesn’t offer these options. However, you can easily add them using a WordPress login security plugin such as Loginizer.

If you're looking for more control and transparency, consider using an open source password manager that lets you see and modify the code yourself.

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack

Another hidden type of WordPress security risk is a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack. A DDoS attack is like a traffic jam on a website where attackers overwhelm a site with tons of fake traffic. This will cause the site to either slow down or crash. This type of attack is often disruptive and harms businesses or online services with poor hosting security.

The best way to handle a DDoS attack is to use a specialized security service like Cloudflare. Cloudflare usually filters out the fake traffic, allowing only legitimate visitors to access your WordPress website.

What makes security in WordPress challenging

Security within WordPress presents a unique set of challenges due to its open and flexible nature. While its flexibility allows users to install custom themes and plugins from various developers, it also means that these developers can directly modify server-side code.

If not handled carefully, this can lead to security risks in WordPress. Even a minor change to a file can put at risk the website's database, and server, and potentially impact other websites hosted on the same serve

For agencies handling multiple WordPress websites, updating each one separately is slow and burdensome. This process is costly and inefficient because you have to deal with updates for WordPress itself and the various parts used on different client sites. Switching to a cloud-based CMS platform can help you efficiently manage security for multiple websites, ensuring your WordPress sites stay safe and up-to-date.

Cloud-based CMS: the best way to manage your site’s security

Using a cloud-based CMS for site security management means you rely on the cloud provider for protection. It's cost-effective, efficient, and comes with the provider's security expertise and resources.

Cloud systems excel in security because they offer real-time threat monitoring, automatic updates, and data backup, reducing the risks of a security breach. They also scale easily to adapt to security needs, making them a proactive and hassle-free choice for safeguarding your website.

One of the best cloud-based CMS platforms you can use is Brizy Cloud. Brizy Cloud is specifically built to handle all of your digital agency’s needs including its security.

What is the Brizy Cloud platform?

Brizy Cloud is an all-inclusive SaaS platform that is hosted by Brizy. This platform allows you to build complete and professional websites and host them on super-fast, secure, and reliable servers. You will be able to manage all of your projects and manage your client needs from a single-backend dashboard.

The following are some of the security advantages of using Brizy Cloud.

Brizy Cloud undergoes routine updates

This means that Brizy Cloud consistently receives updates, which include the latest software improvements, security fixes, and performance enhancements. These regular updates are crucial as they maintain the platform's smooth operation and security. They reduce the chances of vulnerabilities and ensure that users can enjoy the most up-to-date features and optimizations, all without requiring manual efforts or causing any downtime.

Brizy Cloud is secure and reliable

Brizy Cloud offers automatic backups. This means that if one server fails, there are backup systems in place to immediately take over. In case something goes wrong, Brizy can restore your website to a previous version from automatic backups.

This will significantly reduce the downtime caused by server failures, ensuring that your website remains online and accessible to users without interruptions.

Brizy owns its entire code-base

No one else except Brizy Cloud personnel with specific permissions has access to its servers. This will allow you to focus on your website's content and functionality, knowing that your data and infrastructure are secure and protected by a trusted team of experts.

Aside from all these, Brizy Cloud is hosted on powerful AWS and Bunny.net. These are some of the fastest content delivery networks (CDNs) that will help you regulate traffic-related issues worldwide.

Should you use Brizy Cloud instead of WordPress?

Whether to use Brizy Cloud or WordPress depends on your specific needs and preferences. Brizy Cloud is a managed cloud platform designed to simplify website creation and hosting. It provides features like automatic updates, backups, and several other security measures. This platform is suitable for users who want a hassle-free experience and may not have extensive technical knowledge.

WordPress, on the other hand, is a highly flexible and customizable content management system. It's an excellent choice if you require more control, customizations, and the ability to choose your hosting environment and plugins. However, managing a WordPress site may require more technical expertise and responsibility for updates and security.

Conclusion

While WordPress is incredibly popular and a great choice for managing websites, it also has some hidden security challenges that you need to be aware of.

These challenges can jeopardize the safety and performance of your WordPress website. To ensure your site remains secure, it's essential to recognize these potential problems and implement protective measures.

One effective approach is to leverage a cloud-based platform like Brizy Cloud. This solution enables you to offload a significant portion of your site's security responsibilities to Brizy. This strategic move not only simplifies the security aspect but also enhances your website's overall protection.

Article by Bogdan

Co-founder & Head of Design, Bogdan has a passion for everything that works great and looks awesome. Guilty for most of the UI and UX around this place, you can say "Hi" to him at bogdan at brizy dot io