Secure Hosting WP Blog
Security Updates are Brought to You from Wordfence and Sucuri. Two trusted security plugins for WordPress users.
What We’ve Learned About SSH Brute Force Attacks
The first time I encountered brute force attacks I was a hosting specialist who received calls from frustrated site owners that wanted to know who’d gained access to their server. Many of them didn’t understand the importance of a password’s character strength, or how...
Why You Shouldn’t Use SMS For 2FA
Two factor authentication (2FA) provides an extra layer of security that passwords alone can’t provide. Requiring an extra step for users to verify their identity reduces the chance a bad actor can gain access to data however. One of the most common methods of 2FA is...
AWS Attacks Targeting WordPress Increase 5X
The Wordfence Threat Intelligence team has been tracking a huge increase in malicious login attempts against WordPress sites in our network. Since November 17, 2021, the number of attacks targeting login pages has doubled. We’ve seen a global increase in attacks...
GoDaddy Breach Widens to tsoHost, Media Temple, 123Reg, Domain Factory, Heart Internet, and Host Europe
Yesterday GoDaddy disclosed a massive data breach impacting over 1.2 Million customers. Today, we received confirmation from GoDaddy that multiple brands that resell GoDaddy Managed WordPress were impacted. The brands impacted include: tsoHost Media Temple 123Reg...
GoDaddy Breached – Plaintext Passwords – 1.2M Affected
This morning, GoDaddy disclosed that an unknown attacker had gained unauthorized access to the system used to provision the company’s Managed WordPress sites, impacting up to 1.2 million of their WordPress customers. Note that this number does not include the number...
An Overview of Website Reinfection Vectors
The website security landscape is as complicated as it is treacherous. We often deal with clients who become reinfected over and over again. Once the attackers establish a foothold in an environment and recognize that a website is vulnerable, you can guarantee that...
What is a Website Backdoor?
What is a Backdoor? A backdoor provides a shortcut for authorized or unauthorized users to gain access to an unauthorized location of a website, software, or system. There are many different ways to categorize backdoors, but they are usually not in plain sight and are...
WooCommerce Extension – Reflected XSS Vulnerability
Note: To receive disclosures like this in your inbox the moment they’re published, you can subscribe to our WordPress Security Mailing List. On November 1, 2021 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for a vulnerability we...
Fake Ransomware Infection Spooks Website Owners
Starting this past Friday we have seen a number of websites showing a fake ransomware infection. Google search results for “FOR RESTORE SEND 0.1 BITCOIN” were sitting at 6 last week and increased to 291 at the time of writing this. Upon visiting their website...
Over 1 Million Sites Impacted by Vulnerability in Starter Templates Plugin
On October 4, 2021, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for the Starter Templates plugin, which is installed on over 1 Million WordPress websites. The full name of the WordPress plugin is “Starter Templates — Elementor,...
Understanding .htaccess Malware
The .htaccess file is notorious for being targeted by attackers. Whether it’s using the file to hide malware, redirect search engines to other sites with blackhat SEO tactics, hide backdoors, inject content, modify php.ini values; the possibilities are endless. Many...
WooCommerce Skimmer Spoofs Checkout Page
Recently a client of ours was reporting a bogus checkout page appearing on their website. When trying to access their “my-account” page an unfamiliar prompt appeared in their browser soliciting credit card billing information: This form was foreign to our client and...
Product Update: Sucuri Firewall in India
Sucuri is pleased to announce the completion of a strategic expansion, with the opening of a data center campus in Mumbai – India. This addition adds another layer of security and performance for customers located in the South Asian region. Our Mumbai site, along with...
Vulnerability in WP DSGVO Tools (GDPR) Plugin Allows Unauthenticated Page Deletion
Note: To receive disclosures like this in your inbox the moment they’re published, you can subscribe to our WordPress Security Mailing List. On September 27, 2021, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the disclosure process for a vulnerability we found in...
Network Firewall vs. Web Application Firewall (WAF)
When the world shut their doors and began spending more time online, hackers saw a clear opportunity. The costs of data breaches continue to rise, and attacks are becoming harder to detect. Attackers are becoming more sophisticated and creative. According to a 2020...
XSS Vulnerability in NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster Plugin Impacts 100,000 Sites
Note: To receive disclosures like this in your inbox the moment they’re published, you can subscribe to our WordPress Security Mailing List. On August 19, 2021, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team began the disclosure process for a reflected Cross-Site...
PSA: Widespread Remote Working Scam Underway
I’ve just gotten off the phone with a victim of the scam that I’m about to describe. This is impacting a lot of folks, so please do spread the word. It’s infuriating. I’ll be around to reply to your comments below, but please do not engage in victim-blaming, because...
How to Set Up a Content Security Policy (CSP) in 3 Steps
What is a Content Security Policy (CSP)? A CSP is a policy that uses headers or meta elements to restrict or greenlight what content loads onto your website. It is a widely-supported security standard recommended to anyone who operates a website. Why do you Need it ?...
1,000,000 Sites Affected by OptinMonster Vulnerabilities
Note: To receive disclosures like this in your inbox the moment they’re published, you can subscribe to our WordPress Security Mailing List. On September 28, 2021 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for several...
Site Deletion Vulnerability in Hashthemes Plugin
Note: To receive disclosures like this in your inbox the moment they’re published, you can subscribe to our WordPress Security Mailing List. On August 25, 2021, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the disclosure process for a vulnerability in Hashthemes...
WordPress News
WordPress 5.8 Beta 3
WordPress 5.8 Beta 3 is now available for testing! This software is still in development, so it is not recommended to run this version on a production site. Consider setting up a test site to play with it. You can test the WordPress 5.8 Beta 3 in three ways:...
WP Briefing: Episode 11: WordCamp Europe 2021 in Review
In this episode, Josepha Haden Chomphosy does a mini deep dive into WordCamp Europe 2021, specifically the conversation between the project’s co-founder, Matt Mullenweg, and Brian Krogsgard formerly of PostStatus. Tune in to hear her take and for this episode’s small...
WordPress 5.8 Beta 2
WordPress 5.8 Beta 2 is now available for testing! This software is still in development, so it’s not recommended to run this version on a production site. Consider setting up a test site to play with it. You can test the WordPress 5.8 Beta 2 in two ways:...
WordPress 5.5.1 Maintenance Release
WordPress 5.5.1 is now available! This maintenance release features 34 bug fixes, 5 enhancements, and 5 bug fixes for the block editor. These bugs affect WordPress version 5.5, so you’ll want to upgrade. You can download WordPress 5.5.1 directly, or visit...
The Month in WordPress: August 2020
August was special for WordPress lovers, as one of the most anticipated releases, WordPress 5.5, was launched. The month also saw several updates from various contributor teams, including the soft-launch of the Learn WordPress project and updates to Gutenberg. Read on...