We’re Now Blocking 10,000 Requests Per Hour in Ukraine From Known Malicious IPs

48 hours ago we deployed our commercial real-time threat intelligence automatically, and for free, to all Ukrainian websites with the .UA top-level domain. That has made over 8,000 sites in Ukraine using the free version of Wordfence significantly more secure. At noon-UTC on March 2nd, those site...

Ukraine Universities Hacked As Russian Invasion Started

Note: This article has been updated to reflect that the hosting provider "Njalla", which routed the malicious traffic involved in this attack, is based in Sweden, not in Finland, although IP geolocation data indicates that the specific server that the traffic transited may be based in Finland. We...

Stored Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability Patched in a WordPress Photo Gallery Plugin

On November 11, 2021 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for a vulnerability we discovered in “Photoswipe Masonry Gallery”, a WordPress plugin that is installed on over 10,000 sites. This flaw makes it possible for an authenticated attacker to injec...

Entering a Higher State of Vigilance – Ukraine Under Attack

It appears that Russia has just commenced the invasion of Ukraine. Check your preferred international news outlet, but according to the Ukrainian foreign minister "Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine." Ukrainian airspace is closed with flights diverting. The Twitter Safety...

Reflected XSS in Header Footer Code Manager

On February 15, 2022, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team responsibly disclosed a reflected Cross-Site Scripting XSS vulnerability in Header Footer Code Manager, a WordPress plugin with over 300,000 installations. The plugin publisher quickly acknowledged our initial contact and we sent the fu...

Friday Fun: From Idea to Animated Film

Its Friday, and I thought wed have fun talking about something a little different. At Wordfence, one of my priorities is fostering a strong creative team and culture, and investing in creators. Emily Dalmas joined us as a full-time producer almost a year ago via her job as Associate Producer for...

Vulnerability in UpdraftPlus Allowed Subscribers to Download Sensitive Backups

Update: a previous version of this article indicated that an attacker would need to begin their attack when a backup was in progress, and would need to guess the appropriate timestamp to download a backup. Since the article was originally published, we have found that it is possible to obtain a...

Reflected Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability Patched in WordPress Profile Builder Plugin

On January 4, 2022 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for a vulnerability we discovered in “Profile Builder – User Profile & User Registration Forms”, a WordPress plugin that is installed on over 50,000 WordPress websites. This vulnerability makes ...

Unauthenticated SQL Injection Vulnerability Patched in WordPress Statistics Plugin

On February 7, 2022, Security Researcher Cyku Hong from DEVCORE reported a vulnerability to us that they discovered in WP Statistics, a WordPress plugin installed on over 600,000 sites. This vulnerability made it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL queries by appending...

Critical Vulnerabilities in PHP Everywhere Allow Remote Code Execution

On January 4, 2022, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team began the responsible disclosure process for several Remote Code Execution vulnerabilities in PHP Everywhere, a WordPress plugin installed on over 30,000 websites. One of these vulnerabilities allowed any authenticated user of any level,...

Announcing Wordfence Care and Wordfence Response

Today Im incredibly excited to announce that we are launching two new products: Wordfence Care and Wordfence Response. Lets start with a fun animation that explains our new product suite! In the post below, Ill describe in detail the two incredible new products we are launching and why they are...

Unauthenticated XSS Vulnerability Patched in HTML Email Template Designer Plugin

On December 23, 2021 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for a vulnerability we discovered in “WordPress Email Template Designer – WP HTML Mail”, a WordPress plugin that is installed on over 20,000 sites. This flaw made it possible for an...

84,000 WordPress Sites Affected by Three Plugins With The Same Vulnerability

On November 5, 2021 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for a vulnerability we discovered in “Login/Signup Popup”, a WordPress plugin that is installed on over 20,000 sites. A few days later we discovered the same vulnerability present in two...

WordPress 5.8.3 Security Release

On January 6, 2022, the WordPress core team released WordPress version 5.8.3, which contains security patches for 4 high-severity vulnerabilities. These patches were backported to every version of WordPress since 3.7. WordPress has supported automatic core updates for security releases since...

1.6 Million WordPress Sites Hit With 13.7 Million Attacks In 36 Hours From 16,000 IPs

Today, on December 9, 2021, our Threat Intelligence team noticed a drastic uptick in attacks targeting vulnerabilities that make it possible for attackers to update arbitrary options on vulnerable sites. This led us into an investigation which uncovered an active attack targeting over a million...

Authentication Bypass Vulnerability Patched in User Registration 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 September 16, 2021 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for a vulnerability we discovered in...

XSS Vulnerability Patched in Plugin Designed to Enhance WooCommerce

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 11, 2021 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for a vulnerability we discovered in “Variation...

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 against WordPress sites during the...

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 Domain Factory Heart Internet Hos...

GoDaddy Breached – Plaintext Passwords – 1.2M Affected

There is an update available here: GoDaddy Breach Widens to tsoHost, Media Temple, 123Reg, Domain Factory, Heart Internet, and Host Europe This morning, GoDaddy disclosed that an unknown attacker had gained unauthorized access to the system used to provision the company’s Managed WordPress sites,...

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 discovered in “Preview E-mail...

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, Gutenberg & Beaver Builder...

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 WP DSGVO Tools GDPR, a...

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 ScriptingXSS vulnerability we found in...

PSA: Widespread Remote Working Scam Underway

Ive just gotten off the phone with a victim of the scam that Im about to describe. This is impacting a lot of folks, so please do spread the word. Its infuriating. Ill be around to reply to your comments below, but please do not engage in victim-blaming, because until youve actually been hit by o...

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 vulnerabilities we discovered in...

Site Deletion Vulnerability in Hashthemes Plugin

Update: a previous version of this article incorrectly indicated that this vulnerability could be used for site takeover, we have updated this for accuracy, as the impact is instead complete loss of site content. Note: To receive disclosures like this in your inbox the moment they’re published, y...

Vulnerability Patched in Sassy Social Share Plugin

Update: This article has been updated for accuracy: while we initially did create a rule to block this vulnerability we later found that the vulnerability was already blocked by an existing rule. Note: To receive disclosures like this in your inbox the moment they’re published, you can subscribe ...

It’s Not You. It’s Them. On Hacking and Responsible Disclosure.

A story was recently posted to Hacker News celebrating a hack of IoT devices at a school that let a student and their friends rickroll the school via a video system. On the one hand, this guy is my personal hero and I want to be them. But Im a cybersecurity professional, I run a team that has the...

Multiple Vulnerabilities in Brizy Page Builder Plugin Allow Site Takeover

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 initiated the Responsible Disclosure process for Brizy - Page Builder, a WordPress plugin install...

Wordfence Helps Enable Education in Uganda

I want to share something very exciting and truly wonderful with you all today. Wordfence just completed a project where we partnered with Far Away Friends, a Denver-based non-profit working in partnership with local leaders in Uganda, to bring light and electricity to a school campus in a remote...

High Severity Vulnerability Patched in Access Demo Importer 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 9, 2021, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team attempted to initiate the responsible disclosure process for a vulnerability that we discovered in...

PHP_SELFish Part 2 – Reflected XSS in Easy Social Icons

Today’s post is part two of a two part blog post. It describes a cross site scripting vulnerability in the Easy Social Icons plugin that exploits the PHPSELF variable. In yesterday’s post, we described another plugin, underConstruction, suffering from a similar vulnerability related to the use of...

PHP_SELFish Part 1 – Reflected XSS in underConstruction Plugin

Today’s post is part one of a two part blog post. It describes a cross site scripting vulnerability that exploits the PHPSELF variable. Tomorrow we will publish part two, which describes another plugin suffering from a similar vulnerability related to the use of PHPSELF. So be sure to look out fo...

Recently Patched Vulnerabilities in Ninja Forms Plugin Affect Over 1 Million Site Owners

On August 3, 2021 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for two vulnerabilities that were discovered in Ninja Forms, a WordPress plugin installed on over 1,000,000 sites. These flaws made it possible for an attacker to export sensitive information and...

Terms of Use Violation

Wordfence is used by millions of free and paid customers around the world to secure their WordPress websites. We serve a broad range of customers across the globe, from diverse cultures, with diverse backgrounds, and who have diverse political views. As an organization, Defiant, the company that...

Over 1 Million Sites Affected by Gutenberg Template Library & Redux Framework Vulnerabilities

On August 3, 2021, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the disclosure process for two vulnerabilities we discovered in the Gutenberg Template Library & Redux Framework plugin, which is installed on over 1 million WordPress sites. One vulnerability allowed users with lower permissions...

Nested Pages Patches Post Deletion Vulnerability

On August 13, 2021, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team responsibly disclosed two vulnerabilities in Nested Pages, a WordPress plugin installed on over 80,000 sites that provides drag and drop functionality to manage your page structure and post ordering. These vulnerabilities included a...

Critical Authentication Bypass Vulnerability Patched in Booster for WooCommerce

On July 30, 2021 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for a vulnerability that we discovered in Booster for WooCommerce, a WordPress plugin installed on over 80,000 sites. This flaw made it possible for an attacker to log in as any user, as long as...

XSS Vulnerability Patched in SEOPress Affects 100,000 sites

On July 29, 2021 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for a vulnerability that we discovered in SEOPress, a WordPress plugin installed on over 100,000 sites. This flaw made it possible for an attacker to inject arbitrary web scripts on a vulnerable...

WordPress Malware Camouflaged As Code

In today’s post we discuss emerging techniques that attackers are using to hide the presence of malware. In the example we discuss below, the attacker’s goal is to make everything look routine to an analyst so that they do not dig deeper and discover the presence of malware and what it is doing. ...

2021 Mid-Year WordPress Security Report: A Collaboration Between Wordfence and WPScan

Wordfence has collaborated with WPScan to conduct a 2021 mid-year review on the state of WordPress security. Using attack data from Wordfence’s internal threat intelligence platform, and vulnerability data from WPScan’s vulnerability database, we were able to analyze the current trend of attacks ...

Multiple Vulnerabilities Patched in WordPress Download Manager

On May 4, 2021, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence Team initiated the responsible disclosure process for WordPress Download Manager, a WordPress plugin installed on over 100,000 sites. We found two separate vulnerabilities, including a sensitive information disclosure as well as a file upload...

You’ve Found a Vulnerability! Now What? A Guide to Responsible Disclosure.

Information security researchers make a valuable contribution to our online security by finding vulnerabilities and facilitating getting them fixed. Wordfence has been finding and disclosing vulnerabilities in WordPress core, WordPress plugins, and WordPress themes since 2011. Our research has...

Nulled WordPress Plugins – Dangers and Downsides

In our 2020 Threat Report, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence Team identified malware distributed via nulled, pirated, or counterfeit plugins and themes as one of the largest threats facing the WordPress ecosystem. Many site owners are unaware of the risks associated with using nulled plugins, and...

Episode 125: Critical SQL Injection Vulnerability Patched in WooCommerce

A critical SQL injection vulnerability was discovered in WooCommerce, the most popular e-Commerce plugin used by over 5 million WordPress sites. The WordPress.org team pushed a forced security update ensuring that over 90 versions of WooCommerce were patched. The REvil ransomware gang targeted a...

Critical SQL Injection Vulnerability Patched in WooCommerce

Update: The article originally credited Tommy DeVoss dawgyg for the discovery. Weve since been contacted by Tommy, who let us know that the credit should go to another researcher, Josh from DOS Development Operations Security On July 14, 2021, WooCommerce released an emergency patch for a SQL...

Common WordPress Vulnerabilities and Prevention Through Secure Coding Best Practices

WordPress has experienced exponential growth in the past several years and now holds over 42% of the CMS market share for all major sites. There are over 50,000 plugins available to download in the WordPress repository. That does not include the thousands of premium or open source plugins availab...

Episode 124: PrintNightmare 0Day Exploit Accidentally Leaked Online

Security researchers accidentally leaked zero-day exploit code for a new Windows bug, now called PrintNightmare, while easily exploitable vulnerabilities in the ProfilePress plugin, previously called WP User Avatar, were patched quickly. An unprotected cloud database containing over 814 million...