Wordfence Firewall Blocks Bizarre Large-Scale XSS Campaign

The Wordfence Threat Intelligence team has been monitoring an increase in attacks targeting a Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability in Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner, a WordPress plugin installed on over 40,000 sites. The vulnerability, which was fully patched in January in version 2.10.2, offers...

W3 Eden Addresses Authenticated Stored XSS Vulnerability in Download Manager WordPress Plugin

On April 25, 2023, our Wordfence Threat Intelligence team identified and began the responsible disclosure process for a stored Cross-Site Scripting XSS vulnerability in W3 Eden’s Download Manager plugin, which is actively installed on more than 100,000 WordPress websites, making it one of the mos...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (May 8, 2023 to May 14, 2023)

Last week, there were 139 vulnerabilities disclosed in 105 WordPress Plugins and 2 WordPress themes that have been added to the Wordfence Intelligence Vulnerability Database, and there were 47 Vulnerability Researchers that contributed to WordPress Security last week. Review those vulnerabilities...

PSA: Attackers Actively Exploiting Critical Vulnerability in Essential Addons for Elementor

On May 11 2023, Essential Addons for Elementor, a WordPress plugin with over one million active installations, released a patch for a critical vulnerability that made it possible for any unauthenticated user to reset arbitrary user passwords, including user accounts with administrative-level...

WordPress Core 6.2.1 Security & Maintenance Release – What You Need to Know

On May 16, 2023, the WordPress core team released WordPress 6.2.1, which contains patches for 5 vulnerabilities, including a Medium Severity Directory Traversal vulnerability, a Medium-Severity Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability, and several lower-severity vulnerabilities. These patches have been...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (May 1, 2023 to May 7, 2023)

Last week, there were 58 vulnerabilities disclosed in 43 WordPress Plugins and 3 WordPress themes that have been added to the Wordfence Intelligence Vulnerability Database, and there were 27 Vulnerability Researchers that contributed to WordPress Security last week. Review those vulnerabilities i...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (Apr 24, 2023 to Apr 30, 2023)

Last week, there were 77 vulnerabilities disclosed in 68 WordPress Plugins and 3 WordPress themes that have been added to the Wordfence Intelligence Vulnerability Database, and there were 32 Vulnerability Researchers that contributed to WordPress Security last week. Review those vulnerabilities i...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (Apr 17, 2023 to Apr 23, 2023)

Last week, there were 152 vulnerabilities disclosed in 134 WordPress Plugins and 0 WordPress themes that have been added to the Wordfence Intelligence Vulnerability Database, and there were 41 Vulnerability Researchers that contributed to WordPress Security last week. There were more unpatched...

Multiple Vulnerabilities Patched in Shield Security

On March 20, 2023, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team began the responsible disclosure process for two vulnerabilities in Shield Security, a security plugin with over 50,000 installations. One of these vulnerabilities allowed unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript into an...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (Apr 10, 2023 to Apr 16, 2023)

Last week, there were 69 vulnerabilities disclosed in 60 WordPress plugins and 4 WordPress themes that have been added to the Wordfence Intelligence Vulnerability Database, and there were 32 Vulnerability Researchers that contributed to WordPress Security last week. Review those vulnerabilities i...

Blubrry Addresses Authenticated Stored XSS Vulnerability in PowerPress WordPress Plugin

On April 5, 2023, our Wordfence Threat Intelligence team identified and began the responsible disclosure process for a stored Cross-Site Scripting XSS vulnerability in Blubrry’s PowerPress plugin, which is actively installed on more than 50,000 WordPress websites. The vulnerability enables threat...

Hiding in Plain Sight: Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerabilities Patched in Weaver Products

On March 14, 2023, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for 2 nearly identical Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities in the Weaver Xtreme theme and the Weaver Show Posts plugin, which each have over 10,000 installations. The plugin developer responded...

Post Action Report: Bad Firewall Rule Released to WPEngine Customers Wednesday

On Wednesday afternoon a small percentage of WPEngine websites using a paid version of Wordfence experienced a 500 Internal Server Error or white screen on their sites due to an erroneous firewall rule that we released. If you have experienced this issue, please check your email which contains...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (Apr 3, 2023 to Apr 9, 2023)

Last week, there were 97 vulnerabilities disclosed in 63 WordPress Plugins and 5 WordPress themes that have been added to the Wordfence Intelligence Vulnerability Database, and there were 28 Vulnerability Researchers that contributed to WordPress Security last week. Review those vulnerabilities i...

Privilege Escalation Vulnerability Patched Promptly in WP Data Access WordPress Plugin

On April 5, 2023 the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for a vulnerability we discovered in WP Data Access, a WordPress plugin that is installed on over 10,000 sites. This flaw makes it possible for an authenticated attacker to grant themselves...

Update Now! Severe Vulnerability Impacting 600,000 Sites Patched in Limit Login Attempts

On January 26, 2023, the Wordfence team responsibly disclosed an unauthenticated stored Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability in Limit Login Attempts, a WordPress plugin installed on over 600,000 sites that provides site owners with the ability to block IP addresses that have made repeated failed...

Friday Long Read: What To Do About AI

This is a Friday long-read, so grab a warm cup of something and kick back because were going to take our time on this. The world is about to profoundly change. I know youre nervous - perhaps excited and optimistic, but if youve been paying attention and have been watching the trajectory of this...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (Mar 27, 2023 to Apr 2, 2023)

Last week, there were 82 vulnerabilities disclosed in 70 WordPress Plugins and 1 WordPress theme that have been added to the Wordfence Intelligence Vulnerability Database, and there were 34 Vulnerability Researchers that contributed to WordPress Security last week. Review those vulnerabilities in...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (Mar 20, 2023 to Mar 26, 2023)

Last week, there were 80 vulnerabilities disclosed in 69 WordPress Plugins and 1 WordPress theme that have been added to the Wordfence Intelligence Vulnerability Database, and there were 31 Vulnerability Researchers that contributed to WordPress Security last week. Review those vulnerabilities in...

PSA: Update Now! Critical Authentication Bypass in WooCommerce Payments Allows Site Takeover

This post has been updated with additional information that has become available since its publication The Wordfence Threat Intelligence team regularly monitors plugin updates and reviews any indicating that a potential security issue may have been addressed. Today, March 23, 2023, we noticed tha...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (Mar 13, 2023 to Mar 19, 2023)

Last week, there were 92 vulnerabilities disclosed in 76 WordPress Plugins and 7 WordPress themes that have been added to the Wordfence Intelligence Vulnerability Database, and there were 34 Vulnerability Researchers that contributed to WordPress Security last week. Review those vulnerabilities i...

Multiple Reflected Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerabilities in Three WordPress Plugins Patched

The Wordfence Threat Intelligence Team recently disclosed several Reflected Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities that we discovered in three different plugins - Watu Quiz installed on 5,000 sites, GN-Publisher installed on 40,000 sites, and Japanized For WooCommerce installed on 10,000 sites. As...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (Mar 6, 2023 to Mar 12, 2023)

Last week, there were 60 vulnerabilities disclosed in 40 WordPress Plugins and 1 WordPress theme that have been added to the Wordfence Intelligence Vulnerability Database, and there were 16 Vulnerability Researchers that contributed to WordPress Security last week. Review those vulnerabilities in...

Vulnerability Patched in Cozmolabs Profile Builder Plugin – Information Disclosure Leads to Account Takeover

Hundreds, if not thousands of WordPress plugins are conceived with the idea of making site building and maintenance easier for site owners. They add features not available in WordPress Core that would otherwise require site owners to write their own code to extend functionality. However, these...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (Feb 27, 2023 to Mar 5, 2023)

Wordfence has curated an industry leading vulnerability database with all known WordPress core, theme, and plugin vulnerabilities known as Wordfence Intelligence. This database is continuously updated, maintained, and populated by Wordfences highly credentialed and experienced vulnerability...

PSA: Intentionally Leaving Backdoors in Your Code Can Lead to Fines and Jail Time

In the cybersecurity field, we talk a lot about threat actors and vulnerable code, but what doesn’t get discussed enough is intentional vulnerabilities and becoming your own threat actor. Even when making decisions with the best of intentions, it is possible to work against your own best interest...

Wordfence Intelligence: Because Community Created Vulnerabilities Are Community Property

Last August, at Black Hat 2022 in Las Vegas, we launched Wordfence Intelligence, a product designed to provide large enterprise customers with rich IP threat data, malware signatures, malware hashes, and vulnerability data to help keep enterprise customers and networks secure. Our mission at...

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (Feb 20, 2023 to Feb 26, 2023)

Wordfence has curated an industry leading vulnerability database with all known WordPress core, theme, and plugin vulnerabilities known as Wordfence Intelligence Community Edition. This database is continuously updated, maintained, and populated by Wordfences highly credentialed and experienced...

Wordfence WooCommerce 2FA: Set Up This New Feature To Protect Your Customers

On February 15, we made the exciting announcement that the latest release of Wordfence, version 7.9.0, includes a new feature: WooCommerce 2FA two-factor authentication for customer level users. What does this mean for you as an e-commerce store operator? And how can you start using this feature?...

The WordPress Ecosystem is Becoming More Secure with Responsible Disclosure Becoming More Common

The Wordfence 2022 State of WordPress Security Report was released on January 24th, 2023. One area that we reviewed in this report were the vulnerabilities disclosed in 2022. Keeping in mind that some vulnerabilities affected multiple plugins, themes, and WordPress core, a total of 2,370...

All In One SEO Pack Vulnerabilities Impacting 3 Million Sites Patched

On January 26, 2023, the Wordfence Team responsibly disclosed two vulnerabilities in All In One SEO Pack, a WordPress plugin installed on over 3 Million sites which provides search engine optimization tools designed to help content creators optimize their sites and reach more users. Both reported...

Wordfence Intelligence CE Weekly Vulnerability Report (Feb 13, 2023 to Feb 19, 2023)

Wordfence has curated an industry leading vulnerability database with all known WordPress core, theme, and plugin vulnerabilities known as Wordfence Intelligence Community Edition. This database is continuously updated, maintained, and populated by Wordfences highly credentialed and experienced...

Authorization vs. Intent: Why You Should Always Verify Both

The Wordfence Threat Intelligence team has observed a recent increase in the number of partial vulnerability patches that don’t properly address separate underlying issues. More specifically, we have been seeing an increase in Missing Authorization vulnerabilities that are fixed using tools...

Wordfence Intelligence CE Weekly Vulnerability Report (Feb 6, 2023 to Feb 12, 2023)

In case you missed it, Wordfence has curated an industry leading vulnerability database with all known WordPress core, theme, and plugin vulnerabilities known as Wordfence Intelligence Community Edition. This database is continuously updated, maintained, and populated by Wordfences highly...

Wordfence Adds Two Factor Auth for WooCommerce Customers

Wordfence 7.9.0 has been released and it includes a very exciting feature for WooCommerce sites and other WordPress sites wanting to make two factor authentication 2fa available to their site users or members. Wordfence 7.9.0 now lets you give your users the ability to configure 2fa on their...

Wordfence Intelligence CE Weekly Vulnerability Report (1-30-2023 to 2-5-2023)

In case you missed it, Wordfence has curated an industry leading vulnerability database with all known WordPress core, theme and, plugin vulnerabilities known as Wordfence Intelligence Community Edition. This database is continuously updated, maintained, and populated by Wordfences highly...

High-Severity XSS Vulnerability in Metform Elementor Contact Form Builder

On January 4, 2023, independent security researcher Mohammed Chemouri reached out to the Wordfence Vulnerability Disclosure program to responsibly disclose and request a CVE ID for a vulnerability in Metform Elementor Contact Form Builder, a WordPress plugin with over 100,000 installations. The...

Multiple Vulnerabilities Patched in Quick Restaurant Menu Plugin

On January 16, 2023, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team responsibly disclosed several vulnerabilities in Quick Restaurant Menu, a WordPress plugin that allows users to set up restaurant menus on their sites. This plugin is vulnerable to Missing Authorization, Insecure Direct Object Reference,...

The Wordfence 2022 State of WordPress Security Report

Today, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team is releasing our 2022 State of WordPress Security Report as a free White Paper. In our report, we look at changes in the threat landscape, analyze impactful trends, and provide recommendations based on our findings. While most of our recommendations...

PSA: Your Site Isn’t Hacked By This Bitcoin Scam, Keep the Money

On January 19th, 2023, a member of the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team received an email from their personal blog, claiming the site had been hacked, and we received two reports from Wordfence users who received the same message. The email claimed that the site had been hacked due to a...

Holiday Attack Spikes Target Ancient Vulnerabilities and Hidden Webshells

Winter brings a number of holidays in a short period of time, and many organizations shut down or run a skeleton crew for a week or more at the end of the year and beginning of the new year. This makes it easier for would-be attackers to find success as systems are not as closely monitored. This...

Eleven Vulnerabilities Patched in Royal Elementor Addons

On December 23, 2022, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team initiated the responsible disclosure process for a set of 11 vulnerabilities in Royal Elementor Addons, a WordPress plugin with over 100,000 installations. The plugin developers responded on December 26, and we sent over the full...

PSA: YITH WooCommerce Gift Cards Premium Plugin Exploited in the Wild

The Wordfence Threat Intelligence team has been tracking exploits targeting a Critical Severity Arbitrary File Upload vulnerability in YITH WooCommerce Gift Cards Premium, a plugin with over 50,000 installations according to the vendor. The vulnerability, reported by security researcher Dave Jong...

Exploiting WordPress Plugin Vulnerabilities to Steal AWS Metadata

In an ideal world, vulnerabilities would not exist. A request would be sent to a server, properly validated, and only the intended information would be provided by the server. Of course, this is not a perfect world, and vulnerabilities can be introduced unintentionally, or even found due to...

How Much is Your Hacked Site Worth?

The Wordfence Threat Intelligence team has recently concluded an investigation of online marketplaces, colloquially known as “shops” by threat actors, selling access to compromised services. While contemporary threat actors primarily coordinate and conduct business through Telegram channels,...

Wordfence Launches Free Vulnerability Database For Commercial Use – And Launches Security Portal

Today we are incredibly excited to announce that Wordfence is launching an entirely free vulnerability database API and web interface, available for commercial use by hosting companies, security organizations, threat analysts, security researchers, and the WordPress user community. This is part o...

Spikes in Attacks Serve as a Reminder to Update Plugins

The Wordfence Threat Intelligence team continually monitors trends in the attack data we collect. Occasionally an unusual trend will arise from this data, and we have spotted one such trend standing out over the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. and the first weekend in December. Attack attempts...

Configuration Probing: Your Backups Might Be Your Greatest Weakness

Configuration files exist to make life easier for developers and website operators. In a world without configuration files, every instance of code that depended on a database connection could potentially require the connection details to be hard coded or manually entered. Other reusable data woul...

Wordfence 7.8.0 Is Out! Here Is What Is Included

Wordfence 7.8.0 is out! A huge thanks to our quality assurance team, our team of developers and our ops team for planning, implementing and releasing Wordfence 7.8.0. This release has several fixes to make Wordfence even more robust, and includes a fundamental change in the way our signup works...

Not Just for the Government: Using the NIST Framework to Secure WordPress

When setting up a WordPress website, it is easy to focus on the look and feel of the website, while overlooking the important aspect of security. This makes sense, because the security of a website is largely invisible until something goes wrong. Installing a cybersecurity plugin like Wordfence...