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Most of the vulnerabilities that have led to a WordPress hack have been linked to plugins. WordPress has a large developer community which is the reason for the huge amount of plugins available. Sometimes, some plugins are not updated to be compatible with curent WordPress version and in some cases, the plugins themselves do have security shortfalls.

For example, previous versions of the WP Super Cache plugin were affected by a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could provide potential attackers with access to your site. In addition, a few websites made the news after being hacked by members of the organized group of Islamic State sympathizers via a vulnerability in the FancyBox plugin. Another plugin, Yoast, was vulnerable to blind SQL injection attacks, which can lead to database breaches and possible exposure of confidential information.

Though the plugin developers quickly came up with with a fix, it brought to light the reality and security risks associated with plugins, due to their nature and different coding standards, they do come with inherent security risks. When third party plugins interact with WordPress, vulnerabilities are often created that can allow a variety of attacks, like buffer overflow exploits or SQL injections.

Because vulnerable WordPress plugins are common, it’s important to take as many precautions as possible with standard security practices, looking closely at what security plugins you have installed, and also generally maintaining your plugins in a responsible manner.

Recommended WordPress Security Tips

Update plugins regularly. Updates for plugins often contain fixes for recently discovered vulnerabilities and updating them is an easy way to protect your site.

Use Our Recommended WordPress Security Plugins. Click for details

The right security plugins can help protect your site from many types of malicious activities. There are even plugins, such as WordFence, that will scan your site for changes to both your WordPress core files and your plugins’ source code.


Adopt the Safe Plugin Responsibility Practice

One crucial aspect of safe plugin responsibility is regular updates.The first part of plugin responsibility is to update, update, update! Enabling automatic background update for WordPress Core will allow it to automatically update whenever a new release is available, minimizing the risk of vulnerabilities. Of course, we’ve mentioned using updated plugins and themes to minimize risk. It may also help to regularly check this updated list of known WordPress vulnerabilities to keep you aware of any known issues. Lastly, practicing proper plugin responsibility means only downloading plugins from reputable sources or with high user ratings, and deleting any unused plugins from your WordPress. Code from inactive plugins can still be hacked!

While third-party plugins come with a certain amount of risk, these simple steps will help you protect your site from attacks.

Source: https://www.todhost.com/blog/managing-wordpress-security-plugin-vulnerabilities-a-simple-guide-to-website-protection.html

God info
.Thanks!