Looking for WordPress vulnerabilities with WPScan
Word Alert
© Lead Image © pnphoto, 123RF.com
The number of potential WordPress vulnerabilities is stunning. WPScan scans your site to find the problems that could lead to compromise.
When software becomes uber-popular, attackers spend much more time trying to find security holes. WordPress [1], an extremely popular content management system (CMS), is built on the PHP [2] language. WordPress also hooks into a relatively small database back end, such as MariaDB. I always advise very large commercial organizations to avoid using WordPress due to the constant battle of patching and checking for security issues, even when using some of the excellent automation which is now provided. Smaller businesses might be tempted to use WordPress because of its simplicity, but they need to be vigilant about staying up to date.
In a previous article [3], I introduced WPScan [4] and described how an attacker can use the powerful service to look for vulnerabilities in a WordPress website. The good news is that WordPress webmasters can also use WPScan to close any gaps before an intruder finds them.
Start at the Beginning
Security professionals have spent a long time trying to make life easier for those running WordPress sites. WPScan, in particular, has excelled and created a genuinely invaluable tool to check your site's security. WPScan helps users find every possible (currently) known issue present on a WordPress site in a fully automated fashion.
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