WordPress was only a blog-publishing website when it was first developed in 2003. It is a hugely popular online content management system that powers many blogs, home sites, and social communities. There are more than 73 million WordPress sites in existence, and each month, 300 million+ users see 2.5+ billion pages.

To achieve such heights of success, some elements were put into play, beginning with its enormous plugin repository.

The official WordPress plugin directory has over 19,073 plugins. Individual programmers frequently create plugins. Then they are distributed without charge to others. There are plugins for picture galleries, payment systems, social networks, shopping sites, etc.

WordPress Vulnerabilities are 90% comprised of plugin vulnerabilities. As a result, plugins are the most specific point of entry for hackers to infect WordPress sites.

They are also increasing. The number of WordPress plugin vulnerabilities increased by 142% in 2021. This is according to statistics from Risk Based Security.

Therefore, if you use specific plugins, your website will become weak. These plugins would help the hackers to damage your online resources easily.

The need to be aware of any recent plugin vulnerabilities that might have exposed your site is more critical than ever.

This awareness will enable you to update them instantly or remove and delete the plugin until a security patch is available. Doing this can stop hackers from discovering and using weaknesses to access your website.

What are the WordPress Plugin Vulnerability issues?

The plugins follow specific rules, ensuring user safety and security. However, developers continue to improve their products frequently. There are times when they encounter time constraints while releasing new features. Sometimes, when creating a plugin, security problems can be overlooked. This makes the end product vulnerable.

Once they discover a weakness, hackers might use it to perform a variety of hacks, some of which include:

• Redirecting users to unfamiliar websites.
• Spamming your website with advertisements and information.
• Installing malicious software such as the wp-feed.php malware to intensify their attacks.
• Establishing false admin accounts.
• Launching DDoS attacks on your server and sending spam emails.

Such hacking attempts will significantly slow down your website, which will lower your SEO rankings. Additionally, they endanger your reputation, income, and business.

Also, it’s important to remember that the majority of plugin vulnerabilities don’t signify a problem with the plugin’s quality.  More often than not, they mention how popular both the plugin and WordPress as a whole are, making both of their prime targets for hackers.

The issues faced by websites due to WordPress Plugin Vulnerability:

A Website’s Performance May Be Slowed by Too Many Plugins:

Many website owners rely excessively on WordPress Plugins to accomplish daily company operations. In an effort to improve the performance of their websites, they install an excessive number of WordPress plugins. But in practice, the exact reverse occurs.

Having too many plugins causes your website to load slowly. This also puts additional strain on the server. Always bear in mind that slow websites frequently rank lower in the SERPs of various search engines. Since, customers dislike browsing slow websites.

Security Vulnerabilities:

Many plugins have insufficient defenses against Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability. Some of the most common issues experienced by WordPress Plugin users are XSS in the WP Photo Album Plus plug-in, BeEF Hook, and Administrative Access to WordPress.

Many WordPress Plugins Fail to Recognize New WordPress Updates:

WordPress plugins should be updated frequently. Follow these steps to update a plugin.

Many WordPress plugins fail to acknowledge the most recent security upgrades. They act strangely and refuse to adapt to new developments. Such plugins don’t significantly impact your website’s performance over time.

Address the security risks of WordPress Plugins:

However, there are numerous steps you can take to address the security risks of WordPress plugins. Among the essential tasks are:

Choose right plugins:

No plugin is completely secure. But you can learn to evaluate and pick top-notch plugins before installing them. This can drastically lower WordPress plugin vulnerabilities.

Choose plugins only from reputable marketplaces. There are places that are trustworthy like the WordPress Plugin repository, and trusted third-party retailers. Etc. Each plugin is reviewed by the WordPress repository before it is made available to the public.

In order to determine whether a plugin is suitable for installation, what should you check? Start with:

• Average user ratings.
• User feedback.
• Revisions and compatibility
• Installations in use.
• Help and documentation.

You should bear the following things in mind before including a plugin on your website:

• You can put in as many plugins as you want if your server has the resources to support them. The quality of the plugin’s coding is important. However, a single plugin with poor coding has the potential to crash the website.
• The presence of an active change log section shows that the plugin’s author is actively supporting it and attentive to user feedback. On the other side, if there aren’t many items in this section, it might just be that the plugin doesn’t require any updates or adjustments.
• Numerous top-notch free WordPress plugins are available. However, bear in mind that paid plugins frequently offer more responsive support. Also, they are compatible with the most recent WordPress releases.
• The installation of WordPress plugins should only be done when necessary.

Update Plugins regularly:

An outdated WordPress plugin is a frequent attack vector for hackers. According to a Sucuri investigation, three well-known outdated plugins were to blame for 18% of the hacked WordPress sites. This survey was done and examined in Q3 2016.

Even if you start off with the “right” plugins, if you don’t keep those plugins updated, you’re still in trouble.

Delete unused plugins:

Deleting plugins that are no longer in use is an excellent enhanced security measure. Plugins don’t use PHP, RAM, or bandwidth. However, inactive plugins do take up server space. And if there are a lot of them, they can slow down your site. 

The biggest problem, though, is that inactive plugins can be used to inject harmful code into your website. This is the reason you should avoid keeping them around.

Perform a Website Security Audit with the Assistance of Experts:

A website security audit is a crucial step in securing both your website and any installed plugins. There are certain complex technological problems and security flaws that call for skill to resolve.

Therefore, periodically conduct a website security audit. Make sure to examine all security features of the site thoroughly with the assistance of a professional WordPress Web Development firm. You can also hire a freelance WordPress developer to perform the audit. This will enable you to quickly identify and resolve a number of security-related challenges posed on by plugins.

When necessary, use premium WordPress plugins:

On the global Internet, there are many WordPress plugins that are offered for free. Free WordPress plugins are more likely to be infected with harmful software and malware. 

Avoid using free WordPress plugins as much as you can, if at all possible. Before installing them, carefully inspect them. Purchase quality plugins with enhanced security if you have the funds. Your website will be safe from various forms of security flaws.

Regularly Manually Check the Plugin Performance:

When operating a website with business goals in mind, you must give the highest emphasis to all parts of your website. Check each of the sites installed plugin’s performance manually. This will assist you in tracking questionable plugin activity or website hacker activity. Manual evaluation will help in resolving the issue quickly.

Summing things up:

Plugins are fantastic. They support you while you use WordPress to create beautiful things. No piece of software is completely secure, and plugins occasionally have flaws.

However, occasionally outdated or improperly coded plugins can expose your WordPress website to hackers. You may significantly lower your risk of being a victim of WordPress plugin vulnerabilities:

• By selecting your plugins carefully,
• Keeping them up to date on a regular basis.

If you do decide to use WordPress for your website, make sure to check out a WordPress management tool WPBlazer.

Author Bio:

Saelvizhi. V grew up in Coimbatore city with a lot of time on her hands and a vivid imagination. A passion for writing began to take hold at 12 when her first poem was published in a popular magazine.

She began with poems and progressed to essays, articles, blogs, and other forms of writing. Then, she became a full-time writer.

Saelvizhi enjoys spending time with her friends and family and loves to explore different cuisines. She has made it her goal to one day hike to the pinnacle of Everest and become a mountaineer.