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UNPWNED
WordPress Security Guide
Q&AWordPress

What are common WordPress vulnerabilities?

The most common WordPress vulnerabilities include SQL injection and XSS in plugins, exposed wp-config.php files containing database credentials, directory listing enabled on uploads and plugins folders, XML-RPC brute force attacks, user enumeration through the REST API and author archives, outdated plugins with known CVEs, weak admin passwords, file upload vulnerabilities in media handlers, and cross-site request forgery in plugin settings pages. The WordPress REST API can also expose sensitive site information if not properly restricted. UNPWNED checks externally observable component-CVE, sensitive-path, XML-RPC, user-enumeration, public-endpoint, header, exposure, dependency, rate-limit, and configuration signals. Password strength, plugin code, file-upload behavior, and CSRF require separate testing. SQL-injection, reflected-XSS, and path-traversal probes are not enabled in the current production profile.

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Last reviewed: 2026-04-07. Based on publicly available security research and UNPWNED scan telemetry.