WordPress Under Attack
There have been reports that older versions of wordpress are under attack. Most likely it’s some type of bot on the prowl. It’s suggested that you upgrade to the latest version of wordpress.
Here is what you need to know right now.
- UPDATE NOW! Reports are that this attack impacts ALL versions of WordPress up to 2.8.4, the most recent release.
- What Version Am I Using? If you are using a WordPress version after 2.7, the nag screen on the WordPress Administration Panels will alert you to upgrade. If you are using an older version, upgrade now.
- Use a WordPress Plugin for Protection: Do not rely upon a WordPress Plugin to protect you. There are many reports of Plugins that will “help” in the comments. While they might help in other ways, please upgrade now. That is the only solution if your site has not been impacted.
- WordPress is Not Secure: WordPress is incredibly secure and monitored constantly by experts in web security. This attack was well anticipated and so far, WordPress 2.8.4 is holding. If necessary, WordPress will immediately release a update with further security improvements. WordPress is used by governments, huge corporations, and me, around the world. Millions of bloggers are using WordPress.com. Have faith they are working overtime to monitor this situation and protect your blog.
- Fear of Upgrading: This attack is serious enough to overcome all your fears of updating. If older WordPress Plugins are holding you back, update them to the latest version or replace them with new. If your Theme might break, contact the Theme author and update or replace it. There are thousands of free Themes to choose from, probably some better than what you are using. If you are using a recent version of WordPress, updating is as easy as clicking a couple buttons. If you are using an older version, download the most recent version and upgrade now.
- Other Issues? Whatever your issue is that keeps you from updating WordPress, get over it and update now to protect your site.
How Do I Know If My Site Has Already Been Attacked?
There are two clues that your WordPress site has been attacked.
There are strange additions to the pretty permalinks, such as example.com/category/post-title/%&(%7B$%7Beval(base64_decode($_SERVER%5BHTTP_REFERER%5D))%7D%7D|.+)&%/. The keywords are “eval” and “base64_decode.”
The second clue is that a “back door” was created by a “hidden” Administrator. Check your site users for “Administrator (2)” or a name you do not recognize. You will probably be unable to access that account, but Journey Etc. has a possible solution.
WordPress.com blogs are not impacted as they are up-to-date. Only versions prior to WordPress 2.8.4 are impacted.
To Prevent Your WordPress Blog from Attack
To prevent this form of attack, update your WordPress site IMMEDIATELY to the latest version. Change ALL passwords to a strong password immediately, including WordPress blog access for all users, database, FTP, control panels, everything.
See the articles below for more helpful information on how to harden and protect your WordPress blog.
If Your WordPress Blog Has Been Attacked
If your site has already been attacked, it appears that the hack attacks the database, going deep. We’re looking for solutions, but the easiest appears to be to export all your content with the built-in XML WordPress export (pre 2.1 versions, try the WordPress-to-WordPress Import WordPress Plugin) and literally remove your WordPress installation totally (save images and general files). DO NOT EXPORT YOUR DATABASE! Install the latest version of WordPress and add the “clean” backup of your WordPress Theme, then import the XML export. The export will contain your posts, Pages, and comments, and hopefully no other hacked code.
“How To Completely Clean Your Hacked WordPress Installation” by Smackdown is a good article on how to reinstall WordPress after being hacked, but take care to keep your export limited to the post content and comments (and Pages), not the entire database as the hack goes into the database.
via: lorelle.wordpress.com
image via: Developer Tutorials