Hackers Target Millions of WordPress Sites, Experts Urge Immediate Updates

Security firms warn that active exploits are hitting sites on vulnerable WordPress releases. Update now and enable automatic patches to avoid remote takeover.

As highlighted by Techcrunch

Hackers are actively attacking sites running vulnerable WordPress versions, according to several cybersecurity companies. Estimates suggest tens of millions of sites as of Monday.

Last week, the WordPress platform patched two critical vulnerabilities and urged site owners to update their software immediately.

Vulnerable versions remain WordPress 6.9.0–6.9.4 and 7.0.0–7.0.1. According to official WordPress data, more than 400 million sites use these versions, though these figures are unlikely to reflect sites that were recently updated.

According to cybersecurity consultant Daniel Card, who reviewed a sample of 4,200 WordPress sites, the assessment indicates that fewer than 15% of them are vulnerable. If this estimate is applied to the entire online population of WordPress sites, the total would be roughly 90 million.

The researcher also noted that WordPress actively promotes automatic updates, Cloudflare blocks attacks on vulnerable sites, and web firewalls and other cybersecurity tools reduce the risk of a breach.

Automattic and WordPress.org did not respond to requests for .

One of the key bugs was discovered and described by Adam Kues of cybersecurity firm Searchlight Cyber, who named it WP2Shell. Along with another vulnerability, these bugs allow attackers to fully remotely control vulnerable sites.

This situation underscores the scale of risk for millions of WordPress sites and emphasizes the importance of timely updates and strengthening the cybersecurity of the web platform.

The current situation shows how serious the risk is for millions of WordPress sites that remain on outdated versions. Timely updates and stronger cybersecurity remain key factors in reducing the risk of breaches in today’s Internet environment.

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