Restoring Your Site After a WordPress Hack

Contents

Restoring Your Site After a WordPress Hack

WordPress powers a significant portion of the web—and that makes it a prime target for attackers. A successful hack can disrupt your business, damage your reputation, and expose sensitive data. This guide walks you through a comprehensive, step-by-step recovery process, from immediate containment to long-term hardening. Each section provides practical advice, links to reliable resources, and recommended tools for a professional, minimalist approach to site security.

Table of Contents

1. Immediate Response Steps

Time is of the essence. As soon as you suspect a breach:

  • Take the site offline or enable maintenance mode. Prevent further damage by blocking public access. Use plugins like WP Maintenance Mode or update your server’s .htaccess to allow only your IP.
  • Notify stakeholders and your hosting provider. Inform your team or client and ask your host for logs, backups, or emergency assistance.
  • Change all administrative passwords. Even before a full cleanup, reset WP user passwords, FTP/SFTP, cPanel/SSH, and database credentials to random, strong values.

2. Investigation amp Diagnosis

Understanding the attack vector helps you close loopholes and prevent recurrence.

  • Review server and application logs. Look in /var/log, access logs, and error logs for suspicious activity (e.g. unexpected POST requests, new user creations).
  • Run automated scanners:
    • WPScan – checks for known vulnerabilities in core, themes, and plugins.
    • Sucuri SiteCheck – external scan for malware and blacklisting.
    • OWASP Top 10 – consult for common web vulnerabilities.
  • Identify injected files or scripts. Search for recently modified files using find . -type f -mtime -7 and examine unfamiliar or obfuscated PHP/Javascript.

3. Backup the Current State

Even a compromised snapshot is valuable for forensic analysis.

  • Full files backup: Use rsync or your host’s backup tool to copy the entire WordPress directory offline.
  • Database dump: Run mysqldump or use phpMyAdmin to export the entire database.
  • Secure storage: Store backups on a different server or local machine, ensuring it’s not accessible via the public web.

4. Cleaning amp Restoring Core Files

Your WordPress installation may have core files altered. Restoring them is critical.

  1. Download a fresh copy of the same WP version. Get it from official archives.
  2. Replace core directories: Overwrite /wp-admin and /wp-includes with the new clean ones.
  3. Verify root files: Compare and replace all root files (index.php, wp-load.php, etc.), except wp-config.php. Manually inspect wp-config.php for injected code.

5. Scanning and Cleaning Plugins amp Themes

Hackers often exploit outdated or nulled plugins/themes.

  • Remove unused extensions: Delete all plugins and themes you no longer need.
  • Reinstall from trusted sources: For active items, download fresh copies from WordPress.org or official vendor sites.
  • Manually scan for malicious code: Look for eval(, base64_decode, or encoded strings within .php files.

6. Database Inspection amp Cleanup

Attackers can plant malicious scripts and users in your database.

  1. Search for suspicious content: In tables like wp_posts and wp_options, query for keywords like iframe, script, or external domains.
  2. Review user accounts: Verify wp_users for unauthorized admin or editor roles. Delete rogue entries.
  3. Check scheduled tasks: In wp_options under cron options, ensure no malicious scheduled events are present.

7. Credentials amp Access Control

Secure every point of entry.

  • Regenerate all keys and salts: In wp-config.php, get fresh keys from the WordPress Salt Generator.
  • Reset passwords for:
    • WordPress administrators and users
    • FTP/SFTP accounts
    • Database user
    • Hosting control panel
  • Enable two-factor authentication (2FA): Use plugins like Google Authenticator or Authy to add a second layer.

8. Updating amp Hardening

Once cleaned, bolster your defenses to deter future breaches.

8.1 Core Updates amp Version Control

  • Update to the latest WP version.
  • Keep themes/plugins current. Enable automatic minor updates where possible.
  • Implement version control. Use Git for your codebase and restrict direct editing in production.

8.2 File Permissions amp Server Configuration

  • Set directories to 755 and files to 644. Protect wp-config.php with 600 if your host allows.
  • Disable PHP execution in wp-content/uploads via an .htaccess rule:
# Disable PHP execution
ltFiles .phpgt
  deny from all
lt/Filesgt

8.3 Security Plugins amp Firewalls

Plugin Primary Function
Wordfence Security Web application firewall, malware scanning, login hardening
Sucuri Security Remote malware scanning, blacklist monitoring, WAF integration
iThemes Security Brute-force protection, file change detection, 2FA

9. Monitoring amp Prevention

Security is an ongoing process:

  • Enable alerts: Configure email or Slack notifications for file changes, login attempts, and core updates.
  • Periodic scans: Schedule weekly malware scans with your chosen security plugin or external service.
  • Regular backups: Automate daily or hourly backups with off-site storage (e.g. Amazon S3, Dropbox).
  • Audit logs: Keep detailed records of user activity via plugins like WP Activity Log.

10. Conclusion amp Further Reading

Recovering from a WordPress hack is demanding but entirely feasible with a disciplined approach: contain the breach, back up, clean core files, sanitize plugins/themes and the database, tighten credentials, and continuously harden your environment. For deeper guidance and best practices, consult:

By following these steps and maintaining vigilance, you’ll dramatically reduce the risk of future compromises and ensure your WordPress site remains a secure, reliable asset.


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