Hacking WordPress: Where to Begin?

WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) in the world, powering millions of websites, from personal blogs to large business platforms, due to its ease of use, flexibility, and vast range of plugins and themes.

We can hack WordPress by targeting vulnerabilities in its plugins or themes. So, before we dive into hacking WordPress, it’s essential to understand what plugins and themes are and how they work.

WordPress Themes:

WordPress themes are pre-designed templates that define the overall appearance, layout, and style of a WordPress website. They control the visual elements like colors, typography, header styles, and page layouts, allowing users to create unique websites without coding. Themes can be free or premium, with options for customization to suit specific needs.

WordPress Plugins:

WordPress plugins are add-on software components that extend the functionality of a WordPress site. They can add features like contact forms, SEO tools, e-commerce capabilities, security enhancements, or analytics tracking. Plugins are available in both free and premium versions, and their versatility makes it easy to tailor a website to meet diverse requirements.

To begin ethical hacking or vulnerability hunting on WordPress, start by choosing platforms that offer bug bounty programs for reporting vulnerabilities. Focus on identifying issues in WordPress Core, plugins, and themes, as these are common areas where security flaws can be found and rewarded.

Wordpress Bug Bounty Platform

There are several bug bounty platforms that reward researchers for submitting vulnerabilities in WordPress Core, plugins, and themes. Some of the most popular platforms for WordPress bug bounty programs include Patchstack and Wordfence.

Hunting Process

During the reconnaissance phase, we gather information about the features and functionality of the targeted plugin or theme. This can be done by examining the source code (if the plugin or theme is open-source) or by directly analyzing the requests and responses during its usage.

For example, I recently discovered a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the “Snippet Shortcodes” plugin, which was assigned CVE-2024–4543. Since “Snippet Shortcodes” is an open-source plugin, you can review its source code, updates, and bug fixes directly on its GitHub repository.

Once you confirm that the plugin or theme is open-source, you can begin with a source code review to identify potential vulnerabilities. Alternatively, you can directly analyze the plugin or theme’s requests and responses to assess its functionality and proceed with exploitation.

WordPress hacking involves identifying vulnerabilities in plugins, themes, or the WordPress core itself. By understanding how these components function and where weaknesses might exist, you can responsibly uncover and report issues to improve the platform’s security.

To dive deeper into ethical hacking techniques and learn how to secure WordPress websites effectively, explore our resources at Sysbraykr. Together, let’s create a safer and more secure web.