WPScan - Vulnerability Scanner for WordPress - security Cheatsheets

WPScan: WordPress Vulnerability Scanner

WPScan is a powerful black box WordPress vulnerability scanner designed to help security professionals and website administrators identify potential security weaknesses in their WordPress installations. By simulating attacks and analyzing the WordPress environment, WPScan can detect outdated themes, plugins, and core versions, as well as misconfigurations that could be exploited by malicious actors.

Basic WPScan Usage

The most fundamental way to use WPScan is by providing the target URL and enabling verbose output to see detailed scan results. This is a good starting point for a quick assessment of a WordPress site.

# basic usage
wpscan --url "target" --verbose

Advanced WPScan Enumeration

For a more comprehensive security audit, WPScan offers various enumeration options. You can specifically target vulnerable plugins, user accounts, vulnerable themes, and even timthumbs. Enabling redirection following and logging the output to a file are crucial for detailed analysis and record-keeping.

# enumerate vulnerable plugins, users, vulnerable themes, timthumbs
wpscan --url "target" --enumerate vp,u,vt,tt --follow-redirection --verbose --log target.log

Understanding WPScan Reports

The output from WPScan, especially when using the --verbose flag and logging to a file, provides critical information about your WordPress site's security posture. Reviewing these reports carefully is essential for understanding identified vulnerabilities and planning remediation steps. Always ensure you have permission before scanning any website.

External Resources for WordPress Security

To further enhance your understanding of WordPress security and the tools used for it, consider exploring these resources: