Top 4 Critical WordPress Vulnerabilities Exploited by Hackers in Early 2025

Overview of WordPress Security Challenges in Q1 2025

The initial months of 2025 have seen a sharp focus on certain vulnerabilities within WordPress plugins, which have been frequently targeted by cybercriminals to compromise websites.

Identified Vulnerabilities and Their Impact

Despite remediation efforts in 2024, these flaws have persisted due to many sites failing to apply updates, leaving them exposed to attacks involving arbitrary code execution or data theft.

Notably, two of these vulnerabilities have been exploited actively for the first time, signaling an alarming trend for cybersecurity experts and website admins.

Most Targeted WordPress Flaws

According to a recent Patchstack report, the four most exploited vulnerabilities are:

• CVE-2024-27956: A critical SQL injection vulnerability in the WordPress Automatic Plugin. Unauthenticated attackers exploited this flaw to execute SQL commands, impacting over 40,000 installations. Patchstack has since blocked thousands of these attack attempts.
• CVE-2024-4345: The Startklar Elementor Addons plugin was susceptible to unauthenticated file uploads due to inadequate file type validation, affecting around 5,000 sites. Patchstack’s intervention has thwarted multiple upload attempts.
• CVE-2024-25600: Found in the Bricks theme, this remote code execution vulnerability was exploited through a weakly secured REST route, influencing 30,000 installations. Surveillance for unauthorized use has intensified, with several hundred attempts blocked.
• CVE-2024-8353: The GiveWP plugin’s PHP object injection flaw led to possible complete site takeovers. This affected approximately 100,000 sites but has since seen considerable mitigation efforts.

Proactive Security Measures

While many attacks have been intercepted, the persistent danger underscores the necessity for robust site security measures:

• Regular application of security patches for all WordPress components.
• Deactivation of unnecessary plugins and themes to minimize risk exposures.
• Enforcement of strong password policies and multi-factor authentication to safeguard administrator accounts.
• Rigorous monitoring and immediate action on dormant user accounts.

As the digital landscape evolves, the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices cannot be overstated. For additional insights into cybersecurity risks and prevention strategies, read the Red Report 2025.

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