If you’ve ever asked why WordPress is so bad in security, you’re really asking a few different questions at once. Is WordPress itself insecure? Are plugins the real issue? Or does WordPress simply get attacked more because it runs a huge chunk of the web? In my experience, the answer is a mix of all three. WordPress has real security weaknesses, but its scale and plugin culture make those weaknesses much worse.
Key Takeaways
- WordPress is a huge target because of its massive market share in the CMS world.
- Most WordPress security issues come from plugins and themes, not the core CMS.
- A common stat cited across WordPress security roundups is that roughly 90% to 95% of vulnerabilities are linked to plugins.
- Outdated software, weak passwords, and poor hosting setup are still major reasons WordPress sites get compromised.
- The platform isn’t uniquely broken, but its open ecosystem creates a very large attack surface.
- If you manage updates, remove risky plugins, and harden the site properly, WordPress can be reasonably secure.
Why WordPress Security Looks So Bad
The short answer: popularity, extensibility, and weak maintenance habits.
WordPress has enormous adoption. W3Techs data, cited in multiple industry summaries, regularly shows WordPress holding the majority share of the CMS market. That alone makes it attractive to attackers. If you’re writing malware or scanning for vulnerable sites, you go where the volume is.
But popularity doesn’t fully explain it. The bigger issue is how WordPress works in the real world. A typical site isn’t just “WordPress core.” It’s WordPress core plus a theme, several plugins, maybe a page builder, a custom login tool, a backup plugin, an SEO plugin, and whatever random add-on the site owner installed at 2 a.m. That stack gets messy fast.
The WordPress plugin problem
This is the part people usually mean when they say WordPress is bad in security.
Several WordPress security summaries cite that about 90% of vulnerabilities affect plugins, while a smaller portion affect themes and an even smaller share affect core. AIOSEO’s published statistics page, for example, summarizes the split as roughly 90% plugin-related, 6% theme-related, and 4% core-related.
So, yes, WordPress has a security reputation problem. But a lot of that reputation is really a plugin supply-chain problem.
Is WordPress Itself Insecure?
Not exactly. Not in the simplistic way people say it.
The WordPress core project is heavily scrutinized. It has a large community, regular updates, and a mature security process. Core vulnerabilities do happen, because software is software, but they’re not the main story.
The real attack surface is the ecosystem:
- Third-party plugins
- Third-party themes
- Abandoned extensions
- Poorly coded premium add-ons
- Admin accounts with weak credentials
- Cheap hosting with bad isolation
- Site owners who ignore updates for months
That distinction matters. Saying “WordPress is insecure” is a bit like saying “Linux is insecure” because someone installed five sketchy packages, left SSH exposed, and never patched the box.
Why WordPress Gets Hacked So Much
1. Massive market share
Attackers optimize for reach. A vulnerability in a popular plugin can expose thousands or even millions of sites. That’s efficient, and attackers love efficient.
2. Too many plugins, not enough discipline
A lot of WordPress sites are built by stacking plugins until the site works. That’s convenient, but every plugin adds code, and every codebase adds risk.
Recent reporting reinforces that point. Search Engine Journal highlighted Patchstack findings showing WordPress sites being exploited very quickly after vulnerabilities become public. In other words, once a flaw is disclosed, attackers move fast.
3. Site owners often skip updates
This is one of the oldest problems, and it still matters. Community discussions on Reddit and Quora consistently point to neglected updates as a major reason WordPress sites get compromised. Same story with weak passwords and poor admin hygiene.
4. Cheap shared hosting and bad defaults
A lot of WordPress sites live on low-cost shared hosting. That often means weak isolation, outdated server software, and little operational discipline. Even a secure CMS can look terrible in that environment.
WordPress Security Issues in the Real World
The ecosystem keeps producing examples. Recent security coverage has shown active exploitation of vulnerable WordPress plugins, including cases where attackers gained remote code execution or created rogue admin accounts.
A Forbes report described 1.6 million attacks in 48 hours tied to WordPress plugin vulnerabilities. The exact campaigns change, but the pattern stays the same: popular plugin, known flaw, delayed patching, mass exploitation.
That’s why the question “Is WordPress easily hackable?” doesn’t have a neat yes-or-no answer. A well-maintained WordPress site is not trivial to compromise. A neglected WordPress site with outdated plugins? That’s a very different story.
Common WordPress Security Mistakes
If i had to narrow it down, these are the usual offenders:
- Installing too many plugins
- Using abandoned or poorly reviewed plugins
- Delaying updates for core, themes, and plugins
- Reusing weak passwords
- Keeping the default
admin-style login habits - Running without backups
- Using low-quality hosting
- Giving too many users admin access
A lot of WordPress security failures are self-inflicted. That sounds harsh, but it’s true.
How to Make WordPress More Secure
If you’re stuck with WordPress, or you actually like it, you’re not doomed. You just need to treat it like software infrastructure, not a magic website toy.
Practical WordPress security steps
- Keep WordPress core updated
- Update plugins and themes quickly
- Delete plugins you don’t use
- Choose reputable plugins with active maintenance
- Use strong passwords and MFA
- Limit admin accounts
- Run regular backups
- Use a web application firewall
- Monitor file changes and login attempts
- Pick better hosting
A simple checklist goes a long way.
# Basic file permission example on a Linux host
find /var/www/html -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find /var/www/html -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;And if you manage your own server, read the official WordPress hardening documentation and apply it properly.
Why Some Developers Still Dislike WordPress
Security is only part of the frustration.
Many developers dislike WordPress because the ecosystem rewards convenience over engineering discipline. You can build almost anything quickly, but speed often comes at the cost of consistency, maintainability, and security review. That trade-off is one reason WordPress gets so much criticism in communities like r/webdev and ProWordPress.
And to be fair, some of that criticism is justified.
Is Switching Away From WordPress the Right Move?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
If your site depends on a fragile pile of plugins and constant admin patching, moving to a simpler stack can reduce risk. Static site generators, managed platforms, or tightly controlled frameworks often have a smaller attack surface.
But if your team knows WordPress well, uses a minimal plugin set, and keeps everything patched, moving away from WordPress may not buy you much. Bad operations can make any platform insecure.
For more on maintaining a safer Linux-based hosting environment, i’d also point readers to this internal post on Linux memory management from malloc to the kernel. And if you care about lower-level async performance on Linux systems, understanding io_uring without marketing fluff is worth a read too.
FAQ: Why Is WordPress So Bad in Security?
Is WordPress good for security?
It can be, but only with active maintenance. Core WordPress is not the main weakness. Plugins, themes, and bad admin practices usually are.
Why does WordPress get hacked so much?
Because it’s widely used, heavily targeted, and often poorly maintained. Its plugin ecosystem also creates a large attack surface.
Is WordPress safe from hackers?
No platform is safe from hackers. A well-maintained WordPress site can be reasonably secure, but an outdated one is easy prey.
Conclusion
So, why is WordPress so bad in security? Because its ecosystem makes insecurity easy. The core CMS is only part of the story. The real problems are plugin sprawl, neglected updates, weak operational habits, and the simple fact that WordPress is such a juicy target.
That doesn’t mean WordPress is hopeless. It means you need to manage it like production software. If you’re running WordPress today, audit your plugins, patch what’s outdated, remove what you don’t need, and tighten your login security. And if you’ve had a different experience, good or bad, i’d love to hear it.
Sources
Reddit – Why do so many people hate wordpress?
https://www.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/1gdicer/why_do_so_many_people_hate_wordpress/Reddit – Is WordPress Really Insecure, or Is the Ecosystem the Real Attack Surface?
https://www.reddit.com/r/ProWordPress/comments/1u12jze/is_wordpress_really_insecure_or_is_the_ecosystem/Quora – Are WordPress sites less secure than those created in a traditional way?
https://www.quora.com/Are-WordPress-sites-less-secure-than-those-created-in-a-traditional-wayQuora – Why is WordPress so vulnerable
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-WordPress-so-vulnerableFacebook – Should I switch from WordPress for security? - Sydney
https://www.facebook.com/groups/sydneystartups/posts/32227475870200285/AIOSEO – 60+ WordPress Statistics You Should Know in 2025
https://aioseo.com/wordpress-statistics/Search Engine Journal – Report Shows WordPress Sites Are Getting Hacked At Faster Rate
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/report-shows-wordpress-sites-are-getting-hacked-at-faster-rate/568510/Forbes – Secure Your WordPress Website Now — 1.6 Million Attacks In 48 Hours
https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2025/10/25/secure-your-wordpress-website-now---87-million-attacks-in-48-hours/WordPress.org – Hardening WordPress
https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/hardening-wordpress/W3Techs market share data as cited in WordPress statistics roundups
https://w3techs.com/