Authentication and xmlrpc log writer vs Fail2WP

This plugin writes the log of failed access attempts (brute force attack) and invalids pingbacks requests ( by xmlrpc.php ). Very useful to process data via fail2ban. You can activate the log for each pingback request feature and stop the user enumeration method (by redirecting to the home) with log. If activated it remove the wordpress version number and meta generator in the head section of your site. If activated it disable xmlrpc methods that require authentication, in order to avoid brute force attack by xmlrpc. Use this feature if you don’t need these xmlrpc methods. If activated can kill multiple requests in a single xmlrpc call returning a 401 code on xmlrpc login error. This feature may be useful to prevent server overloading on brute force attack by xmlrpc. You can also view your CUSTOM error log in the admin panel. You can write error by SYSLOG APACHE ERROR_LOG CUSTOM a custom error log file (the used path need to be writable or APACHE ERROR LOG wil be used) Log examples SYSLOG Dec 17 14:21:02 webserver wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`)[2588]: Authentication failure on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] for `USED_LOGIN` from `111.222.333.444` Dec 17 14:21:02 webserver wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`)[2588]: Pingback error `IXR_ERROR_CODE` generated on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] from `111.222.333.444` Dec 17 14:21:02 webserver wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`)[2588]: Pingback requested for `PINGBACK_URL` generated on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] from `111.222.333.444` Dec 17 14:21:02 webserver wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`)[2588]: User enumeration attempt generated on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] from `111.222.333.444` APACHE [Thu Dec 17 14:23:33.662339 2015] [:error] [pid 2580:tid 140001350244096] [client 111.222.333.444:52599] wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`) Authentication failure on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] for `USED_LOGIN` from `111.222.333.444`, referer: SITE_ADDRESS/wp-login.php [Thu Dec 17 14:23:33.662339 2015] [:error] [pid 2580:tid 140001350244096] [client 111.222.333.444:52599] wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`) Pingback error `IXR_ERROR_CODE` generated on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] from `111.222.333.444`, referer: SITE_ADDRESS/xmlrpc.php [Thu Dec 17 14:23:33.662339 2015] [:error] [pid 2580:tid 140001350244096] [client 111.222.333.444:52599] wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`) Pingback requested for `PINGBACK_URL` generated on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] from `111.222.333.444`, referer: SITE_ADDRESS/xmlrpc.php [Thu Dec 17 14:23:33.662339 2015] [:error] [pid 2580:tid 140001350244096] [client 111.222.333.444:52599] wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`) User enumeration attempt generated on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] from `111.222.333.444` CUSTOM [Thu Dec 17 14:25:34.000000 2015] wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`) Authentication failure on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] for `USED_LOGIN` from `111.222.333.444` [Thu Dec 17 14:25:34.000000 2015] wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`) Pingback error `IXR_ERROR_CODE` generated on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] from `111.222.333.444` [Thu Dec 17 14:25:34.000000 2015] wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`) Pingback requested for `PINGBACK_URL` generated on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] from `111.222.333.444` [Thu Dec 17 14:25:34.000000 2015] wordpress(`SERVER_HTTP_HOST`) User enumeration attempt generated on [`WORDPRESS_SITE_NAME`] from `111.222.333.444` fail2ban configuration See the FAQ section Log viewer Log viewer is available only in CUSTOM mode. Note: the log path and the file must exist. Localization English (default) – always included Italian – since 1.1.3 version Translations English – default, always included Italiano – disponibile dalla versione 1.1.3 Note: Feel free to translate this plugin in your language. This is very important for all users worldwide. So please contribute your language to the plugin to make it even more useful. For translating I recommend the “Poedit Editor”.

This WordPress plugin provides security functionality and integration with fail2ban. It does not require fail2ban to function. Basic security functionality includes: Disabling login with username (require e-mail address) Allow/Deny login from IP address, hostname (including wildcard support) Preventing user enumeration (?author=nnn) Less detailed error messages on login failures Minimum username length Blocking specific usernames from being used to register new users Requiring e-mail address matching for new user registrations Warning about new user role setting Blocking of portions or all of WordPress REST API Disabling of RSS and Atom feeds Removal of “Generator” information from HTML and feeds Detection of Cloudflare IP addresses for logging of actual IP addresses Blocking/Allowing logins from IP addresses, IP ranges, and/or hostnames Partially or fully disable XMLRPC access Monitoring administrator accounts for unexpected role/account changes The plugin also plays nicely with Fail2ban, which is an advanced way of blocking IP addresses dynamically upon suspicious behavior. Other notes: This plugin may work with earlier versions of WordPress This plugin has been tested with WordPress 5.5-7.0.x at the time of this writing This plugin has been tested with PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 at the time of this writing Local syntax/runtime compatibility checks have also been run on PHP 8.4 This plugin optionally makes use of mb_ PHP functions This plugin may create entries in your PHP error log (if active) This plugin contains no Javascript This plugin contains no tracking code and does not store any information about users Credits The Fail2WP Plugin was written by Joaquim Homrighausen while converting caffeine into code. Fail2WP is sponsored by WebbPlatsen i Sverige AB, Sweden. Copyright 2020-2026 Joaquim Homrighausen; all rights reserved. Commercial support and customizations for this plugin is available from WebbPlatsen i Sverige AB in Sweden. If you find this plugin useful, the author is happy to receive a donation, good review, or just a kind word. If there is something you feel to be missing from this plugin, or if you have found a problem with the code or a feature, please do not hesitate to reach out to [email protected]. This plugin can also be downloaded from code.webbplatsen.net and GitHub More detailed documentation is available at code.webbplatsen.net/documentation/fail2wp/ Kudos to Thomas Lutz.