DefendWP Firewall vs Prevent XSS Vulnerability

Instant protection against disclosed vulnerabilities DefendWP.org is a WordPress plugin that protects your website from hackers exploiting vulnerable code on your website. Security research companies discover vulnerabilities and notify plugin developers to patch them. After some time, they disclose the vulnerability to the public, allowing you to update your plugins. However, this system has flaws. Once vulnerabilities are publicly disclosed, hackers rush to exploit the sites in which you haven’t yet applied the patch. A Better Approach: Immediate Protection for All Users To solve this, our plugin pushes firewall rules and patches as soon as vulnerabilities are disclosed, ensuring websites are protected without waiting for an official patch. This protection is silent and automatic, ensuring that you are not affected even if you don’t take any immediate action. Immediate Patches Upon Disclosure: When vulnerabilities are disclosed, our plugin pushes patches or firewall rules that prevent exploitation. Silent Protection: We operate in the background, allowing plugin developers to roll out patches at their own pace without compromising user security. Free and Accessible: Security should not be a privilege. Our plugin is free and accessible and ensures that all WordPress users are protected from newly disclosed vulnerabilities. Protecting Everyone, Not Just the Privileged Few Security should not be reserved for those who can afford premium services. The spirit of WordPress is inclusivity, and this should extend to security as well. When vulnerabilities are disclosed, they pose a risk to every website, regardless of its owner’s resources. Every WordPress user should have access to immediate protection. Security researchers play a vital role in identifying vulnerabilities, but the current system leaves too many users exposed. Our approach aims to create a safer WordPress ecosystem for all, by closing the gap between vulnerability disclosure and patching. This isn’t about taking credit—it’s about prioritizing the safety of small business owners, bloggers, and entrepreneurs who rely on WordPress. By silently closing the vulnerability gap, we aim for a future where WordPress security is accessible to everyone. Let’s build a safer WordPress ecosystem together—one that protects all users, not just the privileged few. For plugin authors: Report a Vulnerability Do you have an active vulnerability in your plugin you want to safeguard users from? Report it here Support Need help with your website’s security? Just send us an email at [email protected]. Note This plugin utilizes the Ipify.org to provide enhanced functionality. The API allows the plugin to retrieve the exact IP of the current user, which will be used to determine whether the user can access the WordPress site.Privacy policy Vulnerabilities, IPs, Plugins and Themes data will be sent between DefendWP.org and the WP site to instantly patch from vulnerabilities.

This plugin helps safeguard your website against two common types of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities: Reflected XSS: This happens when harmful scripts are hidden in a website’s URL. If a user clicks a link with such a script, it can run in their browser, potentially stealing their data or taking control of their system. Self-XSS: This occurs when a user’s own input on your website is displayed back to them in an unsafe way, allowing malicious scripts to run in their browser. This plugin provides several layers of protection: Blocking: When active, the plugin checks URLs for specific characters. If it finds any of these characters in the URL, it redirects the user to prevent a potential XSS attack. You can customize which characters to block or allow. Opening Round Bracket ( Closing Round Bracket ) Less than Sign Opening Square Bracket [ Closing Square Bracket ] Opening Curly Bracket { Pipe or Vertical Bar | Closing Curly Bracket } Encoding: For an extra layer of security, the plugin encodes certain characters found in URL parameters. This stops harmful code from running, even if it’s present in the URL. You can also choose to exclude specific parameters from being encoded. Exclamation Mark ! Double Quotation " Single Quotation ' Opening Round Bracket ( Closing Round Bracket ) Asterisk Sign * Less than Sign Grave Accent “` Cap Sign ^ Opening Square Bracket [ Closing Square Bracket ] Opening Curly Bracket { Pipe or Vertical Bar | Closing Curly Bracket } Escaping HTML in $_GET: This plugin automatically makes HTML characters safe within the $_GET variable. This is vital if your website pulls data from URLs and displays it as part of your web page. It helps prevent malicious scripts from being injected through user-provided input. Important Notes: After activating the plugin, thoroughly test your website forms, especially if you use WooCommerce. Make sure the plugin doesn’t interfere with your shopping cart and checkout processes. We welcome bug reports for this plugin on GitHub: https://github.com/samiahmedsiddiqui/prevent-xss-vulnerability/issues. Please remember that GitHub is for bug reports only, not general support. By using this plugin and following these recommendations, you can significantly improve your website’s defense against XSS attacks.