Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite vs WPVulnerability

Premium Security. Zero Cost. Vigilant provides enterprise-level WordPress security features completely free. No premium version, no upsells, no hidden features behind paywalls. Protect your site with a complete security suite: firewall, two-factor authentication, brute force protection, security headers, file integrity monitoring, closed plugin detection, malware detection, user management, security audit logging, under attack mode and much more. Once activated, Vigilant immediately applies firewall rules against common attacks (SQL injection, XSS, file inclusion), security headers, login attempt monitoring, XML-RPC blocking, WordPress version hiding and sensitive file protection (.htaccess, wp-config.php), after automatically backing up your existing configuration files. One-Click Security Presets Choose a preset and get protected instantly: Standard – Balanced security suitable for most websites. Enables all modules with sensible defaults that won’t interfere with normal site operation. Maximum Security – Strictest settings for high-security sites. Tighter rate limits, stronger CSP rules, mandatory admin notifications. May require fine-tuning for some setups. You can always customize individual settings after applying a preset. Under Attack Mode Is your site under active attack? Activate Under Attack mode with one click and stop malicious traffic instantly: JavaScript challenge – Every visitor must pass an automatic browser verification before accessing your site. Real browsers solve it in seconds, bots get blocked completely Aggressive rate limiting – Requests limited to 30 per minute with 15-minute blocks for offenders HTTP method restriction – Only GET, POST and HEAD allowed; PUT, DELETE, PATCH, OPTIONS and TRACE are blocked Empty user agent blocking – Requests without a user agent header are rejected Full XML-RPC lockdown during the attack REST API restriction – Only authenticated users can access the REST API Auto-deactivation – Mode turns off after 4 hours so you never forget it’s on Email notifications when the mode activates and deactivates HMAC-signed cookies – Verified visitors get a signed cookie so they only see the challenge once Under Attack mode works independently from your preset configuration. Your regular settings are preserved and restored when the mode deactivates. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Add a second verification step to your WordPress login: Authenticator app (TOTP) – Google Authenticator, Authy, Microsoft Authenticator or any TOTP-compatible app Email codes – One-time 6-digit verification codes sent via email QR code setup directly in user profiles 10 backup codes for emergency access if you lose your device Configurable grace period for users to set up their authenticator app Trusted devices – optionally let users skip 2FA on recognized devices for 30 days Role-based enforcement – require 2FA for administrators, editors or any role Exclude specific users from 2FA requirements Admin tool to reset TOTP for users who lost their authenticator Configurable code expiry, attempt limits and email sender name User notification emails when 2FA is enabled or the method changes Firewall Protection Block malicious requests before they reach WordPress: SQL injection blocking XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attack prevention File inclusion protection (LFI/RFI) Directory traversal blocking Bad query string filtering (catches generic suspicious patterns the specific blockers miss) Bad bot detection and blocking Block requests with empty user agent Rate limiting against DDoS and brute force, with optional progressive lockouts IP whitelist and blacklist management (IPv4 and IPv6, with CIDR ranges and wildcards) User-Agent whitelist and blacklist with partial matching Visitor IP detection control – read the real IP directly from the connection (a spoof-proof default) or from a proxy header when behind Cloudflare, a reverse proxy or a load balancer, with an admin notice if a proxy is detected but not configured HTTP method restriction Server-level file protection via .htaccess: block direct access to wp-config.php, .htaccess, wp-includes/ and sensitive files (.log, .sql, .bak, .ini, debug.log, readme.html, etc.), and optionally wp-cron.php external access Block PHP execution in /uploads (one of the most common post-exploit vectors) Disable directory browsing Login Security Stop unauthorized access attempts: Limit login attempts with configurable thresholds Progressive lockouts – longer blocks for repeat offenders Custom login URL – hide wp-login.php from bots Login URL change notifications to all admin-area users Hide login error messages – don’t reveal valid usernames XML-RPC control: leave it on, block only the pingback methods (recommended, it closes the amplification vector while the mobile app and Jetpack keep working), or disable it completely Application passwords control Email notification when an IP is blocked for exceeding login attempts Admin login notifications via email IP whitelist for trusted locations User Security Comprehensive user account protection: Block insecure usernames (admin, test, root, etc.) on new registrations Warn about existing users with insecure usernames so you can rename or remove them Block author scanning – intercept ?author=N URLs so WordPress doesn’t redirect them to /author/USERNAME/ and leak the login slug Force strong passwords with minimum length Password expiration with configurable intervals Password history – prevent reusing old passwords Force password reset – by specific users, by role, or all users (post-hack recovery) Session limits – control concurrent logins per user Session management – view and revoke active sessions Email verification for new registrations Registration approval workflow – manually approve new users Admin account monitoring – alerts for new admins, email changes, password changes, privilege escalation Display name protection – prevent exposing login username publicly Security Headers Achieve Grade A security ratings: Content Security Policy (CSP) with a WordPress-compatible default policy and Report-Only mode for safe testing before enforcing HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) with includeSubdomains and preload options X-Frame-Options – prevent clickjacking X-Content-Type-Options – prevent MIME sniffing Referrer Policy control Permissions Policy (camera, microphone, geolocation, payment, USB) Cross-Origin policies (COEP, COOP, CORP) HTTPS enforcer with automatic mixed content fix Server fingerprint hiding – the Server: header is neutralized and X-Powered-By and other fingerprinting headers are stripped from responses File Integrity Monitoring Detect unauthorized changes to your files and compromised plugins: WordPress core verification against official checksums Plugin and theme file monitoring with WordPress.org checksums Critical config files (wp-config.php, .htaccess) monitored against baseline, detecting code injection even in files with no official checksum Closed and removed plugins detection – daily check against the WordPress.org repository, flagging any installed plugin closed for malware, security issues or guideline violations, including both explicit closures and silent “removed” takedowns, with per-slug Ignore for legacy plugins you can’t uninstall yet Line-level diff view of changes, with per-file approval workflow Suspicious code scanning for plugins and themes without checksums Extra file detection in plugins and themes (files not in original distribution) Uploads directory scanning for PHP files, double extensions and .htaccess, with smart classification of dangerous rules vs protective ones Root directory scanning for non-core PHP files (common attack vector) String concatenation obfuscation detection Configurable notification levels and an ignore list to dismiss known files Excluded paths and file extensions Scheduled automatic scans (daily, weekly) HTML formatted email alerts with severity sections, including a dedicated section for closed plugins Security Audit Track everything happening on your site: Successful and failed login attempts Two-factor authentication events User account changes (creation, deletion, role changes) Content modifications (posts, pages) Plugin and theme activations/deactivations Security events and blocked threats HTTP request method tracking and filtering (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) Enhanced log detail popup with grouped sections and quick actions One-click add IP or User-Agent to firewall whitelist/blacklist from log entries Direct IP lookup links to AbuseIPDB Configurable retention period, CSV export, and filtering by event type, severity, request method or date Audit Alerts – get an email when the audit log points to something worth your attention, off by default and configured under Security Audit: Immediate alerts the moment a serious event is logged, by minimum severity (a new administrator, a closed plugin or a privilege escalation are all logged as Critical) Threshold alerts when a category spikes – firewall blocks, login failures, user, plugin, file integrity, security, system and content events – over a 30-minute, 1, 6 or 24 hour window, counting only warning and critical events so routine activity never trips them A single anti-repeat cooldown keeps a storm of events down to one notice instead of flooding your inbox Active alerts surface in Settings & Tools, the Dashboard, the Configuration Score and the Security Check “Send test email” button to confirm delivery Security Check On-demand security audit built into the Dashboard. No external services, no accounts, no API keys – everything runs on your server: 40+ checks across 6 categories: SSL/TLS, HTTP Headers, WP Exposure, Access & Auth, Sensitive Files and Internal Checks Single 0-100 score with A-E grade, plus per-category breakdown and explanatory details for every check 15 exclusive internal checks impossible from the outside: PHP end-of-life status, pending updates, inactive plugins, closed or removed plugins, file permissions, default salts detection, wp_ table prefix, admin username, administrators without 2FA enrolled, module status, recent audit errors, last File Integrity scan result and whether audit alerts are configured DNS-only reputation lookup against Spamhaus ZEN, Barracuda BRBL and SpamCop SCBL (informational – listings are flagged but don’t deduct from the score) Two-phase scan: fast local checks appear in under a second, remote checks stream in as they complete Weekly automatic scan with opt-in email alert if the score drops by 10+ points or a new critical check starts failing 30-scan history with sparkline trend and delta chip “Go to setting” fix link on every failing check, jumping straight to the exact Vigilant field that resolves it Smart header diagnostics that report “configured but not being served” when a cache/CDN overrides your headers WordPress Hardening Layered protection at the WordPress level – admin, content, head, feeds and database: Lock down the admin: disable the built-in plugin and theme file editor, block installations and updates from the admin area, and force HTTPS for the admin area. Compatible with any hosting layout, respecting values already in place and never overriding them Disable WordPress’s internal page-view cron when you already have a real server-side cron job configured Dashboard warning when debug mode is left enabled in production, so error output never leaks to visitors Hide your WordPress version everywhere it can leak: from the HTML head, from RSS and Atom feeds, and optionally from every script and style URL on the front-end (stripping only the WordPress version itself, leaving plugin and theme cache busting intact) Automatic daily removal of readme.html, license.txt and licencia.txt from the WordPress root, which otherwise expose your version HTML head cleanup – remove the RSD link, Windows Live Writer manifest, shortlink header and REST API discovery link Database hardening – check for the default wp_ table prefix and one-click rename tool with full backup before the change Comment security – honeypot field against spam bots, force moderation on every new comment, close comments on old posts, disable pingbacks and trackbacks Feed management – completely disable RSS and Atom feeds, or only disable them when the site has no published content REST API Security Control API access to your site: Three access modes: public (default WordPress behavior), authenticated only (closes the API to anonymous visitors), or selective (custom allow/block lists) Block user enumeration via /wp-json/wp/v2/users Protect any list of sensitive endpoints from anonymous access Per-plugin compatibility toggles so authenticated mode doesn’t break the front-end: WooCommerce, Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, WPForms, Elementor, Jetpack. oEmbed and Site Health endpoints stay accessible by default Security Tools Utilities included: Database Backup – Download a full or partial database backup as ZIP with table selection Database Prefix Change – Change the default wp_ prefix to a random secure prefix Export/Import Settings – Transfer your configuration between sites Manual Backup – Create backups of .htaccess and wp-config.php on demand Reset to Defaults – Start fresh with one click Safe by Design Your existing .htaccess, wp-config.php and robots.txt are automatically backed up before any modifications. Backups are stored in the WordPress database, never as files under the web root, and verified with MD5 checksums. When you deactivate Vigilant, all security rules are automatically removed and your original configuration files are restored. No leftover code, no broken sites. Why Vigilant? Most WordPress security plugins reserve their best features for paid plans. Vigilant gives you everything upfront – no premium tier, no feature locks, no upsells. Firewall, 2FA with authenticator app, security headers, file integrity scanner, security audit, on-demand Security Check with weekly regression alerts, and more. All free, all maintained, all following WordPress coding standards. We maintain a detailed feature comparison between Vigilant and other popular security plugins (Wordfence, Solid Security, AIOS, Sucuri, SG Security). See what each offers in its free version and where Vigilant fills the gaps. → View the full comparison Support Need private support or custom development? Do you need one-on-one help, priority troubleshooting, or a custom feature, integration, or tweak built specifically for your site? I offer private support and custom development. Just contact me and tell me what you need. Need help or have suggestions? Official website WordPress support forum YouTube channel Documentation and tutorials Love the plugin? Please leave us a 5-star review and help spread the word! About AyudaWP We are specialists in WordPress security, SEO, AI and performance optimization plugins. We create tools that solve real problems for WordPress site owners while maintaining the highest coding standards and accessibility requirements.

This plugin integrates with the WPVulnerability API to provide real-time vulnerability assessments for your WordPress core, plugins, themes, PHP version, Apache HTTPD, nginx, MariaDB, MySQL, ImageMagick, curl, memcached, Redis, and SQLite. It delivers detailed reports directly within your WordPress dashboard, helping you stay aware of potential security risks. Configure the plugin to send periodic notifications about your site’s security status, ensuring you remain informed without being overwhelmed. Designed for ease of use, it supports proactive security measures without storing or retrieving any personal data from your site. Data reliability The information provided by the information database comes from different sources that have been reviewed by third parties. There is no liability of any kind for the information. Act at your own risk. Using the plugin WP-CLI You can use the following WP-CLI commands to manage and check vulnerabilities: Core: wp wpvulnerability core Plugins: wp wpvulnerability plugins Themes: wp wpvulnerability themes PHP: wp wpvulnerability php Apache HTTPD: wp wpvulnerability apache nginx: wp wpvulnerability nginx MariaDB: wp wpvulnerability mariadb MySQL: wp wpvulnerability mysql ImageMagick: wp wpvulnerability imagemagick curl: wp wpvulnerability curl memcached: wp wpvulnerability memcached Redis: wp wpvulnerability redis SQLite: wp wpvulnerability sqlite To configure the plugin you can use: Hide component: wp wpvulnerability config hide [on|off] Notification email: wp wpvulnerability config email (comma separatted) Notification period: wp wpvulnerability config period Log retention: wp wpvulnerability config log-retention (in days) Cache duration: wp wpvulnerability config cache (in hours) All commands support the --format option to specify the output format: --format=table: Displays the results in a table format (default). --format=json: Displays the results in JSON format. Need help? wp wpvulnerability --help: Displays help information for WPVulnerability commands. wp wpvulnerability [command] --help: Displays help information for a WPVulnerability command. REST API The WPVulnerability plugin provides several REST API endpoints to fetch vulnerability information for different components of your WordPress site. Core: /wpvulnerability/v1/core Plugins: /wpvulnerability/v1/plugins Themes: /wpvulnerability/v1/themes PHP: /wpvulnerability/v1/php Apache HTTPD: /wpvulnerability/v1/apache nginx: /wpvulnerability/v1/nginx MariaDB: /wpvulnerability/v1/mariadb MySQL: /wpvulnerability/v1/mysql ImageMagick: /wpvulnerability/v1/imagemagick curl: /wpvulnerability/v1/curl memcached: /wpvulnerability/v1/memcached Redis: /wpvulnerability/v1/redis SQLite: /wpvulnerability/v1/sqlite The WPVulnerability REST API uses Application Passwords for authentication. You need to include a valid Application Password in the Authorization header of your requests. Example Request with Authentication curl -X GET https://example.com/wp-json/wpvulnerability/v1/plugins -u username:application_password Replace username with your WordPress username and application_password with your Application Password. Extra Configurations “From:” mail (since: 3.2.2) If, for some reason, you need the emails sent by the plugin to have a From different from the site administrator, you can change it from the wp-config.php by adding a constant: define( 'WPVULNERABILITY_MAIL', '[email protected]' ); If the constant is active, it will be visible in the configuration screen. Force hiding checks (since: 4.1.0) If you want to always hide a specific component, you can define a constant in wp-config.php. When set to true, the option will be checked automatically in the settings screen and the related analysis will be skipped. Example: define( 'WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_APACHE', true ); Available constants: WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_CORE, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_PLUGINS, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_THEMES, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_PHP, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_APACHE, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_NGINX, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_MARIADB, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_MYSQL, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_IMAGEMAGICK, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_CURL, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_MEMCACHED, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_REDIS, WPVULNERABILITY_HIDE_SQLITE. Cache duration (since: 4.1.0) By default, data from the API is cached for 12 hours. To change this, define WPVULNERABILITY_CACHE_HOURS in wp-config.php with one of 1, 6, 12 or 24. This value overrides the setting screen and WP-CLI command. define( 'WPVULNERABILITY_CACHE_HOURS', 24 ); Log rotation (since: 4.2.0) WPVulnerability stores the most recent API responses so you can review recent calls from the new log tab. Define WPVULNERABILITY_LOG_RETENTION_DAYS in wp-config.php to control how many days of entries are preserved. Supported values are 0, 1, 7, 14 or 28; using 0 disables logging entirely. define( 'WPVULNERABILITY_LOG_RETENTION_DAYS', 14 ); When the constant is present its value is enforced in the settings UI and through WP-CLI, ensuring consistent log rotation across environments. Security configuration (since: 4.3.0) WPVulnerability uses a hybrid detection approach for server software (ImageMagick, Redis, Memcached, SQLite): PHP extensions first (most secure), then shell commands as fallback (most accurate). You can control this behavior using security configuration constants in wp-config.php. Global disable of shell commands: define( 'WPVULNERABILITY_DISABLE_SHELL_EXEC', true ); Completely disables shell command usage. Falls back to PHP extensions only. Use for maximum security when accuracy loss is acceptable. Security mode (standard/strict/disabled): define( 'WPVULNERABILITY_SECURITY_MODE', 'strict' ); standard – Hybrid detection: PHP extensions first, shell commands fallback (default, best accuracy) strict – PHP extensions only, no shell commands (high security, lower accuracy) disabled – No software detection at all (maximum security) Component whitelist: define( 'WPVULNERABILITY_SHELL_EXEC_WHITELIST', 'imagemagick,redis' ); Allows shell commands only for specified components. Available components: imagemagick, redis, memcached, sqlite. Use for granular control. Examples: Maximum security (no shell commands): define( 'WPVULNERABILITY_SECURITY_MODE', 'strict' ); Only allow ImageMagick shell detection: define( 'WPVULNERABILITY_SHELL_EXEC_WHITELIST', 'imagemagick' ); Complete disable: define( 'WPVULNERABILITY_DISABLE_SHELL_EXEC', true ); All shell commands are hardcoded and validated – no user input is involved. Commands are logged for security auditing. Compatibility WordPress: 4.7 – 7.1 PHP: 7.0 – 8.5 WP-CLI: 2.3.0 – 2.12.0 Security This plugin adheres to the following security measures and review protocols for each version: WordPress Plugin Handbook WordPress Plugin Security WordPress APIs Security WordPress Coding Standards Plugin Check (PCP) Privacy This plugin or the WordPress Vulnerability Database API does not collect any information about your site, your identity, the plugins, themes or content the site has. Vulnerabilities A security vulnerability was found and fixed in version 4.2.2.1. All previous versions (3.3.0 – 4.2.1) are affected. Please update to version 4.2.2.1 or later. Found a security vulnerability? Please report it to us privately at ROBOTSTXT. Contributors You can contribute to this plugin at the WPVulnerability repository.