Aug 29 2025
From Plugins To Performance: What CMOs Need To Ask About Their WordPress Stack via @sejournal, @alexmoss

WordPress is still the most popular open-source content management system (CMS) – by far – powering 43.5 % of all websites on the web, and still in my opinion the most adaptable CMS to work with.

However, WordPress isn’t just a plug-and-play CMS. If you’re in the marketing team or the CMO, you may find yourself inheriting and using a WordPress site that will most likely have a less-than-ideal stack setup.

Don’t accept that this is just the setup you have. If your tech stack isn’t aligned correctly, it could directly hinder some of your own goals.

While it may seem that you should delegate all technical decisions to the development/IT team, these decisions may overrule wider business goals.

As such, it may be time to audit your installation and setup in order to break free of these stack limitations.

If you’re a CMO, this post will cover the different considerations when thinking of the optimal WordPress tech stack that also aligns with your own goals.

What A Tech Stack Includes

From a top-level, the WordPress tech stack involves the following:

  • Server infrastructure.
  • Hosting infrastructure.
  • Performance & caching.
  • Security.
  • Dev tools.
  • WordPress layer.
  • Monitoring and analytics.
  • Backup and recovery.

This can be seen in more detail in this diagram:

WordPress Tech Stack, containing all considerations.Image created by author, August 2025

There’s a lot to consider. With that, let’s delve into what you, as a CMO, should be asking yourself and others to ensure this stack is at its best.

The Invisible Cost Of Cheap Hosting

Shared hosting might seem cost-effective, but in my experience, it’s often the most expensive choice in the long term.

When your site shares resources with hundreds of others, performance becomes unpredictable. This can affect many things, from general speed and performance, but also how search engines and large language models (LLMs) crawl/discover your site, as well as how a human may experience the site itself.

Dedicated servers or managed WordPress hosting may be a larger investment, but in turn reduces technical overheads while providing the infrastructure needed for growth and scale.

For the level up from this, WordPress-based Cloud hosting is the most robust solution, but would require more technical expertise to manage.

What CMOs Should Ask:

  • Are we on shared hosting or dedicated infrastructure? If the former, why?
  • Are all server resources, such as PHP, up to date?
  • What happens to site performance during traffic spikes?
  • Who is responsible for server-level maintenance, optimizations, and security?
  • For potential traffic spikes, are there solutions and safeguards in place, such as load balancers?
  • Can we grow and scale with our current solution?

Performance: The Business Metric Disguised As A Tech Metric

Developers and technical SEOs alike will obsess over PageSpeed/Lighthouse scores, but things such as Core Web Vitals aren’t just technical benchmarks but also conversion metrics in disguise.

A one-second delay in mobile load times can impact mobile conversions by up to 20%. If Largest Content Paint (LCP) exceeds 2.5 seconds, then your next sale is at high risk before there’s a chance to convert them.

Performance optimization in WordPress isn’t straightforward when looking forensically. Many “solutions” can create new problems. Even well-intentioned optimizations and fixes over the longer term can cause conflicts or other knock-on effects. Over time, this becomes a “Frankenstein” site of many elements patched together in an attempt to keep it ‘alive’ that becomes expensive to unravel and can cause the site to be a “write-off”. This practice is more common than you think.

What CMOs Should Ask:

  • How does our site perform on PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and YSlow? What can be improved? How do we perform against competitors?
  • Is caching properly set up? Are we considering all levels (server, object, page, CDN, etc.)?
  • Do we have all minification tools set up correctly?
  • Is our database architecture the best it can be? How can this be improved?
  • What and how often is our database cleaned? Does this include revisions?
  • How are our images performing? Have they been optimized? Are we using more modern formats such as WebP?
  • Who owns the performance metric?

This isn’t about chasing perfect scores; it’s about ensuring your technical foundation supports rather than potentially sabotaging your marketing objectives.

Deciding On A Theme Should Be Long-Term

There are thousands of WordPress themes out there.

In a perfect scenario, the theme itself would be custom-built, incorporating WordPress’ own Gutenberg block editor, as it’s part of the core. As well as this, full site editing functionality makes this process even easier.

If your budget can’t stretch to custom-built theme development, it’s then extremely important to choose the right theme.

Ensure that you research the theme properly, making an informed choice that is performance-led to complement the stack, not convenience-led for editors.

But remember, your choice of theme is more long-term than installing a plugin you find you don’t need a month/year later. Because of this, themes should have a more considered and informed approach.

Bonus Consideration: Page Builders

Generally, the people who end up using WordPress on a day-to-day basis are not the same people who developed it or set it up.

Because of this, there can sometimes be clashes when it comes to what someone in your marketing team wants versus what should be implemented with technical best practice.

Page builders such as Elementor and Divi do offer a lot more freedom and flexibility for page creation and design, but come with the downside of potential code bloat and resource allocation.

Ensure that your decisions are not influenced too much by this request, because that is what it is, a request.

What CMOs Should Ask:

  • How does our current theme/builder choice impact site performance?
  • Is our current theme built for purpose? Is it a theme that caters to the masses, or is it developed specifically for me or my niche?
  • Are we locked into a specific page builder? What does the builder offer that Gutenberg and FSE don’t? What are the migration implications?
  • Are our choices forming a good balance between design flexibility with technical performance?
  • Do we have the development resources to support our chosen approach?
  • Are there conflicts between the page builder and other resources/assets?

Plugin-ception

“There’s a plugin for that.”

This is a phrase we’ve all heard or said before – myself included. There will be a plugin for that, yes – but it shouldn’t be the answer every time you want to extend functionality.

While I do have a select number of “core” plugins that I confidently choose to use on any site, this does not mean that I would choose to install a plugin because it solved one problem that may not be enough to substantiate installing if it warrants the technical debt the plugin will add.

Estimates suggest, the average WordPress site runs 20-30 plugins, with many serving overlapping functions or creating conflicts.

Bonus: Some Plugins Require Attention Post-Installation

There are some plugins that have a simple “plug and play” approach. But whenever I install anything, I always delve further into its setup, configuration, and how this can impact the performance of a site.

One thing to know is that, in general, you should not approach any plugin with an “install and ignore” mindset.

Check the settings. Go through the first-time configuration (FTC). Audit the configuration.

Furthermore, plugins not only provide valuable under-the-hood optimizations and enhancements, but also present an opportunity for the site to evolve alongside your business and marketing activities.

Actively using these plugins means your stack continues to benefit from the latest features, innovations, and improvements.

What CMOs Should Ask:

  • How many plugins are currently active on our site?
  • When was our last plugin audit?
  • What plugins are we dependent on for our core business functions?
  • Have all plugins been configured correctly?
  • Are the plugins that require ongoing work being used?
  • Are there conflicts with other plugins?
  • Are there any incumbent plugins stopping the development of the site as a whole?
  • (More aggressive) What will happen to the wider business goals if [Plugin X] is no longer used?

The more plugins that are installed, the higher the risk of incompatibility, conflicts, and security vulnerabilities.

Security: Be Proactive, Not Reactive

One would think that security is always the top priority to ensure the safe operation of any website. Incorrect.

Breaches can devastate not just the site, but in turn, your brand reputation, while also incurring large immediate costs and most likely some loss of earnings in the future as a result.

While on the more extreme end of the scale, earlier this year, some hackers breached a number of large UK retailers, including Marks and Spencer, causing £300 million in lost profits, with no real measurement on how this has affected them since.

It doesn’t take long or cost much (in some cases, the solutions are free) to add some layers of security to your stack.

Whether it’s adding rules within Cloudflare or installing Sucuri or Wordfence, don’t just leave your site unprotected while you “sit tight and assess” – take proactive steps to secure your stack.

What CMOs Should Ask:

  • What security measures do we currently have for the site?
  • Are any and all vulnerabilities monitored?
  • Is everything up to date? This includes not just WordPress core, themes, and plugins, but also on a server level, such as PHP.

Maintenance: Forgotten Until Required

WordPress maintenance often gets treated as a technical afterthought, but I consider this to be a critical marketing function.

Outdated plugins not only create conflicts that have knock-on effects on both the frontend and backend of the site but also expose you to security vulnerabilities that I just covered above.

The choice between manual and automatic updates reflects deeper strategic priorities.

Manual updates provide more control but require dedicated resources and staging environments for testing prior to deployment. Automatic updates may reduce maintenance overhead, but there is always a risk of conflicts during critical business periods.

What CMOs Should Ask:

  • Who is responsible for WordPress core, plugin, and theme updates? Do they have all the required access in case of disaster scenarios?
  • Who is responsible for legal, compliance, and privacy on the site?
  • Is everything up to date? If not, is there a reason for this?
  • Do we have staging environments for testing changes before anything is deployed to a production environment?
  • What’s our rollback plan if an update breaks critical functionality?
  • How do we balance security needs with stability requirements?

“Frankenstein” Sites Only Get You So Far For So Long…

If you have a theme that is now years old, perhaps five or more, it’s likely that over time the theme (unless extremely well maintained) will eventually cause issues and conflicts, more so when you want to grow and scale.

Optimizing the site over time is obviously suggested, but after a prolonged amount of time, this becomes more challenging and less possible without conflicts arising.

What CMOs Should Ask:

  • When was the last time a theme was chosen?
  • When was it last audited? Is the theme still fit for purpose today?
  • Is a theme update causing conflicts with other resources and plugins?
  • Are there legacy plugins or other functionality that prevent essential updates to WordPress or PHP, forcing the site to remain on outdated versions (therefore limiting access to new features, improved security, or better performance)?
  • Are ad hoc maintenance costs and “patchwork” over two to three years costing more than a potential rebuild (i.e., Is it a “write-off”)?

Key Takeaways

Below is a high-priority checklist that you can act on now:

Priority Action Item Stakeholder(s)
Critical Audit the current hosting environment and audit invisible costs. CMO, Tech Lead, Finance
Critical Review plugin presence and usage: configuration, conflicts, necessity. Tech, SEO, Product, Marketing
Critical Implement and verify up-to-date security layers (e.g., Sucuri, WAF). CTO, IT
High Define clear responsibilities for updates, rollbacks, and compliance. Product, Legal, Marketing
High Schedule routine theme and plugin audits. Dev/Project Manager
High Set up or review staging/testing environments for changes. Tech Lead/DevOps
Medium Plan for a long-term theme or potential rebuild if “Frankenstein.” CMO, CTO
Medium Calculate ongoing maintenance costs vs possible site overhaul. Finance, CMO, CTO

Your WordPress stack should never be considered “set and forget.”

Don’t wait for something to break, because when something does, it will most likely cause more loss than any proactive investment to ensure there isn’t one.

More Resources:

Featured Image: Ashan Randika/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Aug 29 2025
Why WooCommerce Slows Down (& How to Fix It With the Right Server Stack)

This post was sponsored by Cloudways. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own.

Wondering why your rankings may be declining?

Just discovered your WooCommerce site has slow load times?

A slow WooCommerce site doesn’t just cost you conversions. It affects search visibility, backend performance, and customer trust.

Whether you’re a developer running your own stack or an agency managing dozens of client stores, understanding how WooCommerce performance scales under load is now considered table stakes.

Today, many WordPress sites are far more dynamic, meaning many things are happening at the same time:

  • Stores run real-time sales.
  • LMS platforms track user progress.
  • Membership sites deliver highly personalized content.

Every action a user takes, from logging in, updating a cart, or initiating checkout, relies on live data from the server. These requests cannot be cached.

Tools like Varnish or CDNs can help with public pages such as the homepage or product listings. But once someone logs in to their account or interacts with their session, caching no longer helps. Each request must be processed in real time.

This article breaks down why that happens and what kind of server setup is helping stores stay fast, stable, and ready to grow.

Why Do WooCommerce Stores Slow Down?

WooCommerce often performs well on the surface. But as traffic grows and users start interacting with the site, speed issues begin to show. These are the most common reasons why stores slow down under pressure:

1. PHP: It Struggles With High User Activity

WooCommerce depends on PHP to process dynamic actions such as cart updates, coupon logic, and checkout steps. Traditional stacks using Apache for PHP handling are slower and less efficient.

Modern environments use PHP-FPM, which improves execution speed and handles more users at once without delays.

2. A Full Database: It Becomes A Bottleneck

Order creation, cart activity, and user actions generate a high number of database writes. During busy times like flash sales, new merchandise arrivals, or course launches, the database struggles to keep up.

Platforms that support optimized query execution and better indexing handle these spikes more smoothly.

3. Caching Issues: Object Caching Is Missing Or Poorly Configured

Without proper object caching, WooCommerce queries the database repeatedly for the same information. That includes product data, imagery, cart contents, and user sessions.

Solutions that include built-in Redis support help move this data to memory, reducing server load and improving site speed.

4. Concurrency Limits Affect Performance During Spikes

Most hosting stacks today, including Apache-based ones, perform well for a wide range of WordPress and WooCommerce sites. They handle typical traffic reliably and have powered many successful stores.

As traffic increases and more users log in and interact with the site at the same time, the load on the server begins to grow. Architecture starts to play a bigger role at that point.

Stacks built on NGINX with event-driven processing can manage higher concurrency more efficiently, especially during unanticipated traffic spikes.

Rather than replacing what already works, this approach extends the performance ceiling for stores that are becoming more dynamic and need consistent responsiveness under heavier load.

5. Your WordPress Admin Slows Down During Sales Seasons

During busy periods like seasonal sales campaigns or new stock availability, stores can often slow down for the team managing the site, too. The WordPress dashboard takes longer to load, which means publishing products, managing orders, or editing pages also becomes slower.

This slowdown happens because both shoppers and staff are using the site’s resources at the same time, and the server has to handle all those requests at once.

Modern stacks reduce this friction by balancing frontend and backend resources more effectively.

How To Architect A Scalable WordPress Setup For Dynamic Workloads?

WooCommerce stores today are built for more than stable traffic. Customers are logging in, updating their carts, taking actions to manage their subscription profile, and as a result, are interacting with your backend in real time.

The traditional WordPress setup, which is primarily designed for static content, cannot handle that kind of demand.

Here’s how a typical setup compares to one built for performance and scale:

Component Basic Setup         Scalable Setup
Web Server Apache NGINX
PHP Handler mod_php or CGI PHP-FPM
Object Caching None or database transients Redis with Object Cache Pro
Scheduled Tasks WP-Cron System cron job
Caching CDN or full-page caching only Layered caching, including object cache
.htaccess Handling Built-in with Apache Manual rewrite rules in NGINX config
Concurrency Handling Limited Event-based, memory-efficient server

How To Manually Setup A Performance-Ready & Scalable WooCommerce Stack

Don’t have bandwidth? Try the easy way.

If you’re setting up your own server or tuning an existing one, are the most important components to get right:

1) Use NGINX For Static File Performance

NGINX is often used as a high-performance web server for handling static files and managing concurrent requests efficiently. It is well suited for stores expecting high traffic or looking to fine-tune their infrastructure for speed.

Unlike Apache, NGINX does not use .htaccess files. Rewrite rules, such as permalinks, redirects, and trailing slashes, need to be added manually to the server block. For WordPress, these rules are well-documented and only need to be set once during setup.

This approach gives more control at the server level and can be helpful for teams building out their own environment or optimizing for scale.

2) Enable PHP-FPM For Faster Request Handling

PHP-FPM separates PHP processing from the web server. It gives you more control over memory and CPU usage. Tune values like pm.max_children and pm.max_requests based on your server size to prevent overload during high activity.

3) Install Redis With Object Cache Pro

Redis allows WooCommerce to store frequently used data in memory. This includes cart contents, user sessions, and product metadata.

Pair this with Object Cache Pro to compress cache objects, reduce database load, and improve site responsiveness under load.

4) Replace WP-Cron With A System-Level Cron Job

By default, WordPress checks for scheduled tasks whenever someone visits your site. That includes sending emails, clearing inventory, and syncing data. If you have steady traffic, it works. If not, things get delayed.

You can avoid that by turning off WP-Cron. Just add define(‘DISABLE_WP_CRON’, true); to your wp-config.php file. Then, set up a real cron job at the server level to run wp-cron.php every minute. This keeps those tasks running on time without depending on visitors.

5) Add Rewrite Rules Manually For NGINX

NGINX doesn’t use .htaccess. That means you’ll need to define URL rules directly in the server block.

This includes things like permalinks, redirects, and static file handling. It’s a one-time setup, and most of the rules you need are already available from trusted WordPress documentation. Once you add them, everything works just like it would on Apache.

A Few Tradeoffs To Keep In Mind

This kind of setup brings a real speed boost. But there are some technical changes to keep in mind.

  • NGINX won’t read .htaccess. All rewrites and redirects need to be added manually.
  • WordPress Multisite may need extra tweaks, especially if you’re using subdirectory mode.
  • Security settings like IP bans or rate limits should be handled at the server level, not through plugins.

Most developers won’t find these issues difficult to work with. But if you’re using a modern platform, much of it is already taken care of.

You don’t need overly complex infrastructure to make WooCommerce fast; just a stack that aligns with how modern, dynamic stores operate today.

Next, we’ll look at how that kind of stack performs under traffic, with benchmarks that show what actually changes when the server is built for dynamic sites.

What Happens When You Switch To An Optimized Stack?

Not all performance challenges come from code or plugins. As stores grow and user interactions increase, the type of workload becomes more important, especially when handling live sessions from logged-in users.

To better understand how different environments respond to this kind of activity, Koddr.io ran an independent benchmark comparing two common production setups:

  • A hybrid stack using Apache and NGINX.
  • A stack built on NGINX with PHP-FPM, Redis, and object caching.

Both setups were fully optimized and included tuned components like PHP-FPM and Redis. The purpose of the benchmark was to observe how each performs under specific, real-world conditions.

The tests focused on uncached activity from WooCommerce and LearnDash, where logged-in users trigger dynamic server responses.

In these scenarios, the optimized stack showed higher throughput and consistency during peak loads. This highlights the value of having infrastructure tailored for dynamic, high-concurrency traffic, depending on the use case.

WooCommerce Runs Faster Under Load

One test simulated 80 users checking out at the same time. The difference was clear:

Scenario Hybrid Stack Optimized Stack Gain
WooCommerce Checkout 3,035 actions 4,809 actions +58%
Screenshot from Koddr.io, August 2025

LMS Platforms Benefit Even More

For LearnDash course browsing—a write-heavy and uncached task, the optimized stack completed 85% more requests:

Scenario Hybrid Stack Optimized Stack Gain
LearnDash Course List View 13,459 actions 25,031 actions +85%

This shows how optimized stacks handle personalized or dynamic content more efficiently. These types of requests can’t be cached, so the server’s raw efficiency becomes critical.

Screenshot from Koddr.io, August 2025

Backend Speed Improves, Too

The optimized stack wasn’t just faster for customers. It also made the WordPress admin area more responsive:

  • WordPress login times improved by up to 31%.
  • Publish actions ran 20% faster, even with high traffic.

This means your team can concurrently manage products, update pages, and respond to sales in real time, without delays or timeouts.

It Handles More Without Relying On Caching

When Koddr turned off Varnish, the hybrid stack experienced a 71% drop in performance. This shows how effectively it handles cached traffic. The optimized stack dropped just 7%, which highlights its ability to maintain speed even during uncached, logged-in sessions.

Both setups have their strengths, but for stores with real-time user activity, reducing reliance on caching can make a measurable difference.

Stack Type With Caching Without Caching Drop
Hybrid Stack 654,000 actions 184,000 actions -7%
Optimized Stack 619,000 actions 572,000 actions -7%
Screenshot from Koddr.io, August 2025

Why This Matters?

Static pages are easy to optimize. But WooCommerce stores deal with real-time traffic. Cart updates, login sessions, and checkouts all require live processing. Caching cannot help once a user has signed in.

The Koddr.io results show how an optimized server stack:

  • Reduces CPU spikes during traffic surges.
  • Keeps the backend responsive for your team.
  • Delivers more stable speed for logged-in users.
  • Helps scale without complex performance workarounds.

These are the kinds of changes that power newer stacks purpose-built for dynamic workloads like Cloudways Lightning, built for real WooCommerce workloads.

Core Web Vitals Aren’t Just About The Frontend

You can optimize every image. Minify every line of code. Switch to a faster theme. But your Core Web Vitals score will still suffer if the server can’t respond quickly.

That’s what happens when logged-in users interact with WooCommerce or LMS sites.

When a customer hits “Add to Cart,” caching is out of the picture. The server has to process the request live. That’s where TTFB (Time to First Byte) becomes a real problem.

Slow server response means Google waits longer to start rendering the page. And that delay directly affects your Largest Contentful Paint and Interaction to Next Paint metrics.

Frontend tuning gets you part of the way. But if the backend is slow, your scores won’t improve. Especially for logged-in experiences.

Real optimization starts at the server.

How Agencies Are Skipping The Manual Work

Every developer has a checklist for WooCommerce performance. Use NGINX. Set up Redis. Replace WP-Cron. Add a WAF. Test under load. Keep tuning.

But not every team has the bandwidth to maintain all of it.

That’s why more agencies are using pre-optimized stacks that include these upgrades by default. Cloudways Lightning, a managed stack based on NGINX + PHP-FPM, designed for dynamic workloads is a good example of that.

It’s not just about speed. It’s also about backend stability during high traffic. Admin logins stay fast. Product updates don’t hang. Orders keep flowing.

Joe Lackner, founder of Celsius LLC, shared what changed for them:

“Moving our WordPress workloads to the new Cloudways stack has been a game-changer. The console admin experience is snappier, page load times have improved by +20%, and once again Cloudways has proven to be way ahead of the game in terms of reliability and cost-to-performance value at this price point.”

This is what agencies are looking for. A way to scale without getting dragged into infrastructure management every time traffic picks up.

Final Takeaway

WooCommerce performance is no longer just about homepage load speed.

Your site handles real-time activity from both customers and your team. Once a user logs in or reaches checkout, caching no longer applies. Each action hits the server directly.

If the infrastructure isn’t optimized, site speed drops, sales suffer, and backend work slows down.

The foundations matter. A stack that’s built for high concurrency and uncached traffic keeps things fast across the board. That includes cart updates, admin changes, and product publishing.

For teams who don’t want to manage server tuning manually, options like Cloudways Lightning deliver a faster, simpler path to performance at scale.

Use promo code “SUMMER305” and get 30% off for 5 months + 15 free migrations. Signup Now!

⚡ Power Up My WooCommerce Store

Image Credits

Featured Image: Image by Cloudways. Used with permission.

In-Post Images: Images by Cloudways. Used with permission.

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Aug 28 2025
Yoast SEO free vs Premium: why upgrading is worth it

Do you want to take your site’s SEO to the next level? Yoast SEO Premium can help you out! But there is also a free version of Yoast SEO. So, what exactly is the difference between the free version of Yoast SEO and Yoast SEO Premium? How do these two compare? And is Yoast SEO Premium worth it? Let’s uncover the ten reasons why you should buy Yoast SEO Premium today!

Table of contents

Yoast SEO free vs premium: what is the difference?

Do you want to compare the main differences between Yoast SEO Free and Premium? This table will give you quick insights:

Yoast SEO Premium

Includes Local SEO, Video SEO, and News SEO plugins

Yoast SEO Premium provides everything you need to improve your website’s visibility, whether you’re a business owner, publisher, agency, or content creator.

(Beta) Get AI-powered suggestions to optimize your content

Get optimization suggestions and apply changes instantly with Yoast’s AI features, saving you time and ensuring your content is search engine-friendly. This feature is currently in beta.

(Beta) Get high-quality titles and meta descriptions with Yoast AI

Yoast’s AI helps you craft optimized SEO titles and meta descriptions for search and social, boosting your CTR while saving you time.

Optimize for up to five keyword synonyms by adding variants

Include up to four keyword synonyms for a broader reach, and receive a complete SEO analysis for each one.

Automatic redirects: so no more dead links or 404 errors

Effortlessly redirect old or renamed pages to maintain satisfaction for both your visitors and Google.

Get real-time suggestions for internal links

As you write, you’ll receive suggestions for internal links to other pages, which Google favors and can boost your ranking.

Preview your page on Facebook and Twitter/X

You have complete control over your page’s social media appearance, ensuring it entices users to click.

24/7 support

Our helpful and expert support team is ready to assist you with any questions via email or live chat.

Safeguard your content from being used to train AI bots

Easily protect your intellectual property and data privacy by blocking AI bots from scraping your content with a simple toggle.

Includes 1 free seat to the Yoast SEO Google Docs add-on

Create and optimize your SEO content in Google Docs with Yoast’s guidance, ideal for teamwork with internal and external partners. Enjoy 1 free seat, valued at $5/month.

Yoast SEO Free

Find other ways to optimize your website for SEO

No comprehensive SEO solution. You’d need to find other ways to optimize your website, especially if you have a local business, a news website, or if you have a lot of videos.

No AI

You have to manually optimize all your content yourself.

No AI

You have to manually write and optimize all your SEO titles and meta descriptions yourself.

Only 1 keyword per page

Optimize for one keyword per post or page.

No redirect manager

Forgetting to set up a redirect results in visitors hitting a 404 page, which displeases both them and Google.

You need to guess which links would work best

Identify which pages to link to for improved rankings, for both new and existing pages on your site.

No preview of your page on social media

Without a preview of social snippets, you’re left guessing and hoping for the best.

No support

No support
You can help yourself with our extensive knowledge database.

Manually edit robots.txt file

Manually edit your robots.txt file to block AI bots, at the risk of making mistakes.

No free access to the Yoast SEO Google Docs add-on

Transferring draft content from Google Docs to your website for SEO optimization slows your workflow and makes collaboration with internal and external teams more time-consuming.

Yoast SEO Premium vs Yoast SEO Free

Includes Local SEO, Video SEO, and News SEO plugins

Yoast SEO Premium provides everything you need to improve your website’s visibility, whether you’re a business owner, publisher, agency, or content creator.

Find other ways to optimize your website for SEO

No comprehensive SEO solution. You’d need to find other ways to optimize your website, especially if you have a local business, a news website, or if you have a lot of videos.

(Beta) Get AI-powered suggestions to optimize your content

Get optimization suggestions and apply changes instantly with Yoast’s AI features, saving you time and ensuring your content is search engine-friendly. This feature is currently in beta.

No AI

You have to manually optimize all your content yourself.

(Beta) Get high-quality titles and meta descriptions with Yoast AI

Yoast’s AI helps you craft optimized SEO titles and meta descriptions for search and social, boosting your CTR while saving you time.

No AI

You have to manually write and optimize all your SEO titles and meta descriptions yourself.

Optimize for up to five keyword synonyms by adding variants

Include up to four keyword synonyms for a broader reach, and receive a complete SEO analysis for each one.

Only 1 keyword per page

Optimize for one keyword per post or page.

Automatic redirects: so no more dead links or 404 errors

Effortlessly redirect old or renamed pages to maintain satisfaction for both your visitors and Google.

No redirect manager

Forgetting to set up a redirect results in visitors hitting a 404 page, which displeases both them and Google.

Get real-time suggestions for internal links

As you write, you’ll receive suggestions for internal links to other pages, which Google favors and can boost your ranking.

You need to guess which links would work best

Identify which pages to link to for improved rankings, for both new and existing pages on your site.

Preview your page on Facebook and Twitter/X

You have complete control over your page’s social media appearance, ensuring it entices users to click.

No preview of your page on social media

Without a preview of social snippets, you’re left guessing and hoping for the best.

24/7 support

Our helpful and expert support team is ready to assist you with any questions via email or live chat.

No support

No support
You can help yourself with our extensive knowledge database.

Safeguard your content from being used to train AI bots

Easily protect your intellectual property and data privacy by blocking AI bots from scraping your content with a simple toggle.

Manually edit robots.txt file

Manually edit your robots.txt file to block AI bots, at the risk of making mistakes.

Includes 1 free seat to the Yoast SEO Google Docs add-on

Create and optimize your SEO content in Google Docs with Yoast’s guidance, ideal for teamwork with internal and external partners. Enjoy 1 free seat, valued at $5/month.

No free access to the Yoast SEO Google Docs add-on

Transferring draft content from Google Docs to your website for SEO optimization slows your workflow and makes collaboration with internal and external teams more time-consuming.

What are the benefits of Yoast SEO Premium?

For over fifteen years, Yoast SEO has provided small businesses, bloggers, marketers, and online and offline stores with almost everything they need to compete in the search results. Over the years, we made the plugin better and better — following feedback from users, through thorough research and insights from insiders at the search engines. Today, Yoast SEO is run by a team of passionate SEO experts and built by very talented developers.

While the free version of Yoast SEO gives you a lot of tools to help you do well in the search results, Yoast SEO Premium makes many tasks much easier. It saves precious time that you can invest in other ways. Yoast SEO Premium also gives you additional tools, like, for instance, Local SEO, AI features, internal linking suggestions, and the redirect manager. You can use all of these tools to build an impressive site structure. All of this helps make your site a great fit for users and search engines alike. As such, Yoast SEO Premium is a wise investment.

Buy Yoast SEO Premium now!

Unlock powerful features and much more for your WordPress site with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin!

1: Yoast SEO Premium comes with amazing AI features

Yoast SEO Premium now offers AI-powered features that streamline your SEO tasks. With Yoast AI Generate, you can create engaging titles and meta descriptions effortlessly. Choose from multiple options or generate more until you find the perfect fit. Meanwhile, Yoast AI Optimize provides smart suggestions to enhance your existing content, ensuring SEO best practices are met with just a click. These tools integrate smoothly into your workflow, saving you time and effort while keeping your content search-engine friendly. Available for WordPress and Shopify, these features help you maintain control over your content’s final look and feel.

2: Yoast SEO Premium comes with all add-ons

Yoast SEO Premium now includes various separate add-ons, such as News, Video, and Local SEO, in one convenient package. This comprehensive suite enhances your optimization capabilities without needing additional purchases. However, the WooCommerce SEO add-on is not included and is available separately. Enjoy a streamlined experience to boost your site’s performance across different content types and media.

3: Yoast SEO Premium is a time-saver

One of the most important things you need to remember about SEO is that it is never done. There’s always more to do, better content to write, or fixes to make. Luckily, there’s a WordPress SEO plugin that’s glad to be of assistance. As you might know, Yoast SEO is not a set-it-and-forget-it kind of tool. You need to work with it, whether it’s improving your content or building your site structure. In the free version, you still need to do much of the work yourself. Yoast SEO Premium comes with a number of AI tools that can save you lots of time.

4: Use Yoast SEO in Google Docs

The Yoast SEO Google Docs add-on allows you to draft and optimize your SEO content directly within Google Docs. This tool is ideal for seamless collaboration with both internal teams and external partners. You can work on content, refine it, and ensure it aligns with SEO best practices, all without leaving your document. This efficiency streamlines your workflow and enhances team cooperation. Plus, Yoast SEO Premium includes one user seat for this add-on, typically valued at $5 per seat.

You can enjoy the same Yoast SEO analyses in Google Docs

5: Makes doing site maintenance easier

If working on your site is turning into a day job, you might need some help! Premium makes site maintenance easier. For one, Premium comes with a stale cornerstone content finder that reminds you to update your most important content.

Another tool that helps you work on your pages is the redirect manager. Whenever you make changes to pages or URLs, this tool makes sure to add a redirect for you. All you have to do is say where the new URL needs to lead. With the redirect manager, you can also fix your 404 errors in no time. No developer necessary. It’s so helpful that 58% of Premium users praise the redirect manager as the best feature in Yoast SEO Premium!

Building a solid site structure is one of the quickest routes to success. Making your content easily accessible to users and search engines helps them both make sense of your site. Yoast SEO Premium comes with a number of tools that help you build relevant links that can build a solid foundation for your site structure. Our plugin comes with internal linking blocks, an orphaned content finder and a targeted internal linking suggestion tool.

With the internal linking suggestions, relevant content will automatically be suggested while you’re writing your new content. There’s no need to remember that all those posts are pages!

But don’t just take our word for it, here’s what Andrew Evans from Intellifluence says about the internal linking tool:

“While the free Yoast SEO plugin offers many great features, the Premium version takes things to the next level. The internal linking suggestions feature ensures our blog is organized in a cohesive manner. It also ensures that link equity passes to other posts. This feature alone saves a tremendous amount of time as the plugin suggests links as we write. As the site grows, this feature only becomes more valuable! If you’ve ever tried to develop an interlinking strategy for an established blog, you’ll know exactly what I mean…“

Andrew Evans

7: An advanced language analysis that makes writing more natural

Yoast SEO is famous for its SEO and readability analyses — a.k.a. the colored traffic lights. The feedback these analyses give you helps you produce a great piece of content that adheres to a range of SEO best practices. This works splendidly, but Premium makes this process a lot more natural and flexible.

Premium has a very smart feature called word forms support. This innovative language analysis looks not only at the exact match of the focus keyphrase you enter but also at all the grammatical forms of that word. If you use, for instance, “decoration”, we will find word forms like “decorated” and “decorates” in your text as well, just like Google does. The words don’t even have to be in the same order when your focus keyphrase consists of more than one word.

8: Use synonyms and related keyphrases in your text to make it richer

Search engines get smarter every day, and context is key in SEO. They use the context in which a keyword appears to determine what a text is about. Synonyms and related terms, therefore, are more important than ever. In the free version of Yoast SEO, you can only add a single focus keyphrase. The plugin uses this to help you optimize your post. Yoast SEO Premium has more tricks up its sleeve, making it a much smarter solution. What is that?

Well, you can add a number of synonyms and related keyphrases to your post. By using these, you can make your content come alive. The Premium analysis makes sure that you use these synonyms and related keyphrases correctly in your post. Awesome, right? You can even use the Semrush integration to gather data and trends about your related keyphrases. Premium users can add the related keyphrases Semrush uncovers for you to their post with a single mouse click.

9: Boost AI visibility while maintaining control

Yoast SEO introduces AI-focused features such as llms.txt and AI bot blockers to protect your site’s content and maintain data privacy. The llms.txt file helps AI tools understand your site’s structure and important content. Meanwhile, the AI bot blocker feature lets you safeguard your intellectual property with a simple toggle, preventing AI bots from scraping your content for training purposes. This ensures that your valuable information remains secure and under your control.

10: 24/7 access to our world-class support team

What if you run into issues with the plugin? It would be good if you could contact a real person to help you figure out what the problem is. Luckily, if you sign up for Yoast SEO Premium, you get just that: Premium support. Our helpful support staff is available around the clock to get you up and running in no time.

An incredible bonus: free access to Yoast SEO Academy

Every Yoast SEO Premium subscription comes with complimentary access to Yoast SEO Academy. This is a big deal. We don’t just provide you with the number one WordPress SEO plugin to help you do well in search engines — we also supply many hours of instructional material. We offer several of our courses free of charge to get you started with the basics. But when you sign up for Yoast SEO Premium, you get access to all our SEO courses! Learn about Yoast SEO, SEO copywriting, keyword research, structured data, ecommerce SEO, and many other topics related to SEO!

Invest in Yoast SEO Premium: it pays off!

You see, there are many good reasons to get a Yoast SEO Premium subscription today. A Premium subscription can save you lots of time and gives you access to incredible tools that make working on your site easier and more fun. Plus, you’ll get unrestricted access to Yoast SEO Academy for hundreds of hours of SEO training. And, of course, you get to contact our support team if you should ever run into a problem.

How much does Yoast SEO Premium cost?

You can buy Yoast SEO Premium for $118.80 excluding VAT per year, or €118.80/£118.80 per year, depending on where you are in the world. For this, you not only get Yoast SEO Premium, all the additional plugins like Local SEO and Video SEO, and its awesome tools, but you also get a year of support, updates, and access to all our Yoast SEO Academy courses. Check out all of our products here.

Get Yoast SEO Premium now!

Convinced? Make sure to grab your copy!

Buy Yoast SEO Premium now!

Unlock powerful features and much more for your WordPress site with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin!

Avatar of Edwin Toonen


Edwin Toonen

Edwin is an experienced strategic content specialist. Before joining Yoast, he worked for a top-tier web design magazine, where he developed a keen understanding of how to create great content.

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Aug 28 2025
WordPress Trademark Applications Rejected By USPTO via @sejournal, @martinibuster

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has rejected the WordPress Foundation’s applications for trademarks on the phrases “Managed WordPress” and “Hosted WordPress.” But WordPress isn’t walking away just yet.

The Trademark Office published the following notice for the “Hosted WordPress” trademark application:

“A final Office action refusing registration has been sent (issued) because the applicant neither satisfied nor overcame all requirements and/or refusals previously raised….

SUMMARY OF ISSUES MADE FINAL that applicant must address:

• Disclaimer Requirement

• Identification of Goods and Services

• Applicant Domicile Requirement

DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENT Applicant must disclaim the wording ‘MANAGED’ because it is merely descriptive of an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose, or use of applicant’s goods and services….

Applicant may respond by submitting a disclaimer in the following format: No claim is made to the exclusive right to use ‘MANAGED’ apart from the mark as shown.”

Screenshot of Document Close-Up

The USPTO also found that the WordPress Foundation’s description of goods and services is too vague and overly broad, especially regarding the phrase “website development software,” and asks them to clarify whether it is downloadable (Class 9) or offered as online services (Class 42). The USPTO suggested acceptable wording that they can adopt, as long as it accurately reflects what they provide.

The Trademark Office also issued the following response for the trademark application for Managed WordPress:

“DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENT
Applicant must disclaim the wording ‘MANAGED’ because it is merely descriptive of an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose, or use of applicant’s goods and services…. Applicant may respond by submitting a disclaimer in the following format:

No claim is made to the exclusive right to use ‘MANAGED’ apart from the mark as shown.”

The Process Is Not Over

The WordPress Foundation is continuing its efforts to obtain trademarks for both “Managed WordPress” and “Hosted WordPress.” It has filed a Request for Reconsideration after Final Action for each trademark application, which asks the USPTO to reconsider its refusals based on amendments, arguments, or evidence. These requests are a final procedural step before an appeal, although they are not themselves appeals.

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Aug 21 2025
Common Hosting Defenses Ineffective Against WordPress Threats via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Patchstack published a case study that examined how well Cloudflare and other general firewall and malware solutions protected WordPress websites from common vulnerability threats and attack vectors. The research showed that while general solutions stopped threats like SQL injection or cross-site scripting, a dedicated WordPress security solution consistently stopped WordPress-specific exploits at a significantly higher rate.

WordPress Vulnerabilities

Due to the popularity of the WordPress platform, WordPress plugins and themes are a common focus for hackers, and vulnerabilities can quickly be exploited in the wild. Once proof-of-concept code is public, attackers often act within hours, leaving website owners little time to react.

This is why it is critical to be aware of the security provided by a web host and of how effective those solutions are in a WordPress environment.

Methodology

Patchstack explained their methodology:

“As a baseline, we have decided to host “honeypot” sites (sites against which we will perform controlled pentesting with a set of 11 WordPress-specific vulnerabilities) with 5 distinct hosting providers, some of which have ingrained features presuming to help with blocking WordPress vulnerabilities and/or overall security.

In addition to the hosting provider’s security measures and third-party providers for additional measures like robust WAFs or other patching providers, we have also installed Patchstack on every site, with our test question being:

  • How many of these threats will bypass firewalls and other patching providers to ultimately reach Patchstack?
  • And will Patchstack be able to block them all successfully?”

Testing process

Each website was set up the same way, with identical plugins, versions, and settings. Patchstack used a “exploitation testing toolkit” to run the same exploit tests in the same order on every site. Results were checked automatically and by hand to see if attacks were stopped, and whether the block came from the host’s defenses or from Patchstack.

General Overview: Hosting Providers Versus Vulnerabilities

The Patchstack case study tested five different configurations of security defenses, plus Patchstack.

1. Hosting Provider A Plus Cloudflare WAF

2. Hosting Provider B + Firewall + Monarx Server and Website Security

3. Hosting Provider C + Firewall + Imunify Web Server Security

4. Hosting Provider D + ConfigServer Firewall

5. Hosting Provider E + Firewall

The result of the testing showed that the various hosting infrastructure defenses failed to protect the majority of WordPress-specific threats, catching only 12.2% of the exploits. Patchstack caught 100% of all exploits.

Patchstack shared:

“2 out of the 5 hosts and their solutions failed to block any vulnerabilities at the network and server levels.

1 host blocked 1 vulnerability out of 11.

1 host blocked 2 vulnerabilities out of 11.

1 host blocked 4 vulnerabilities out of 11.”

Cloudflare And Other Solutions Failed

Solutions like Cloudflare WAF or bundled services such as Monarx or Imunify failed to consistently address WordPress specific vulnerabilities.

Cloudflare’s WAF stopped 4 of 11 exploits, Monarx blocked none, and Imunify did not prevent any WordPress-specific exploits. Firewalls such as ConfigServer, which are widely used in shared hosting environments, also failed every test.

These results show that while those kinds of products work reasonably well against broad attack types, they are not tuned to the specific security issues common to WordPress plugins and themes.

Patchstack is created to specifically stop WordPress plugin and theme vulnerabilities in real time. Instead of relying on static signatures or generic rules, it applies targeted mitigation through virtual patches as soon as vulnerabilities are disclosed, before attackers can act.

Virtual patches are mitigation for a specific WordPress vulnerability. This offers protection to users while a plugin or theme developer can create a patch for the flaw. This approach addresses WordPress flaws in a way hosting companies and generic tools can’t because they rarely match generic attack patterns, so they slip past traditional defenses and expose publishers to privilege escalation, authentication bypasses, and site takeovers.

Takeaways

  • Standard hosting defenses fail against most WordPress plugin vulnerabilities (87.8% bypass rate).
  • Many providers claiming “virtual patching” (like Monarx and Imunify) did not stop WordPress-specific exploits.
  • Generic firewalls and WAFs caught some broad attacks (SQLi, XSS) but not WordPress-specific flaws tied to plugins and themes.
  • Patchstack consistently blocked vulnerabilities in real time, filling the gap left by network and server defenses.
  • WordPress’s plugin-heavy ecosystem makes it an especially attractive target for attackers, making effective vulnerability protection essential.

The case study by Patchstack shows that traditional hosting defenses and generic “virtual patching” solutions leave WordPress sites vulnerable, with nearly 88% of attacks bypassing firewalls and server-layer protections.

While providers like Cloudflare blocked some broad exploits, plugin-specific threats such as privilege escalation and authentication bypasses slipped through.

Patchstack was the only solution to consistently block these attacks in real time, giving site owners a dependable way to protect WordPress sites against the types of vulnerabilities that are most often targeted by attackers.

According to Patchstack:

“Don’t rely on generic defenses for WordPress. Patchstack is built to detect and block these threats in real-time, applying mitigation rules before attackers can exploit them.”

Read the results of the case study by Patchstack here.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/tavizta

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Aug 21 2025
Inspiro WordPress Theme Vulnerability Affects Over 70,000 Sites via @sejournal, @martinibuster

A vulnerability advisory was published for the Inspiro WordPress theme by WPZoom. The vulnerability arises due to a missing or incorrect security validation that enables an unauthenticated attacker to launch a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attack.

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

A CSRF vulnerability in the context of a WordPress site is an attack that relies on a user with admin privileges clicking a link, which in turn leverages that user’s credentials to execute a malicious action. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS threat rating of 8.1.

The advisory issued by Wordfence WordPress security company warned:

“This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to install plugins from the repository via a forged request granted they can trick a site administrator into performing an action such as clicking on a link.”

The vulnerability affects Inspiro theme versions up to and including 2.1.2. Users are advised to update their theme to the latest version.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Kazantseva Olga

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Aug 19 2025
WordPress Contact Form 7 Redirection Plugin Vulnerability Hits 300k Sites via @sejournal, @martinibuster

A vulnerability advisory was issued for a WordPress Contact Form 7 add-on plugin that enables unauthenticated attackers to “easily” launch a remote code execution. The vulnerability is rated high (8.8/10) on the CVSS threat severity scale.

Screenshot from Wordfence advisory showing 8.8 CVSS severity rating

Redirection for Contact Form 7 plugin

The vulnerability affects the Redirection for Contact Form 7 WordPress plugin, which is installed on over 300,000 websites. The plugin extends the functionality of the popular Contact Form 7 plugin. It enables a website publisher not only to redirect a user to another page but also to store the information in a database, send email notifications, and block spammy form submissions.

The vulnerability arises in a plugin function. WordPress functions are PHP code snippets that provide specific functionalities. The specific function that contains the flaw is called the delete_associated_files function. That function contains an insufficient file path validation flaw, which means it does not validate what a user can input into the function that deletes files. This flaw enables an attacker to specify a path to a file to be deleted.

Thus, an attacker can specify a path (such as ../../wp-config.php) and delete a critical file like wp-config.php, clearing the way for a remote code execution (RCE) attack. An RCE attack is a type of exploit that enables an attacker to execute malicious code remotely (from anywhere on the Internet) and gain control of the website.

The Wordfence advisory explains:

“This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to delete arbitrary files on the server, which can easily lead to remote code execution when the right file is deleted (such as wp-config.php).”

The vulnerability affects all versions of the plugin up to and including version 3.2.4. Users of the affected plugin are advised to update the plugin to the latest version.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Everyonephoto Studio

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Aug 12 2025
Critical Vulnerability Affects Tutor LMS Pro WordPress Plugin via @sejournal, @martinibuster

An advisory was issued about a critical vulnerability in the popular Tutor LMS Pro WordPress plugin. The vulnerability, rated 8.8 on a scale of 1 to 10, allows an authenticated attacker to extract sensitive information from the WordPress database. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 3.7.0.

Tutor LMS Pro Vulnerability

The vulnerability results from improper handling of user-supplied data, enabling attackers to inject SQL code into a database query. The Wordfence advisory explains:

“The Tutor LMS Pro – eLearning and online course solution plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to time-based SQL Injection via the ‘order’ parameter used in the get_submitted_assignments() function in all versions up to, and including, 3.7.0 due to insufficient escaping on the user supplied parameter and lack of sufficient preparation on the existing SQL query. “

Time-Based SQL Injection

A time-based SQL injection attack is one in which an attacker determines whether a query is valid by measuring how long the database takes to respond. An attacker could use the vulnerable order parameter to insert SQL code that delays the database’s response. By timing these delays, the attacker can deduce information stored in the database.

Why This Vulnerability Is Dangerous

While exploitation requires authenticated access, a successful exploitation of the flaw could be used to access sensitive information. Updating to the latest version, 3.7.1 or higher is recommended.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Ollyy

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Aug 12 2025
Vulnerability In 3 WordPress File Plugins Affects 1.3 Million Sites via @sejournal, @martinibuster

An advisory was issued for three WordPress file management plugins that are affected by a vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers delete arbitrary files. The three plugins are installed in over 1.3 million websites.

Outdated Version Of elFinder

The vulnerability is caused by outdated versions of the elFinder file manager, specifically versions 2.1.64 and earlier. These versions contain a Directory Traversal vulnerability that allows attackers to manipulate file paths to reach outside the intended directory. By sending requests with sequences such as example.com/../../../../, an attacker could make the file manager access and delete arbitrary files.

Affected Plugins

Wordfence named the following three plugins as affected by this vulnerability:

1. File Manager WordPress Plugin
Installations: 1 Million

2. Advanced File Manager – Ultimate WP File Manager And Document Library Solution
Installations: 200,000+

3. File Manager Pro – Filester
Installations: 100,000+

According to the Wordfence advisory, the vulnerability can be exploited without authentication, but only if a site owner has made the file manager publicly accessible, which mitigates the possibility of exploitation. That said, two of the plugins indicated in their changelogs that an attacker needs at least a subscriber level authentication, the lowest level of website credentials.

Once exploited, the flaw allowed deletion of arbitrary files. Users of the named WordPress plugins should consider updating to the latest versions.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Lili1992

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Aug 12 2025
WordPress Contact Form Entries Plugin Vulnerability Affects 70K Websites via @sejournal, @martinibuster

A vulnerability advisory was issued for a WordPress plugin that saves contact form submissions. The flaw enables unauthenticated attackers to delete files, launch a denial of service attack, or perform remote code execution. The vulnerability was given a severity rating of 9.8 on a scale of 1 to 10, indicating the seriousness of the issue.

Database for Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor Forms Plugin

The Database for Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor Forms, also apparently known as the Contact Form Entries Plugin, saves contact form entries into the WordPress database. It enables users to view contact form submissions, search them, mark them as read or unread, export them, and perform other functions. The plugin has over 70,000 installations.

The plugin is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection by an unauthenticated attacker, which means that an attacker does not need to log in to the website to launch the attack.

A PHP object is a data structure in PHP. PHP objects can be turned into a sequence of characters (serialized) in order to store them and then deserialized (turned back into an object). The flaw that gives rise to this vulnerability is that the plugin allows an unauthenticated attacker to inject an untrusted PHP object.

If the WordPress site also has the Contact Form 7 plugin installed, then it can trigger a POP chain during deserialization.

According to the Wordfence advisory:

“This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject a PHP Object. The additional presence of a POP chain in the Contact Form 7 plugin, which is likely to be used alongside, allows attackers to delete arbitrary files, leading to a denial of service or remote code execution when the wp-config.php file is deleted.”

All versions of the plugin up to and including 1.4.3 are vulnerable. Users are advised to update their plugin to the latest version, which as of this date is version 1.4.5.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/tavizta

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