File upload vulnerabilities are some of the most common security issues that WordPress sites face. As you might know, WordPress stores by default all the uploaded files in the wp-content/uploads folder on your server. Many hosting companies automatically block access to this folder, so this problem may already be solved. However, if that is not the case, it raises the question of how you can protect uploaded files in WordPress to prevent security issues that comes with it.
Due to security reasons, WordPress also limits file extensions you can upload through your site’s admin. But what if you want to limit some file extensions even from the list of files that are allowed by WordPress? What if you don’t want to store files on your server because you are collecting personally identifiable information?
Luckily, the Ninja Forms File Upload add-on provides you with file restriction capabilities. Using our most popular extension, you can be sure, you’ll make good security decisions to protect the image and file uploads in WordPress.
In this article, we will show you how to prevent file upload vulnerabilities, and offer you some tips to keep your files secured and your website protected from attacks when uploading files. Let’s dig in!
Tips to prevent file uploads vulnerabilities
File upload vulnerability can provide hackers full access to the sensitive data on your site. A wise step towards preventing this from happening is to follow our file upload vulnerability prevention tips to make your site safer and more protected against hacking attacks.
Keep your website updated
Every time someone reports a security vulnerability, the core WordPress team immediately works on fixing the issue. If you are not using the latest version of WordPress and plugins, hackers can look for sites running the older version and as a result, you can become an easy target for a hacker attack.
For this reason, make sure you update your plugins, theme, and the core itself regularly. WordPress even allows you to enable automatic updates for their major releases, plugins, and themes so you can keep your site and files protected.
WordPress releases updates to the CMS quite often and although updates can cause your site a temporary malfunction, it is worth the time to do a regular security site audit check like this one.
Purchase WordPress themes and plugins from trustworthy marketplaces
It might not always pay off to buy extensions or themes from third-party websites that offer lower prices. If you are purchasing themes or plugins from reputable sources, you can be sure the developers follow strict certificate protocols to be able to sell their products.
If you are searching for free WordPress plugins and themes, it is quite straightforward you want to start searching at WordPress.org as it is the largest single source of free WordPress products. Their plugins and themes are carefully reviewed by a dedicated professional team to make sure all the products follow strict quality guidelines.
Sometimes, you need more than just a free version but you can’t purchase premium plugins directly from the WordPress plugin directory. So, if you are looking for a place considered trustworthy by the WordPress community, to purchase premium products, you can check for the following: Envato, Template Monster, Mojo Marketplace, and Creative Market.
Consider risks if you collect personally identifiable information (PII)
If the files that your users are uploading to your WordPress form contain personally identifiable information (PII), such as names, email addresses, or other sensitive information, consider having files uploaded to a secured location.
Anything uploaded to your WordPress uploads directory is publicly accessible. If your customers trust you with their PII, make sure you’re uploading to a private, secured location such as a secured Amazon S3 bucket, Google Drive, or Dropbox.
Change the location of uploaded files
Are you storing your files on your server? The security of the uploaded files depends on the security of your server, but as long as you are using a good security service, this risk can be minimized. Our add-on gives you the ability to disable storing files on your server and in your Media Library. All you need to do is toggle off the button Save to Server.
With our File Uploads add-on, we also offer the ability to send your uploaded files directly to Dropbox, Google Drive, or Amazon S3. Take a look at our super easy step-by-step tutorials on How to Upload a File to Dropbox from WordPress, How to Upload a File to Amazon S3 from WordPress, and Want to Upload Files to Google Drive from WordPress!
Restrict specific file types to be uploaded to your WordPress form
Our File Uploads add-on lets you restrict specific file types on your form. All you need to do is add a File Upload field to your form and navigate to the Restrictions settings of that field.
Here you can limit the number of files uploaded to your form, minimum and maximum file size, and you can allow only specific file types. This means if you only want your form to accept PDF files, you will insert pdf. If you leave this empty, all allowed files by WordPress will be accepted in your form.
On the other hand, if you wish to allow additional file types on your form that are not supported in WordPress, you can do that too with our add-on. Please remember this comes with a risk. If you decide to allow additional file types in your form, we recommend you turn off the option to save files to your server and media library.
Install WordPress security plugin or file protection plugin
Adding a WordPress security plugin to your site serves as an extra security layer for your website in the case you don’t notice the release or update of your plugin or theme. You can choose from a wide choice of security solutions including Shield, Wordfence, MalCare, Sucuri, and many others.
Wordfence Security – Firewall & Malware Scan plugin includes an endpoint firewall and malware scanner that was built from the ground up to protect WordPress. Besides many other features, it has an integrated malware scanner that blocks requests that include malicious code or content.
MalCare helps you clean all malware with the click of a button. If your site ever gets hacked, it will automatically alert you so you can quickly fix the issue before it causes any major harm such as your web host suspending your site or Google blacklisting your site.
If you decide you don’t want to change the location of your uploaded files, we recommend you install the file protection plugin Prevent Direct Access which prevents anyone from browsing around your media directory. You can prevent your WordPress files from being indexed by search engines and stolen by unwanted users. It is easy to use and it has an intuitive user interface directly in your Media Library.
You’ve just learned how to protect uploaded files in WordPress!
You’ve just learned some tips on how you can secure file upload in WordPress and prevent file upload vulnerability! We hope you enjoyed reading our article and you will implement some of the tips above if not all of them.
Using our File Uploads add-on with your WordPress form, you don’t need to store your files on your server and Media Library. You can directly send files to external storage services such as Amazon S3, Google Drive, and Dropbox. This add-on offers a variety of features for uploading files to your WordPress form and if you want to learn about all of them, we recommend you to take a look at our article A Complete Guide to Adding File Upload Field to Your Form!
Want to give the File Uploads add-on a try? We offer a 14-day money-back guarantee no question asked, so if you realize this extension is not for you, we give you a full refund. Unlike our competitors, you can also purchase this add-on individually for a single site, 5 sites, or 20 sites without subscribing to our membership plans. Isn’t that great?
