Limit Login Attempts Security: WordPress login and brute force security

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Vulnerabilities

4 Total

4 Patched

0 Active

100% Resolved rate

Limit Login Attempts Reloaded <= 2.25.26 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcode

CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

The Limit Login Attempts Reloaded plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's shortcode(s) in all versions up to, and including, 2.25.26 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with contributor-level and above permissions to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page.

6.4 Medium Affected All - 2.25.26 Patched in ✓ 2.25.27 Published 20 Dec 2023 CVE CVE-2023-6934

Limit Login Attempts Reloaded <= 2.25.25 - Missing Authorization

CWE-862 · Missing Authorization

The Limit Login Attempts Reloaded plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the toggle_auto_update() function hooked via AJAX in all versions up to, and including, 2.25.25. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with access to a valid nonce, to toggle auto-updates for the plugin on and off.

4.3 Medium Affected All - 2.25.25 Patched in ✓ 2.25.26 Published 6 Nov 2023 CVE CVE-2023-5525

Limit Login Attempts Reloaded <= 2.17.3 - Login Rate Limiting Bypass

CWE-307 · Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts

LimitLoginAttempts.php in the limit-login-attempts-reloaded plugin before 2.17.4 for WordPress allows a bypass of (per IP address) rate limits because the X-Forwarded-For header can be forged. When the plugin is configured to accept an arbitrary header for the client source IP address, a malicious user is not limited to perform a brute force attack, because the client IP header accepts any arbitrary string. When randomizing the header input, the login count does not ever reach the maximum allowed retries.

7.3 High Affected All - 2.17.3 Patched in ✓ 2.17.4 Published 14 Dec 2020 CVE CVE-2020-35590

Limit Login Attempts Reloaded <= 2.15.2 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting

CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

The limit-login-attempts-reloaded plugin before 2.17.4 for WordPress allows wp-admin/options-general.php?page=limit-login-attempts&tab= XSS. A malicious user can cause an administrator user to supply dangerous content to the vulnerable page, which is then reflected back to the user and executed by the web browser. The most common mechanism for delivering malicious content is to include it as a parameter in a URL that is posted publicly or e-mailed directly to victims.

6.1 Medium Affected All - 2.15.2 Patched in ✓ 2.17.4 Published 14 Dec 2020 CVE CVE-2020-35589

Support Statistics

21 Support threads

12 Resolved

57% Resolution rate

About Limit Login Attempts Security

WordPress login security with brute force protection, Two-factor authentication (2FA/MFA), firewall, IP/country blocking, and login monitoring

Protect your WordPress website against brute force attacks, bot attacks, and unauthorized login attempts with one of the most trusted login security plugins for WordPress.

Limit Login Attempts Security strengthens your WordPress login security by limiting failed login attempts, blocking malicious IPs, securing wp-login.php, protecting XML-RPC, and adding powerful firewall and 2FA protection without slowing down your website.

Trusted by 2 million WordPress websites, Limit Login Attempts Security is designed specifically to protect the most targeted part of your website: the login page.

Why Use Limit Login Attempts Security?

By default, WordPress allows unlimited login attempts. This creates a major security vulnerability where bots and attackers can repeatedly guess usernames and passwords until they gain access. This is especially important in the age of AI, where attackers now have access to faster and more sophisticated tools than ever before.

Limit Login Attempts Security helps stop:

Brute force attacks
Bot login attacks
Credential stuffing attacks
XML-RPC attacks
Unauthorized login attempts
WooCommerce login abuse
Malicious IP access attempts

The plugin automatically blocks excessive login attempts and locks out suspicious IP addresses and usernames before attackers can gain access.

Features Included in the Free Version

Login Security & Brute Force Protection

Limit login attempts by IP address and username
Automatically lock out suspicious login activity
Adjustable lockout duration and retry limits
Protect wp-login.php from automated attacks
Prevent brute force login attacks

2FA / Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Built-in two-factor authentication (2FA)
Add an additional layer of login protection
Improve WordPress account security
Secure administrator and user logins

Firewall & Bot Protection

Block malicious login requests
Detect suspicious login behavior
Reduce bot-based login attacks
Lightweight firewall-focused login protection

WooCommerce & Plugin Compatibility

Protects:

WooCommerce login pages
XML-RPC login requests
Custom login pages
WordPress multisite installations

Compatible With:

Wordfence
Sucuri
Ultimate Member
MemberPress
WPS Hide Login
Cloudflare and reverse proxy setups

Login Monitoring & Notifications

Failed login attempt logs
Lockout email notifications
Denied attempt tracking
Login retry visibility for users

Access Controls

IP safelist and denylist support
Username safelist and denylist support
IPv6 range support
Custom IP origin configuration

Premium Features (Start Your Free 14 Day Trial)

Upgrade to Limit Login Attempts Security Premium to extend protection with cloud-based login security and advanced attack prevention.

Advanced Cloud Protection

Real-time malicious IP intelligence
Global denylist protection
Synchronized lockouts across websites
Auto IP denylist generation
Cloud-based login attack mitigation

Enhanced Performance Protection

Offload excessive failed login requests from your server
Reduce server strain during attacks
Improve stability under heavy attack conditions

Advanced Security Features

Country-based login blocking
Enhanced throttling and lockout escalation
Registration page protection
Successful login tracking
Enhanced lockout analytics and geolocation data

Multi-Site & Team Features

Shared safelist and denylist syncing
Shared lockout protection between domains
Cloud backups of IP security data
CSV exports of login and IP activity

Premium Support

Access to security-focused support specialists
Faster troubleshooting and assistance

Lightweight Security Built for WordPress

Unlike many large security suites, Limit Login Attempts Security focuses specifically on login security and brute force protection.

This means:

Faster performance
Less server overhead
Easier configuration
Strong protection without unnecessary bloat

Protect More Than Just wp-login.php

Limit Login Attempts Security secures:

wp-login.php
XML-RPC
WooCommerce logins
Custom login forms
Registration pages
Multisite logins

Trusted by Millions of WordPress Websites

Limit Login Attempts Security is one of the most widely used WordPress login security plugins and has helped protect millions of websites from brute force attacks and malicious login activity.

Whether you run:

A personal blog
WooCommerce store
Membership website
Agency
Business website
Enterprise WordPress network

Limit Login Attempts Security helps secure your login experience with modern WordPress login protection.

Upgrading from the Original Limit Login Attempts Plugin?

Switching is easy:

Remove the old Limit Login Attempts plugin
Install Limit Login Attempts Security
Your settings will remain intact

Translation Support

Currently translated into multiple languages including:

Spanish
French
German
Dutch
Turkish
Swedish
Russian
Romanian
Chinese (Traditional)
Brazilian Portuguese
And more

Secure Your WordPress Login Today

Install Limit Login Attempts Security and protect your WordPress website with:

Login security
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Brute force protection
Firewall security
Bot protection
XML-RPC protection
WooCommerce login protection

Without slowing down your website.

Screenshots

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do if all users get blocked?

If you are using contemporary hosting, it’s likely your site uses a proxy domain service like CloudFlare, Sucuri, Nginx, etc. They replace your user’s IP address with their own. If the server where your site runs is not configured properly (this happens a lot) all users will get the same IP address. This also applies to bots and hackers. Therefore, locking one user will lead to locking everybody else out. If the plugin is not using our Cloud App, this can be adjusted using the Trusted IP Origin setting. The cloud service intelligently recognizes the non-standard IP origins and handles them correctly, even if your hosting provider does not.

How do I know if I’m under attack?

An easy way to check if the attack is legitimate is to copy the IP address from the lockout notification and check its location using a IP locator tool. If the location is not somewhere you recognize and you have received several failed login attempts, then you are likely being attacked. You might notice dozens or hundreds of IPs each day. Visit our website to learn how can you prevent brute force attacks on your website.

How can I tell that the premium plugin is working?

After you upgrade to our premium version, you will see a new dashboard in your WordPress admin that shows all attacks that will now relay through our cloud service. On the graph, you’ll see requests and failed login attempts. Each request will represent the cloud app validating an IP, which also includes denied logins.

In some cases, you may notice an increase in speed and efficiency with your website. Also, a reduction in lockout notifications via email.

Could these failed login attempts be fake?

Some users find it hard to believe that they could experience numerous unsuccessful login attempts, particularly when their site has just been established or has minimal human traffic. The plugin is not responsible for generating these failed login attempts. Newly created websites are frequently hosted on shared IP addresses, making it easy for hackers to discover them. Additionally, newly registered domain names are often crawled soon after creation, rendering a WordPress website susceptible to attacks. Such websites are attractive targets as security is not a primary concern for their owners. We’ve created an article that delves deeper into the issue of fake login attempts in WordPress.

What happens if my site exceeds the request limits in the plan?

The premium plan’s resource limits start from 100,000 requests per month, which should accept almost any heavy brute-force attack. We monitor all of our sites and will alert the user if it appears they are going over their limits. If limits are reached, we will suggest to the user upgrading to the next plan. If you are using the free version, the load caused by brute force attacks will be absorbed by your current hosting bandwidth, which could cause your hosting costs to increase.

What URLs are being attacked and protected?

The URLs being protected are your login page (wp-login.php, wp-admin), xmlrpc.php, WooCommerce login page, and any custom login page you have that uses regular WordPress login hooks.

Why is Limit Login Attempts Security more popular than other brute-force protection plugins?

Our main focus is protecting your site from brute force attacks. This allows our plugin to be very lean and effective. It doesn’t require a lot of your web hosting resources and keeps your site well-protected. More importantly, it does all of this automatically as our service learns on its own about each IP it encounters. In contrast, a firewall would require manual blocking of IPs.

What to do when an admin gets blocked?

Open the site from another IP. You can do this from your cell phone, or using Opera browser and enabling free VPN there. You can also try turning off your router for a few minutes and then see if you get a different IP address. These will work if your hosting server is configured correctly. If that doesn’t work, connect to the site using FTP or your hosting control panel file manager. Navigate to wp-content/plugins/ and rename the limit-login-attempts-reloaded folder. Log in to the site then rename that folder back and whitelist your IP. By upgrading to our premium app, you will have the unlocking functionality right from the cloud so you’ll never have to deal with this issue.

What settings should I use In the plugin?

The settings are explained within the plugin in great detail. If you are unsure, use the default settings as they are the recommended ones.

Can I share the safelist/denylist throughout all of my sites?

By default, you will need to copy and paste the lists to each site manually. For the premium service, sites are grouped within the same private cloud account. Each site within that group can be configured if it shares its lockouts and access lists with other group members. The setting is located in the plugin’s interface. The default options are recommended.

Ratings & Reviews

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Changelog

3.3.7

Fixed PHP warnings when a cloud app custom setting is missing the label, description, or value field.
Added the SameSite=Lax attribute to the login flow cookie for better CSRF protection.
Fixed dashicons line-height on all admin pages and dashboard widgets for WordPress 7 compatibility.
Fixed the cloud app setup so it verifies the setup code was saved before activating the custom app, preventing an inconsistent state on storage errors.
Fixed the review admin notice buttons not working because its inline script was being stripped by output sanitization.
Fixed the Micro Cloud setup so it surfaces the actual server error message to admins and handles an incomplete app configuration gracefully instead of failing silently.

3.3.6

Refactored the core plugin class into smaller services.

3.3.5

Hardened denylist matching to make username blocking more reliable and consistent. Thanks to Artus KG for finding and reporting this issue.

3.3.4

Fixed icon positioning.

3.3.3

Fixed the dashboard incorrectly showing a network error when the cloud API is reachable but access is restricted.
Fixed a PHP 8.1+ deprecation notice by avoiding implicit float-to-int conversion in the lockout email notification check.
Made the email digest labels (Daily/Weekly/Monthly) and preview text translatable.
Allowed safelisted usernames (matched case-insensitively, including by email) to bypass lockouts and the MFA prompt on login.