WordPress plugins compromised after acquisition, leading to backdoor installation

As outlined in TechCrunch, dozens of WordPress plug-ins have been taken offline following the discovery of a malicious backdoor. This backdoor was intentionally inserted into the source code after a company acquired a suite of plug-ins, leading to the distribution of malicious code across numerous websites.

The attack vector was identified as a supply chain compromise affecting Essential Plugin, a provider with over 400,000 installs. Austin Ginder of Anchor Hosting reported that the new owner, who purchased Essential Plugin last year, embedded a backdoor into the plug-ins. This backdoor remained dormant until earlier this month, when it activated and began pushing malicious code to any site utilizing the affected plug-ins.

These plug-ins, which extend WordPress site functionality, were installed on over 20,000 active WordPress sites. The plug-ins have since been removed from the WordPress directory.

Source: TechCrunch