Webmasters.Team

WT Hardening is a lightweight, modular security plugin that turns on the most important WordPress hardening measures without modifying your theme, <code>wp-config.php</code>, or <code>.htaccess</code>. Everything works through WordPress hooks and can be disabled at any moment with a single click.
The plugin is completely free, without a PRO version, without ads, and without sending data to external servers. Built by the <a href="https://webmasters.team" rel="nofollow ugc">webmasters.team</a> crew for daily WordPress work.
<h4>Modules</h4>
<ul>
<li>XML-RPC — blocks <code>xmlrpc.php</code> (403) and filters the XML-RPC methods. Stops brute-force attacks through the most attacked WordPress endpoint.</li>
<li>User enumeration — hides logins by blocking <code>/wp/v2/users</code> in the REST API for unauthenticated users.</li>
<li>Author archive — redirects <code>/?author=1</code> to the homepage (another enumeration vector).</li>
<li>Hide WP version — removes the <code><meta name="generator"></code> tag, <code>?ver=</code> query strings from assets, and redundant meta tags (wlwmanifest, rsd, shortlink).</li>
<li>X-Pingback — removes the <code>X-Pingback</code> HTTP header from all responses.</li>
<li>Login errors — replaces the specific “wrong login / wrong password” messages with a single generic text (does not reveal whether a login exists).</li>
<li>Login limiter — blocks an IP for X minutes after N failed attempts. Data lives in a dedicated table (not <code>wp_options</code>), with hourly cleanup of old entries.</li>
<li>File editor — sets <code>DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT</code>, hiding the theme and plugin editor in the admin (an attacker who compromises an account cannot inject a backdoor through the browser).</li>
<li>Password policy — enforces minimum length and complexity (upper and lower case, digits, optionally symbols) for profile updates, registration, and password reset.</li>
<li>Security HTTP headers — <code>X-Frame-Options</code>, <code>X-Content-Type-Options</code>, <code>Referrer-Policy</code>, <code>Permissions-Policy</code>, optionally <code>HSTS</code> (use with care — browsers cache it for a year).</li>
<li>Event log — records logins (successful and failed), registrations, user changes, plugin activations and deactivations, theme switches, and settings updates. Retention defaults to 30 days. Visible in the admin panel.</li>
</ul>
<h4>What makes it different</h4>
<ul>
<li>Modular architecture — each module is a separate class and can be disabled in the settings without affecting the others.</li>
<li>Zero external dependencies — no Composer, no vendor lock-in, no cloud APIs.</li>
<li>No data leaves the instance — everything stays in the local MySQL/MariaDB database.</li>
<li>Internationalization ready — full coverage with <code>__()</code>/<code>esc_html__()</code> and a POT file for translators.</li>
<li>Clean uninstall — when the plugin is removed, options, tables, and cron jobs are dropped.</li>
</ul>
<h4>What WT Hardening does NOT do (by design)</h4>
<ul>
<li>Does not scan for malware — that is a different problem, a different toolset.</li>
<li>Does not ship telemetry to the cloud — all data is local.</li>
<li>Does not add a WAF at the application layer — that belongs to the server or CDN.</li>
</ul>
For those needs we recommend dedicated plugins (e.g. Wordfence) or an infrastructure layer (Cloudflare, fail2ban).

WT Hardening

WordPress hardening without touching your theme: XML-RPC, user enumeration, login limiter, security headers, strong passwords, event log.

WT Hardening vs WP Hide & Security Enhancer