by Paul 4.8 (1,039 reviews)

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning

Name: Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning
Rating: 4.8 (1039 reviews)
Author: Paul

Smart WordPress security that blocks bots automatically, guides you to what matters, and repairs problems — without drowning you in noise.

Shield Security ranks #938 among WordPress.org plugins with 30,000+ active installations, is #47 of 1,619 in the Authentication category, a 4.8/5 rating from 1,039 reviews, and was last updated Sep 21, 2026. Data from WordPress.org, refreshed twice daily — see methodology.

Compatible with WP 7.1.2

v22.2.3 Current Version v22.2.3

Updated 2 weeks ago Last Update on 21 Sep, 2026

Refreshed 9 hours ago Last Refreshed on

#47 of 1,619 in Authentication Top 5% by installs Downloads -74.6% this week Actively maintained

View on WordPress.org

Rank

#938

— No change

Active Installs

30K+

-24.1%

KW Avg Position

31.4

0.4 worse

Downloads

12.9M

+548 today

Support Resolved

100%

— No change

Rating

96%

Review 4.8 out of 5

4.8 (1,039 reviews)

Next Milestone 40K

Total Progress 86.3%

30K+ 40K+

Ranks to Climb

Growth Needed

8,000,000

Active Installs

Pro

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Need 1,367 more installs to reach 40K+

Rank Changes

Current #938

Change

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Active Installs Growth

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Active Installs 0,000,000+

Growth +0.0%

Peak 0,000,000

Downloads Growth

Downloads

Growth

Peak

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Reviews & Ratings

4.8

1,039 reviews

Overall 96%

969 (93%)

26 (3%)

12 (1%)

9 (1%)

23 (2%)

Support Threads Overview

Resolved

Unresolved

Total Threads

Resolved

Unresolved

100%

Resolution Rate

Security History

Source: WPVulnerability

11 known vulnerabilities on record · 4 in the last 24 months · checked 1 day ago

Feb 18, 2026

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning [wp-simple-firewall] < 21.0.10

CVE-2026-0722 · Fixed in v21.0.10
Feb 18, 2026

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning [wp-simple-firewall] < 21.0.10

CVE-2026-0561 · Fixed in v21.0.10
Feb 18, 2026

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning [wp-simple-firewall] < 21.0.10

CVE-2025-14427 · Fixed in v21.0.10
Jan 15, 2026

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning [wp-simple-firewall] < 21.0.10

CVE-2025-15370 · Fixed in v21.0.10
Aug 5, 2024

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning [wp-simple-firewall] < 20.0.6

CVE-2024-7313 · Fixed in v20.0.6
Jun 1, 2024

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning [wp-simple-firewall] < 19.1.11

CVE-2024-4344 · Fixed in v19.1.11
Feb 5, 2024

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning [wp-simple-firewall] < 18.5.10

CVE-2023-6989 · Fixed in v18.5.10
Jan 16, 2024

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning [wp-simple-firewall] < 18.5.8

CVE-2024-22163 · Fixed in v18.5.8
Apr 25, 2023

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning [wp-simple-firewall] < 17.0.18

CVE-2023-0993 · Fixed in v17.0.18
Apr 25, 2023

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning [wp-simple-firewall] < 17.0.18

CVE-2023-0992 · Fixed in v17.0.18

Showing the 10 most recent of 11 records.

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Plugin Details

Version: 22.2.3
Last Updated: Sep 21, 2026
Requires WP: 5.7+
Tested Up To: 7.1.2
PHP Version: 7.4 or higher
Author: Paul

Support & Rating

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.8
Reviews: 1,039
Support Threads: 1
Resolved: 100%

Keywords

2FA Activity Log bots firewall security

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TL;DR

AI summary of the plugin's readme

Shield Security is for WordPress site owners, agencies, and MSPs who want protection that runs itself without constant attention. It automatically blocks bots and brute-force attacks, repairs altered core files, and organizes remaining security tasks by priority instead of overwhelming users with raw alerts.

Automatic IP blocking
Automatic core file repair
Automatic bot recognition
silentCAPTCHA form protection
Two-factor authentication (2FA)
Brute force login protection
Core file integrity scanning
CrowdSec integration

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning

Shield assigns offense points to visitors who trigger security rules — failed logins, firewall blocks, silentCAPTCHA failures, and other signals. When a visitor's points reach the configured threshold, they are blocked automatically. You can review blocked IPs, adjust thresholds, or add manual rules from the IP Rules section.

It analyses passive signals — timing, form interaction behaviour, and request characteristics — to distinguish automated requests from genuine visitors. There is no challenge to complete, no external site keys to set up, and no JavaScript that can break your forms. Everything stays on your server.

Your host or network firewall protects the server perimeter. Shield works inside WordPress, where it understands login attempts, user changes, plugin activity, file integrity, and attack patterns specific to WordPress. The two layers solve different problems and complement each other.

Yes. silentCAPTCHA protects the WordPress comment form in the free plugin. ShieldPRO extends coverage to Contact Form 7, Ninja Forms, WooCommerce, and a range of other integrations.

Generally, no. Running two plugins that control the same login or request flows leads to duplicate blocking, noisier logs, and harder troubleshooting. If you keep another plugin active, disable the areas where they overlap.

This usually happens after adding your own IP to the block list, or enabling 2FA when your site cannot deliver email codes. Open an FTP or file manager connection to <your WordPress root>/wp-content/plugins/wp-simple-firewall/. Create a file in that folder called forceoff. Load any page on your site — Shield will switch off. Delete forceoff from the server once you are back in. I'm not receiving my 2FA email code. Email delivery depends on your site's mail configuration, not Shield. If it is unreliable, set up a dedicated transactional email service or switch users to an authenticator app instead.

Yes to both. Shield supports CIDR notation for IP ranges, and bypass entries always take precedence over block rules.

Yes. ShieldPRO includes White Label controls to rename and rebrand Shield for client sites.