Attacks Dictionary
DDoS
Definition
A DDoS attack floods a site or its infrastructure with traffic so legitimate visitors cannot get through.
Also called: denial of service, distributed denial of service
Why it matters for WordPress
Even a cheap flood can knock a shared host offline. Application-layer floods target login, search, XML-RPC, or expensive plugin endpoints so a little traffic does a lot of damage.
How it shows up in practice
- Site timeouts while the server CPU or network is pegged
- Huge request rates to one URL
- Host or CDN abuse notices
What to do
- Put the site behind a CDN or host WAF that absorbs volumetric noise.
- Rate-limit login, XML-RPC, and other expensive endpoints.
- Cache aggressively for anonymous traffic.
- Work with the host; application plugins alone cannot stop a large network flood.
- After an attack, check whether the flood hid a separate intrusion attempt.
In WP Security Ninja
Large volumetric floods belong at the CDN or host edge. On the application side, Cloud Firewall can cut known-bad IPs, countries you do not serve, and exploit-shaped requests, and 404 Guard helps with noisy probe traffic that hammers missing URLs. Neither replaces an edge DDoS service for a big network flood.
Related terms
Nearby ideas in the dictionary
- WordPress WAF A WAF filters HTTP traffic to block common web attacks before they reach WordPress.
- Rate limiting Rate limiting caps how often an action can happen from an IP or account, which slows automated abuse.
- XML-RPC XML-RPC is an older WordPress API endpoint attackers often abuse for brute force and amplification.