What Is CMS Hardening?
IntermediateQuick Answer
TL;DR
CMS hardening is the process of reducing your CMS's attack surface by removing unnecessary features, tightening configurations, and applying security best practices. This includes disabling unused APIs and endpoints, removing default admin accounts, restricting file upload types, setting strict file permissions, hiding CMS version information, configuring security headers, and limiting database privileges. Hardening is especially critical for self-hosted CMS platforms where you control the server environment.
Key Takeaways
- Disable unused features, APIs, and default accounts
- Restrict file uploads to safe types and scan for malware
- Configure security headers (CSP, X-Frame-Options, HSTS)
- Hide CMS version info and remove installation files