Wordfence on Multi Networks

  • Resolved SooBahkDo

    (@soobahkdo)


    5 years, 1 month ago

    Hello,

    We have a multi-network installation of WP which has seven (7) different WP multisite networks configured and each multisite network has a different qty of subsites.

    Using the plugin WP Multi Networks, all created networks still run using the same WP installation and the same plugins and themes; however, plugins activated at a network level are only active for all the sites on that particular network.

    So in our case we would need to activate Wordfence on each of the (7) networks.

    HOWEVER, because the code base is the same for all the networks, there is no need for it to run scans of the same codebase seven different times.

    It seems that we would be adequately protected by having Wordfence configured and running scans on only the Main network.

    Then in order for Wordfence to monitor code execution on the other six networks it seems we would need Wordfence activated on each network BUT with scanning disabled.

    What are the settings we need to configure in order to disable scanning but preserve code execution monitoring on the six additional networks?

    Thanks in advance.

    • This topic was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by SooBahkDo.
Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • WFSupport

    (@wfsupport)

    Thanks for reaching out. I read a little about what the WP Multi Networks plugin is and does. The way Wordfence works with multisite installations is to be installed at the network admin level. If I understand what that plugin does, Wordfence would be installed in the site that actually has the WP Multi Networks installed to (what you call the main site). That theoretically would cover all 7 of the networks that are sharing that same installation. I say theoretically because we haven’t ever tested with this plugin. Since it’s not listed as compatible with the last 3 major releases of WordPress and hasn’t been updated for 2 years on www.ads-software.com and since Jan 28, 2019 in Github, we likely wouldn’t be able to say if things would work correctly or not. It is important to note that Wordfence would only be available on the main site and not on the admin screens of individual sites or the admin areas of the 7 networks.

    When you install the firewall on the main site it should cover any folders under it.

    I hope this helps.

    Tim

    Thread Starter SooBahkDo

    (@soobahkdo)

    Thanks for the reply.

    I understand and agree.

    My experience with Multi Networks Plugin is that is isolates network active plugins to the specific network they are active on.

    So each different network can have different plugins active.

    That said, I concur with your assertion that activating Wordfence on the main network site would mean that it can scan the entire code base.

    The only question I still have is whether or not that single activated instance would be able to detect aberrant code execution on the other networks?

    My experience is that on a Multi-Network installation a plugin can totally crash a network and not affect any of the other networks. It seems that perhaps WP compartmentalizes the code execution somehow. That’s just a guess.

    That being said, I doubt Wordfence would be able to detect aberrant code behavior on any network other than the one where it is activated. I say that because unless it is specifically designed to see across networks, it is likely to be limited to the network it is active on.

    Now all that being said and absent specific Wordfence compatibility with Multi-Networks, I do believe that one instance active and scanning on the main site would provide installation level protection.

    However, it seems that to have site-level code execution protection it may be necessary to activate Wordfence on the main site of each sub-network and disable scanning for all those activations. There would be no need to scan the code base multiple times, but there would be a benefit having Wordfence monitor every site for aberrant code execution.

    What I plan to do is:

    SCENARIO A
    1) Configure a Multi-Network installation and activate and configure WordFence with scanning on only the main site.
    2) Then on some sites on a different network on that same installation, I will execute some actions that always trigger a Wordfence warning and whitelist option. If that still happens then, Wordfence is able to see across networks. (I doubt it will be able to do so since it is not specifically coded for Multi-Networks and all other regular WP plugins seem to be restriced to the network they are activated on.)

    SCENARIO B
    1) Configure a Multi-Network installation and activate and configure WordFence with scanning on only the main site.
    2) Activate Wordfence on several other networks on the installation and DISABLE SCANNING on all those supplemental activations. It seems that should leave Wordfence’s code behavior monitoring active and working on each site on each network where Wordfence is activated.
    3) Then on each different network on that same installation, I will execute some actions that always trigger a Wordfence warning and whitelist option. If that still happens then, Wordfence is able is able to detect aberrant code behavior, but will not be scanning the code base per activation.

    I realize there are a lot of if, buts, howevers and assumptions in here, but the logic seems reasonable and potentially workable until such time as Wordfence adds Multi-Network compatibility. I do not anticipate that to happen anytime soon – if ever- as I noted only 600 installations of the WP Multi-Network plugin, so I acknowledge this is a rare bird.

    I will report back at a later date with the findings of the tests described above.

    • This reply was modified 5 years ago by SooBahkDo.
    Thread Starter SooBahkDo

    (@soobahkdo)

    A helpful article
    https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/wordpress-multi-network/

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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