Why did my Wordpress blog freak out when I wasn't looking?

June 14, 2007 11:01 AM

Wordpress filter: Why did my Wordpress blog freak out when I wasn't looking? What could have caused it to change themes all on its own?

So I have a blog running on a Wordpress installation (2.1) with a customised theme, and the other evening as I clicked past, I saw that eeep!! it was showing the Kubrick default theme!! Even though I hadn't touched it/changed it/breathed on it!! Cue panic attack.

I quickly went into the admin panel and changed it back to the custom theme, which seemed fine. I peeked into the server files and everything seemed to still be in its right place, so I backed everything up again (files, database, etc. - just in case) and changed my password (just in case - though I can't imagine anyone wanting to hack in just to change a theme). A reader then emailed and said that when she went to leave a comment the other day (not sure how many days ago), the theme was fine but the popup comment box was in the blue and white default theme, and it wouldn't accept her comment. I never saw any of that.

I *swear* I didn't "accidentally" change the theme. So what gives? All seems to be fine at the moment, but what could have caused this behind-the-scenes freak out? And what else should I be checking for?

(I'm not an idiot, but what I've learned about Wordpress I've mostly learned through lots of trial and error. And I'm not terribly savvy when it comes to server stuff. As far as I can tell it's mySQL version 5, PHP version 5.0.2 )

posted by wayward vagabond to computers & internet (9 comments total)

If you have an older version of WP, there are security exploits out there that can remotely log someone in, and change the templates to include spam links hidden from view.
posted by mathowie at 11:51 AM on June 14, 2007

I had this problem too on one of my blogs. As did many others on the Wordpress forums. I could never figure out what exactly was causing it. So instead I renamed my theme 'default'.
posted by todbot at 11:57 AM on June 14, 2007

You're not hosted by Dreamhost, are you? They recently lost a whole bunch of user information, maybe you account was affected.
posted by theiconoclast31 at 12:28 PM on June 14, 2007

Dreamhost once upgraded my WP site without warning, and it reset my theme. WP has been a security issue in the past, so they try to move quickly when stuff comes up I think.
posted by crickets at 12:30 PM on June 14, 2007

If you have an older version of WP, there are security exploits out there that can remotely log someone in, and change the templates to include spam links hidden from view.

Hmmm, how would I know if this has happened? What am I looking for in the templates?
posted by wayward vagabond at 1:08 PM on June 14, 2007

You're not hosted by Dreamhost, are you?

Nope - not hosted by dreamhost. Lycos.


I had this problem too on one of my blogs. As did many others on the Wordpress forums.

I looked through the forums and didn't see anything pertaining to this - could you point me in the direction of the thread?

I'll go have another look. And maybe rename my theme to default ;)
posted by wayward vagabond at 1:11 PM on June 14, 2007

ah, I found the thread on the Wordpress forums... thank you! i'm gonna try renaming my theme as suggested above.
posted by wayward vagabond at 1:35 PM on June 14, 2007

how would I know if this has happened? What am I looking for in the templates?

This is a good explanation of what you might see. You'll want to update to wordpress 2.2 to be sure.
posted by mathowie at 2:06 PM on June 14, 2007

thanks for that - will do. cheers.
posted by wayward vagabond at 2:29 PM on June 14, 2007