---
title: "WEB-CMS-006 WordPress Shows Debug Output to Visitors"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-CMS-006.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-CMS-006.html
site: OpenVAPT, https://openvapt.com/
license: OpenVAPT Source-Available Licence 1.3, https://openvapt.com/legal/licence-text.html
modified: 2026-10-14
version: 0.1.0-alpha.6
---

# WEB-CMS-006 WordPress Shows Debug Output to Visitors

Checks wp-config.php for WP_DEBUG enabled without WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY set to false.

- Domain: Web Apps
- Severity: Medium
- Control category: Information Exposure
- Fix effort: low
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`
- CIS Controls v8: 16.7
- NIST CSF 2.0: PR.PS-01
- CWE: CWE-209, CWE-489
- OWASP Top 10 2021: A05:2021
- OWASP ASVS 4.0.3: 14.3.2
- OWASP WSTG v4.2: WSTG-ERRH-01
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: SI-11

## Why It Matters

With WP_DEBUG on and display not turned off, PHP notices and errors are printed into pages, revealing server paths, plugin names and sometimes database details to anyone browsing the site.

## How It Detects

Reads define('WP_DEBUG', ...) and define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', ...) from each wp-config.php found through the web roots.

## How to Fix

In production set define('WP_DEBUG', false);. If you need logs, use define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', '/path/outside/webroot/wp-debug.log'); together with define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);.

## How to Verify

```
grep -E "WP_DEBUG(_DISPLAY)?'" wp-config.php
```

## Learn the Theory

- [P6 Information Exposure and Misconfiguration](https://openvapt.com/academy/p6.md)
- [P14 CMS Hardening in Depth: WordPress, Joomla and Drupal](https://openvapt.com/academy/p14.md)

## References

- [WordPress Developer Resources, Debugging in WordPress](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/debug/debug-wordpress/)

## Source Code

https://github.com/OpenVAPT/openvapt/blob/574f7f3333c44b75a3c649e2d93a76d507f75adf/internal/checks/web/cms_more.go

Run it: `openvapt scan --only WEB-CMS-006`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain WEB-CMS-006`.

---

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