The ServerBorn blog

Notes from the forge.

Performance engineering, security hardening, and WordPress operations. Written by the people who run the metal.

XML-RPC: The Legacy Door Most Sites Should Close

xmlrpc.php was built for a web that no longer exists, and today it mostly serves attackers looking for brute-force amplification and DDoS leverage. Here is how to shut it down cleanly, or lock it down for the integrations that still need it.

by Robbie·Jul 18, 2026·5 min read