How to Update WordPress Security Keys for Better Site Protection

If you’ve spent any time working with WordPress—especially when configuring your site—you may have noticed a section in the wp-config.php file containing terms like AUTH_KEY, SECURE_AUTH_SALT, or simply “security keys” and “SALTs.” At first glance, these may seem cryptic, but they are crucial to maintaining the security and integrity of your website.

In this detailed guide, we’ll explain what WordPress SALTs and security keys are, how they function, and why regularly updating them is a fundamental part of WordPress security best practices.

🔍 What Are WordPress Security Keys and SALTs?

WordPress uses a system of cryptographic keys and SALTs (salted hashes) to secure login sessions and user data stored in cookies. These elements work together behind the scenes to protect your website from unauthorized access—even if someone gets hold of cookie data.

Let’s break this down further:

🔑 What Are Security Keys in WordPress?

Security keys in WordPress are cryptographically secure variables that are used to encrypt and validate user session data. Whenever a user logs into your WordPress website, WordPress stores authentication information in their browser in the form of cookies. These cookies are then used to keep the user logged in without having to enter their credentials repeatedly.

Without security keys, the cookie data would be relatively easy to tamper with. But by using strong, random strings known as security keys, WordPress encrypts this information and makes it nearly impossible to decode or manipulate without the proper key.

There are four primary security keys in WordPress:

• AUTH_KEY – Used to verify the authenticity of logged-in users.
• SECURE_AUTH_KEY – Used for authentication when using SSL (HTTPS).
• LOGGED_IN_KEY – Determines whether a user is logged in.
• NONCE_KEY – Protects against certain types of attacks such as CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery).

Each of these keys adds a layer of encryption, making unauthorized access significantly more difficult.

🧂 What Are SALTs in WordPress?

In addition to the four security keys, WordPress uses another set of cryptographic variables called SALTs. SALT stands for “salted hash”, and in cryptography, a salt is a random string added to data before it’s hashed. The idea is to make even predictable data (like passwords) harder to crack by increasing complexity.

SALTs in WordPress ensure that the output of the encrypted data is always unique, even if two users have the same password. This prevents attackers from using pre-computed tables (like rainbow tables) to reverse-engineer encrypted data.

WordPress generates four SALT keys to correspond with the security keys:

• AUTH_SALT
• SECURE_AUTH_SALT
• LOGGED_IN_SALT
• NONCE_SALT

Together, the keys and SALTs create an incredibly robust encryption system for cookies and sessions. Without the correct matching key and salt, the session data is effectively unreadable.

What Do Security Keys and SALTs Actually Do?

Every time a user logs in to your WordPress website, a cookie is created in their browser. This cookie stores authentication information that keeps them logged in—so they don’t have to re-enter their username and password on every page.

However, cookies are inherently vulnerable. They can be intercepted, stolen, or forged, particularly over unsecured networks or from compromised devices.

To protect these cookies from unauthorized access or tampering, WordPress uses four security keys and four SALTs:

🔑 Security Keys:

• AUTH_KEY
• SECURE_AUTH_KEY
• LOGGED_IN_KEY
• NONCE_KEY

These keys encrypt and validate the information stored in the user’s cookies. They ensure that only someone with the correct, matching keys can decrypt or modify this information.

🧂 SALTs (Salted Hashes):

• AUTH_SALT
• SECURE_AUTH_SALT
• LOGGED_IN_SALT
• NONCE_SALT

SALTs work by randomizing the encryption process, making it even more secure. Even if an attacker knows the original input (such as a password), the addition of SALTs ensures the encrypted result is unique and unpredictable.

🛡️ Why Are These Keys and SALTs So Important?

In simpler terms, they act as digital locks on your user session data.

Without them, an attacker who obtains a user’s cookie might be able to gain access to your admin dashboard, impersonate users, or perform malicious actions while appearing as a legitimate user.

With them in place, the attacker would need to know the exact values of your site’s security keys and SALTs to exploit that cookie—and these are long, randomly generated strings that are virtually impossible to guess.

Real-world Example:

Imagine you are logged in as an administrator. Your browser stores a session cookie that says, “This person is the admin.” That cookie is encrypted with your site’s security keys.

If an attacker intercepts your cookie and your keys haven’t changed in years, they could reuse it to log in as you. But if you rotate those keys regularly, that stolen cookie becomes useless—it no longer matches the current encryption signature.

Learn about top security plugins here.

⚙️ Why Updating Security Keys and SALTs Is Absolutely Necessary

Although WordPress automatically generates these keys during installation, they do not refresh on their own. Once set, they remain the same indefinitely, unless you manually change them.

While having these keys in place is a strong security measure, failing to update them over time introduces serious vulnerabilities.

🔎 What Happens When You Don’t Update Them?

1. Stolen Session Cookies Stay Valid
   • If a malicious actor steals a cookie, they can keep using it until the keys are changed.
   • Even if you change the user’s password, the session remains valid without key rotation.
2. Former Employees or Developers Might Retain Access
   • Anyone who once had legitimate access might retain that access via persistent sessions, even if their account is deleted.
3. Exposure After Plugin or Hosting Breach
   • If your server or a plugin is compromised, your wp-config.php file—where the keys are stored—might be exposed. Without changing them, attackers could continue exploiting that vulnerability.
4. Decreased Effectiveness of Password and Role Changes
   • Changing user roles or passwords isn’t always enough if the underlying session remains active via cookies encrypted with old keys.

Specific Risks of Not Rotating Security Keys

❗ Persistent Unauthorized Access

One of the biggest risks of not regularly updating your WordPress security keys is persistent unauthorized access. When security keys remain unchanged for long periods, stolen session cookies can continue to grant access to malicious actors. This is because cookies used for user sessions are encrypted with your security keys. If an attacker successfully intercepts or steals a user’s session cookie—say, through a man-in-the-middle attack, a compromised browser extension, or a server breach—they can use that cookie to gain unauthorized access to your WordPress dashboard, even after a user has logged out or changed their password.

If the security keys are never rotated, the stolen session cookie remains valid. This allows attackers to continue using that cookie to maintain their access indefinitely, bypassing the usual security measures like login credentials, password changes, and account role modifications.

Impact:

• Attackers can stay logged in to your site and perform unauthorized actions without needing to log in again.
• Even if users change their passwords or log out, the malicious actors can still use the old session cookie, retaining access to sensitive data and features.

❗ Session Hijacking — Especially Over Public or Compromised Networks

Session hijacking occurs when an attacker steals an active session from a legitimate user, often by intercepting the session cookie. This can be particularly dangerous when users access your website over public Wi-Fi networks or compromised networks (like in public cafes or shared office spaces). Public networks typically have weaker security protocols, making it easier for attackers to eavesdrop on unencrypted communication between the user’s browser and your server.

If your security keys are not regularly rotated, hacked session cookies can provide a clear path for attackers to hijack ongoing user sessions. They can then impersonate users, access their accounts, and carry out malicious actions (such as deleting content, changing settings, or viewing private data). Even if you have SSL encryption on your website, session hijacking can still occur if the attacker manages to intercept the cookie before it’s encrypted by the browser.

Impact:

• Attackers impersonate legitimate users (especially admins) by using stolen session cookies.
• Session hijacking can lead to severe breaches, including unauthorized access to private information or malicious actions that compromise your site’s integrity.

❗ Replay Attacks Where Stolen Cookies Are Reused

A replay attack happens when an attacker intercepts a valid session cookie and reuses it at a later time to gain access to the site. Because the session cookie is tied to the security keys used to encrypt it, old or unrotated keys make it easier for attackers to perform this type of attack.

In this scenario, even if the login session appears to have expired or the user has logged out, the attacker can reuse the stolen session cookie to bypass authentication and continue to access the site as if they were the legitimate user. Since the session cookie still aligns with the encryption values of the old security keys, it remains valid and usable, allowing unauthorized access to persist.

Impact:

• Attackers can bypass authentication and re-enter your site without needing to authenticate again.
• This is especially dangerous if the attacker gains access to admin roles or sensitive information.
• The risk of replay attacks is heightened if the site hasn’t updated its keys for an extended period.

❗ Difficulty Enforcing Logout for All Users

When security keys are not rotated regularly, enforcing a logout for all users becomes significantly more difficult. In WordPress, logging users out requires invalidating the session cookies stored in their browsers. When you update the security keys, old cookies become invalid because they are no longer encrypted with the new keys. This forces users to log in again, thus ensuring that no session can remain active with outdated security credentials.

Without regularly updating your keys, you risk users staying logged in for extended periods—even after critical security events, like password resets or suspected breaches. This can make it impossible to ensure that all users are securely logged out if an attacker is actively exploiting a vulnerability.

For example, after a breach or security incident, you’d want to log out all users immediately to protect your site from further exploitation. Without updating the keys, it’s impossible to enforce a clean logout, and old sessions remain active, leaving your website vulnerable.

Impact:

• Users who should have been logged out remain logged in, allowing potential attackers to continue exploiting their active sessions.
• Security events like password resets or role modifications become less effective because attackers might still have valid session cookies.

❗ Weakened Protection Against Brute-Force or Dictionary Attacks

A brute-force attack is when an attacker tries multiple combinations of usernames and passwords in rapid succession until the correct combination is found. Similarly, a dictionary attack uses a precompiled list of common password guesses to find the correct one.

Security keys play a crucial role in strengthening your site’s defenses against these attacks. When you rotate your security keys regularly, you make it much more difficult for attackers to successfully carry out brute-force or dictionary attacks. This is because, without the proper keys, attackers cannot decrypt the login cookies used during these types of attacks.

If the keys are stale, attackers could exploit predictable, outdated keys that may have been exposed through previous security breaches, weak key generation, or poor practices. This significantly weakens your site’s defense against these common forms of attack.

Impact:

• Attackers can more easily exploit weak or outdated security keys to carry out brute-force or dictionary attacks.
• Regularly rotating keys adds an additional layer of complexity, making these attacks far more difficult to execute successfully.

How to Change the WordPress Security Keys Using Plugin and Manual Method

Plugin Method (Easy Steps)

Installing a plugin for the specific purpose is how WordPress authentication unique keys and salts are achieved. 

For the WordPress ecosystem, it should come as no surprise that there is a plugin that accomplishes only this one thing: Salt Shaker.

The Salt Shaker is quite easy to use.

• Use the Plugins menu on WordPress admin to Install and Activate the plugin.
• Then go to the Tools menu > Salt Shaker. 

• To change the salt setting, click on “Change WordPress Salt Kets” to “Monthly,”  and if you wish to change the key to “Daily or Weekly,” you can do that too.

• Finally, click on Change Now, which will need all users to log in again and WordPress salt keys will update instantly.

Manual Method

To manually access and manage your WordPress security keys and salts, use an FTP client or the File Manager application in your cPanel WordPress hosting account.

• Locate the wp-config.php file in the root directory of your WordPress installation.

• Using a text editor, open the wp-config.php file. Within the wp-config.php file, search for the section where your WordPress security keys and salts are defined. They should be clearly labeled.

• If your security keys and salts are not defined or are empty, you can generate a new set of keys by visiting the WordPress Security Key Generator page.

define('AUTH_KEY',         '>~RT!oH}1D]fiF>+3DksgKA2>2!l][>oKZl:u4b-qchu;uV-V/|}=@|w&_ppa/1[');

define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY',  'St3s+.-Y~]&D*JoXLMBISLj{Ooz9EkHeRS&dN|[emgr*f=l!t,]YI!dGKFn|tyYo');

define('LOGGED_IN_KEY',    'S1]%1ll#44Y+;:vyhh%,awcfw*&H`*Mz3<+gV4JD-wMBnUtb}W$S-=9k-4)m|)?q');

define('NONCE_KEY',        '}?;r^|AMOa5#~O>>+:)4|X?>M|<@a)HY3Z*hy2ZOa>OKTBg+&1^M%8rh|<*zI^l[');

define('AUTH_SALT',        'UA **b 3i<5~,ry,_@iK,crPZ*np~eqW`$O~~TgqAXb8Nnw6|!^|nQN]18Az36.(');

define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', ')Y,D+d+dB[/ecYBI@^vF$G6WCV@q/5Z=7<ZnUUA`h(k+;sFD$3riukCvMXe$8C,]');

define('LOGGED_IN_SALT',   'SBswg=e{F-K8{%~|8-[{/jCP4qx2.S%m p{E`3q&--l+T|!YC=$DEQ~JVAut8%JK');

define('NONCE_SALT',       'vlZn%e}E&2MhGq4EUqY<la-LE|,=ueX<;?Hb]BZ56_P,/$V-ct8CfLM&:+5,VW_^');

• Copy the generated security keys and salts.
• Paste the copied keys and salts into the appropriate sections within your wp-config.php file, replacing any existing keys if necessary.

• Save the changes to the wp-config.php file, and you’re done!

Best Practices for Managing and Updating WordPress Security Keys

Maintaining updated security keys in your WordPress installation is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to enhance your site’s security. By regularly rotating your security keys, you can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access, ensuring that your user sessions and sensitive data remain safe. Below are best practices for managing and updating WordPress security keys effectively.

✅ Key Management Recommendations

🔄 Rotate Keys Regularly

Rotating your WordPress security keys and SALTs (security salts) on a regular basis is essential to maintaining the security integrity of your site. Here’s when you should rotate your keys:

• Every 6 to 12 months: As part of routine security maintenance, it’s good practice to rotate your security keys and SALTs periodically. This ensures that your site stays protected from any potential threats arising from compromised or outdated keys.
• Immediately after a security event: If your site experiences a data breach, malware infection, or any suspicious activity, you should update your security keys immediately to prevent attackers from gaining further access through stolen or intercepted session cookies.
• Discovery of vulnerabilities: If you become aware of a vulnerable plugin or theme that could potentially expose your keys or site to attacks, update your keys right away. Vulnerable software can be exploited by attackers to gain access, and rotating the keys limits the effectiveness of any exploit.
• Changes in your team: Whenever there are changes in your development team or admin users, it’s wise to update your security keys. This helps secure your site in case former team members still have access to sensitive data or user sessions.

Regularly rotating security keys ensures that any potential attack vectors associated with old, compromised keys are eliminated and that attackers cannot maintain persistent access to your site.

🔐 Use the Official WordPress Key Generator

It’s essential to use the official WordPress Key Generator to generate your security keys and SALTs. Do not attempt to create or guess your own keys, as manually generated keys might not be random or complex enough, potentially compromising your site’s security.

The WordPress Key Generator produces strong, random, and unique keys every time, ensuring maximum protection. These keys are a critical part of encrypting your user sessions and login cookies, so using a trusted source to generate them is key to preventing any vulnerabilities in your site’s security.

💾 Always Backup Before Making Changes

Before you make any changes to your wp-config.php file—which contains your WordPress security keys—always perform a full backup of your site. This is essential to avoid any downtime in case of an error or issue.

The wp-config.php file is a critical configuration file, and any syntax error, even a small one, can cause your WordPress site to become temporarily inaccessible. By having a backup, you can easily restore the original file if something goes wrong during the update process.

🚪 Log Out All Users After Updating Security Keys

When you rotate your security keys, you automatically invalidate all current login sessions. This action is essential for ensuring the security of your site. It forces all users to log in again, clearing out any unauthorized or persistent sessions that may have been hijacked or remain active due to stolen session cookies.

While this may be an inconvenience for legitimate users, it is a crucial step after updating your keys to ensure that any malicious access is immediately terminated. Any attacker who might have stolen a session cookie will find that it no longer works, as it is encrypted with the old keys, and once the keys are updated, the session cookie becomes invalid.

It’s also a good idea to notify your users in advance that they will need to log in again due to security updates. This helps minimize confusion and encourages them to secure their accounts by using strong passwords or enabling two-factor authentication.

Don’t Wait—Protect Your WordPress Site Today

Updating your WordPress security keys is a simple yet powerful step toward strengthening your website’s security. By regularly changing these keys, you can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information, protecting both your site and user data from potential breaches.

Whether you opt to manually generate new keys or streamline the process with a plugin, maintaining up-to-date security keys demonstrates your commitment to keeping your WordPress site secure and trustworthy.

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FAQs on Security Keys for WordPress

How often should I change the security keys for WordPress?

It’s recommended to change the security-keys for WordPress periodically, such as every 6 to 12 months, or whenever there’s a security concern or suspected breach. Regularly updating these keys helps to bolster the overall security posture of your website and minimize the risk of unauthorized access.

Can I manually change the security keys for WordPress?

Yes, you can manually change the security-keys for WordPress by accessing the wp-config.php file in your WordPress installation directory. Simply generate new security-keys using online tools or WordPress’s built-in generator, and replace the existing keys in the wp-config.php file with the new ones.

Are there plugins available to simplify the process of changing security keys for WordPress?

Yes, the WordPress repository contains a number of plugins that make updating security-keys easier. These plugins often offer automated key generation and replacement functionalities, making it easier for users to manage their WordPress security settings without the need for manual intervention.

What happens if I don’t change the security keys for WordPress?

Failure to change the security-keys for WordPress regularly may leave your website vulnerable to security threats. Outdated keys increase the risk of unauthorized access, potentially compromising user accounts, sensitive data, and the overall integrity of your WordPress site. Therefore, it’s crucial to prioritize the regular maintenance and updating of security-keys to safeguard your website against potential security breaches.