{keyword}/2019/wp-includes/wlwmanifest.xml

Automated bots crawl the web looking for this file. Because it is a "footprint" of a WordPress site, hackers use it to identify that your site runs on WordPress. They may then try to exploit known vulnerabilities associated with that specific version or year.

The wlwmanifest.xml file is a legitimate part of the WordPress core. Its purpose is to support , an older blog-publishing application from Microsoft.

Here is a quick guide on what this file is and why you might be seeing it. 1. What is wlwmanifest.xml ?

If you are seeing this path in your site's analytics or a Google search (often with a date like /2019/ or a placeholder like {keyword} ), it is usually due to one of two things:

This string is a classic "dork" (a search query used to find specific website architectures). Seeing this in logs is a great way to identify the early "reconnaissance" phase of an automated attack.

If you see {keyword} or strange dates in URLs that shouldn't exist, run a security scan using a plugin like Wordfence or Sucuri to ensure your site hasn't been compromised. If you are a Security Researcher/Student:

It looks like you’ve come across a common string associated with sites and search engine queries. While this path looks like a technical file, it is often discussed in two very different contexts: website maintenance and cybersecurity awareness .

Most modern sites don't need Windows Live Writer. You can hide the link to this file from your site's (making it harder for bots to find) by adding this line to your theme's functions.php file: remove_action('wp_head', 'wlwmanifest_link'); Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard