How to remove unwanted Hardening Checks

Remove specific Site Hardening checks from MainWP scan results using a PHP filter in the Custom Dashboard extension.

MainWP performs Site Hardening checks on your child sites to identify potential issues. You can disable specific checks that are not relevant to your setup using a code snippet.

What You’ll Learn

• How to disable individual Site Hardening checks
• How to disable multiple checks at once
• Available check identifiers

Prerequisites

• Custom Dashboard extension (free)

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Why Remove Site Hardening Checks

Some security checks may not apply to your environment. For example:

• You intentionally keep debug mode enabled on development sites
• Your server configuration requires specific PHP settings
• Certain inactive themes are kept for testing purposes

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Disable a Single Check

1. Open Custom Dashboard

   Navigate to MainWP > Add-ons > Custom Dashboard.

2. Add the PHP code

   Go to the PHP tab and add this code:

   add_filter( 'mainwp_security_issues_stats', 'mycustom_mainwp_security_issues_stats', 10, 3 );
   function mycustom_mainwp_security_issues_stats( $false, $issues, $website ) {
       if( is_array( $issues ) && isset( $issues['sec_inactive_themes'] ) ) {
           $issues['sec_inactive_themes'] = 'Y';
       }
       return $issues;
   }
   
3. Customize the identifier

   Replace 'sec_inactive_themes' with the identifier for the Site Hardening check you want to disable.

4. Save changes

   Click Save Changes.

   

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Available Check Identifiers

Check	Identifier
WordPress Version	'wp_uptodate'
PHP Version	'phpversion_matched'
PHP Error Reporting	'php_reporting'
Database Error Reporting	'db_reporting'
SSL Protocol	'sslprotocol'
Debug Mode	'debug_disabled'
Outdated Plugins	'sec_outdated_plugins'
Inactive Plugins	'sec_inactive_plugins'
Outdated Themes	'sec_outdated_themes'
Inactive Themes	'sec_inactive_themes'

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Disable Multiple Checks

To disable several checks at once, use this code and uncomment the checks you want to disable:

add_filter( 'mainwp_security_issues_stats', 'mycustom_mainwp_security_issues_stats', 10, 3 );
function mycustom_mainwp_security_issues_stats( $false, $issues, $website ) {
    if( is_array( $issues ) ) {
        //$issues['wp_uptodate'] = 'Y';
        //$issues['phpversion_matched'] = 'Y';
        //$issues['php_reporting'] = 'Y';
        //$issues['db_reporting'] = 'Y';
        //$issues['sslprotocol'] = 'Y';
        $issues['debug_disabled'] = 'Y';
        $issues['sec_outdated_plugins'] = 'Y';
        $issues['sec_inactive_plugins'] = 'Y';
        $issues['sec_outdated_themes'] = 'Y';
        $issues['sec_inactive_themes'] = 'Y';
    }
    return $issues;
}

Lines starting with // are commented out and the check remains active. Remove the // to disable that check.

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Restore Checks

To re-enable a check:

1. Return to the Custom Dashboard extension
2. Remove the corresponding line from the PHP code (or comment it out with //)
3. Click Save Changes

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Self-Check Checklist

• Custom Dashboard extension installed
• PHP code added to PHP tab
• Correct identifiers used for checks to disable
• Changes saved
• Site Hardening scan no longer shows disabled checks

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Related Resources

• Custom Dashboard Extension - Extension documentation
• Vulnerability Checker Extension - Security scanning
• How Secure is MainWP - Security overview