---
title: "WordPress Woes: Making Malcure Work When WP CLI Fails"
date: 2024-02-20
author: "Shiv"
featured_image: "https://malcure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/making-malcure-work.jpg"
categories:
  - name: "Security"
    url: "/blog/security.md"
---

# WordPress Woes: Making Malcure Work When WP CLI Fails

Sometimes a WordPress website is so corrupt, one might assume it’s beyond repair and it may be time to wipe off the slate and start from scratch.

Hold that thought for a minute.

Here’s how to test it out. Type a simple command like this and wp-cli hangs with no output.

```
wp option get siteurl
```

Nothing… nada… zilch…

It’s time to **start cleaning**.

First thing is to [clean up WordPress core.](https://malcure.com/blog/security/how-to-reinstall-infected-wordpress-core-using-wp-cli/)

You’ll need access to **SSH/bash** to follow this guide. If that’s not possible, your next best option is to use **FTP or a file manager** to delete the `wp-admin` and `wp-includes` folders and then re-upload them.

If you’re still with us, let’s prepare a workspace. Assuming you’re in the root of your WordPress installation, execute the following commands to create and enter a directory named `cleanup`:

```
mkdir cleanup
```

```
cd cleanup
```

Now, adapt the following command to match your installation needs:

```
wp core download --force --skip-content --locale=nl_NL --version=6.4.3
```

Next, we’ll execute what we like to call the “**nuke**” command. **This will remove the existing WordPress core directories and replace them with clean versions.** This deletes WordPress core and your site will be dead for a few microseconds. Beware, you’ve been warned!

```
rm -rvf ../wp-admin && rm -rvf ../wp-includes && cp -rv wp-admin ../ && wp -rv wp-includes ../ && cp -rv wp-content ../ && cp ./* ../
```

This nuke command will remove WordPress core and reinstate the clean WordPress core files.

Voilà! You’re almost done. This process reinstates clean WordPress core files, setting a strong foundation for further troubleshooting and [malware scanning](https://malcure.com/malware-removal-plugin/how-use-malcure-plugin/).

Let’s remove the temporary folder that we created.

```
cd ..
```

```
rm -rv cleanup
```