ActivityPub Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub

Connect your site to the Open Social Web and let millions of users follow, share, and interact with your content from Mastodon, Pixelfed, and more.

6K active installs v8.0.1 PHP 7.4+ WP 6.5+ Updated Mar 11, 2026
activitypubactivitystreamfediverseindiewebsocial-web
99
A · Safe
CVEs total5
Unpatched0
Last CVEJan 5, 2024
Safety Verdict

Is ActivityPub Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 99/100

ActivityPub has a strong security track record. Known vulnerabilities have been patched promptly.

5 known CVEsLast CVE: Jan 5, 2024Updated 23d ago
Risk Assessment

The ActivityPub plugin v8.0.1 presents a mixed security posture. On the positive side, static analysis reveals a small attack surface with no unprotected entry points, a high percentage of SQL queries using prepared statements, and a good number of capability checks. However, there are areas of concern. The taint analysis shows one flow with unsanitized paths, which, while not flagged as critical or high severity, warrants attention as it could potentially lead to vulnerabilities if not properly handled. Additionally, the plugin has a history of five known medium-severity vulnerabilities, with common types including Missing Authorization and Cross-site Scripting. While there are currently no unpatched CVEs, this pattern of past vulnerabilities suggests a need for ongoing vigilance and robust security practices during development and updates.

Key Concerns

  • Taint flow with unsanitized path
  • Past medium severity CVEs (5 total)
  • Output escaping is not fully proper (66% escaped)
Vulnerabilities
5

ActivityPub Security Vulnerabilities

CVEs by Year

4 CVEs in 2023
2023
1 CVE in 2024
2024
Patched Has unpatched

Severity Breakdown

Medium
5

5 total CVEs

CVE-2023-52199medium · 5.3Missing Authorization

ActivityPub <= 1.0.5 - Missing Authorization

Jan 5, 2024 Patched in 1.0.6 (18d)
CVE-2023-3746medium · 6.4Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

ActivityPub <= 0.17.0 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Post Content

Sep 25, 2023 Patched in 1.0.0 (120d)
CVE-2023-5057medium · 6.4Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

ActivityPub <= 0.17.0 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via User Metadata

Sep 25, 2023 Patched in 1.0.0 (120d)
CVE-2023-3707medium · 6.5Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

ActivityPub <= 0.17.0 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Insecure Direct Object Reference to Sensitive Post Content Exposure

Sep 25, 2023 Patched in 1.0.0 (120d)
CVE-2023-3706medium · 4.3Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

ActivityPub <= 0.17.0 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Insecure Direct Object Reference to Sensitive Post Title Exposure

Sep 25, 2023 Patched in 1.0.0 (120d)
Code Analysis
Analyzed Mar 16, 2026

ActivityPub Code Analysis

Dangerous Functions
0
Raw SQL Queries
3
59 prepared
Unescaped Output
185
353 escaped
Nonce Checks
1
Capability Checks
8
File Operations
2
External Requests
0
Bundled Libraries
0

SQL Query Safety

95% prepared62 total queries

Output Escaping

66% escaped538 total outputs
Data Flows
1 unsanitized

Data Flow Analysis

8 flows1 with unsanitized paths
greet (includes\wp-admin\import\class-starter-kit.php:543)
Source (user input) Sink (dangerous op) Sanitizer Transform Unsanitized Sanitized
Attack Surface

ActivityPub Attack Surface

Entry Points1
Unprotected0

Shortcodes 1

[ap_content] includes\class-shortcodes.php:197
WordPress Hooks 5
actioninitincludes\class-migration.php:163
actioninitincludes\class-migration.php:169
actionwp_headincludes\class-router.php:169
actionload-settings_page_activitypubincludes\wp-admin\class-settings-fields.php:23
filteractivitypub_transformerintegration\load.php:140

Scheduled Events 1

importer_scheduled_cleanup
Maintenance & Trust

ActivityPub Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested6.9.4
Last updatedMar 11, 2026
PHP min version7.4
Downloads495K

Community Trust

Rating98/100
Number of ratings39
Active installs6K
Developer Profile

ActivityPub Developer Profile

Automattic

213 plugins · 19.2M total installs

73
trust score
Avg Security Score
92/100
Avg Patch Time
1384 days
View full developer profile
Detection Fingerprints

How We Detect ActivityPub

Patterns used to identify this plugin on WordPress sites during automated security audits and web crawling.

Asset Fingerprints

Asset Paths
/wp-content/plugins/activitypub/build/blocks.js/wp-content/plugins/activitypub/build/editor.js/wp-content/plugins/activitypub/build/index.js/wp-content/plugins/activitypub/build/render.js/wp-content/plugins/activitypub/build/style.css
Script Paths
/wp-content/plugins/activitypub/build/blocks.js/wp-content/plugins/activitypub/build/editor.js/wp-content/plugins/activitypub/build/index.js/wp-content/plugins/activitypub/build/render.js
Version Parameters
activitypub/build/blocks.js?ver=activitypub/build/editor.js?ver=activitypub/build/index.js?ver=activitypub/build/render.js?ver=activitypub/build/style.css?ver=

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

CSS Classes
activitypub-post-embed
Data Attributes
data-activitypub-url
JS Globals
window.activitypub
REST Endpoints
/wp-json/activitypub/1.0/collections/wp-json/activitypub/1.0/post/wp-json/activitypub/1.0/users/wp-json/activitypub/1.0/webfinger
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about ActivityPub