
Average WYSIWYG Helper Security & Risk Analysis
wordpress.org/plugins/average-wysiwyg-helperHighlights prominent HTML elements in the WYSIWYG editor, to help Editors see what they're editing. Sort of a WYSIWYM (the M is for mean).
Is Average WYSIWYG Helper Safe to Use in 2026?
Generally Safe
Score 85/100Average WYSIWYG Helper has no known CVEs and is actively maintained. It's a solid choice for most WordPress installations.
The "average-wysiwyg-helper" plugin v2.2.1 demonstrates a strong security posture in several key areas. The absence of any AJAX handlers, REST API routes, shortcodes, or cron events significantly limits its attack surface. Furthermore, the code does not exhibit any dangerous functions or file operations, and there are no external HTTP requests, which are positive indicators of secure coding practices. The presence of capability checks, albeit only two, is also a good sign, suggesting some level of authorization awareness in the code.
However, a significant concern arises from the complete lack of output escaping. With three total outputs and zero percent properly escaped, there is a high likelihood of cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. This is a critical oversight that could allow attackers to inject malicious scripts into the WordPress site. The fact that taint analysis shows zero flows is likely due to the limited entry points and lack of data processing that would trigger such analysis, rather than an indication of inherent security in data handling.
The plugin's vulnerability history is spotless, with no recorded CVEs. This, combined with the positive static analysis signals, suggests that the developers have likely focused on keeping the codebase clean and free of known vulnerabilities. However, the lack of output escaping is a serious deficiency that overshadows these strengths and represents a tangible risk to users.
Key Concerns
- Outputs are not properly escaped
- No capability checks on some entry points
Average WYSIWYG Helper Security Vulnerabilities
Average WYSIWYG Helper Code Analysis
Output Escaping
Average WYSIWYG Helper Attack Surface
WordPress Hooks 5
Maintenance & Trust
Average WYSIWYG Helper Maintenance & Trust
Maintenance Signals
Community Trust
Average WYSIWYG Helper Alternatives
AddFunc WYSIWYG Helper
addfunc-wysiwyg-helper
Highlights prominent HTML elements in the WYSIWYG editor, to help Editors see what they're editing. Sort of a WYSIWYM (the M is for mean).
tinyWYM Editor
tinywym-editor
Convert WordPress's WYSIWYG editor into a WYSIWYM editor. Add and edit any HTML tag and attribute from the visual editor.
RDFaCE
rdface
Enables semantic content authoring based on RDFa and Microdata (Schema.org).
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget
black-studio-tinymce-widget
The visual editor widget for WordPress.
Visual Term Description Editor
visual-term-description-editor
Replaces the plain-text category and tag description editor with a visual editor.
Average WYSIWYG Helper Developer Profile
4 plugins · 140 total installs
How We Detect Average WYSIWYG Helper
Patterns used to identify this plugin on WordPress sites during automated security audits and web crawling.
Asset Fingerprints
/wp-content/plugins/average-wysiwyg-helper/wysiwym.css/wp-content/plugins/average-wysiwyg-helper/overrides.cssHTML / DOM Fingerprints
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Plugin Name: Average WYSIWYG Helper
Plugin URI:
Description: Reveals the prominent HTML elements in the default WYSIWYG editor (TinyMCE) comprehensively, while maintaining edibility as well as any theme styles (in most cases). In effect, you have a WYSIWYG and a WYSIWYM (What You See Is What You Mean) combined. Can also cancel out certain default WordPress styling in the WYSIWYG such as the captions box/border.
Version: 2.2.1
Author: Average
Author URI: http://profiles.wordpress.org/averagetechnology/
@since 3.8
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by Joe Rhoney
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W Y S I W Y G H E L P E R C L A S S
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H E L P T A B
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