bbPress reCaptcha Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/bbpress-recaptcha

This is a simple plugin that adds a recaptcha validation to the bbPress 2.0 topic creation and topic reply forum.

100 active installs v1.1 PHP + WP 3.0+ Updated Dec 17, 2014
anti-spambbpressbbpress-2-0captcharecaptcha
85
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is bbPress reCaptcha Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 85/100

bbPress reCaptcha has no known CVEs and is actively maintained. It's a solid choice for most WordPress installations.

No known CVEs Updated 11yr ago
Risk Assessment

The bbpress-recaptcha v1.1 plugin demonstrates a strong security posture based on the provided static analysis. The absence of any identified AJAX handlers, REST API routes, shortcodes, or cron events significantly limits the plugin's attack surface. Furthermore, the code signals indicate a responsible approach to development, with all SQL queries utilizing prepared statements and a good rate of output escaping (67%). The presence of capability checks also suggests an effort to enforce access control. The vulnerability history being entirely clear is a positive indicator, suggesting either diligent maintenance or a lack of past exploitable issues.

However, a few areas warrant attention. The lack of any identified nonce checks, even with a small attack surface, could be a concern if any future entry points are introduced or if certain functions are called in unexpected ways. The file operation, while singular, is an area that always carries some inherent risk if not handled with extreme care, although no specific issues were flagged. Overall, the plugin appears to be well-secured, with its primary strengths lying in its minimal attack surface and good data handling practices. The absence of any critical or high-severity issues in both static analysis and historical data is reassuring.

Key Concerns

  • No nonce checks found
  • Output escaping is not 100%
Vulnerabilities
None known

bbPress reCaptcha Security Vulnerabilities

No known vulnerabilities — this is a good sign.
Code Analysis
Analyzed Mar 16, 2026

bbPress reCaptcha Code Analysis

Dangerous Functions
0
Raw SQL Queries
0
0 prepared
Unescaped Output
2
4 escaped
Nonce Checks
0
Capability Checks
4
File Operations
1
External Requests
0
Bundled Libraries
0

Output Escaping

67% escaped6 total outputs
Attack Surface

bbPress reCaptcha Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 7
actioninitbbpress-recaptcha.php:47
actionbbp_theme_before_reply_form_submit_wrapperbbpress-recaptcha.php:61
actionbbp_theme_before_topic_form_submit_wrapperbbpress-recaptcha.php:75
actionbbp_new_reply_pre_extrasbbpress-recaptcha.php:98
actionbbp_new_topic_pre_extrasbbpress-recaptcha.php:121
actionadmin_initbbpress-recaptcha.php:179
actionadmin_menubbpress-recaptcha.php:187
Maintenance & Trust

bbPress reCaptcha Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested4.1.42
Last updatedDec 17, 2014
PHP min version
Downloads15K

Community Trust

Rating100/100
Number of ratings5
Active installs100
Developer Profile

bbPress reCaptcha Developer Profile

Pippin Williamson

19 plugins · 920 total installs

85
trust score
Avg Security Score
87/100
Avg Patch Time
30 days
View full developer profile
Detection Fingerprints

How We Detect bbPress reCaptcha

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

Asset Fingerprints

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

HTML Comments
<!-- save the options -->
Data Attributes
id="bbpc_settings[public_key]"name="bbpc_settings[public_key]"id="bbpc_settings[private_key]"name="bbpc_settings[private_key]"id="bbpc_settings[show_to_logged_in]"name="bbpc_settings[show_to_logged_in]"
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about bbPress reCaptcha