Better Avatars Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/better-avatars

Replace empty Gravatars with profile images from Facebook, Twitter, or Gmail

10 active installs v1.0 PHP + WP 3.3+ Updated Dec 2, 2012
avatarsfacebookgmailgravatartwitter
85
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is Better Avatars Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 85/100

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

No known CVEs Updated 13yr ago
Risk Assessment

The 'better-avatars' v1.0 plugin presents a strong initial security posture based on the provided static analysis. The complete absence of detected dangerous functions, raw SQL queries, unescaped output, file operations, and external HTTP requests is highly commendable. Furthermore, the lack of any identified taint flows, including those with unsanitized paths, indicates robust input sanitization and handling practices within the analyzed code. The plugin also exhibits no known historical vulnerabilities, which is a significant positive indicator of its security development and maintenance over time. This track record suggests a low likelihood of emergent common vulnerability types. While the absence of known CVEs and current unpatched vulnerabilities is excellent, it's important to note that the analysis reports zero nonces and zero capability checks. This could be a concern if the plugin has any entry points that were not captured by the static analysis, as unprotected entry points can be a vector for exploitation. However, given the reported zero total entry points and zero unprotected entry points, this absence of checks might be contextually appropriate. The plugin's strengths lie in its clean code and lack of known flaws, but the complete absence of observed authorization checks warrants careful consideration if any previously undetected entry points exist.

Key Concerns

  • No capability checks detected
  • No nonce checks detected
Vulnerabilities
None known

Better Avatars Security Vulnerabilities

No known vulnerabilities — this is a good sign.
Version History

Better Avatars Release Timeline

v1.0Current
Code Analysis
Analyzed Mar 17, 2026

Better Avatars Code Analysis

Dangerous Functions
0
Raw SQL Queries
0
0 prepared
Unescaped Output
0
0 escaped
Nonce Checks
0
Capability Checks
0
File Operations
0
External Requests
0
Bundled Libraries
0
Attack Surface

Better Avatars Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 1
filterget_avatarbetter-avatars.php:81
Maintenance & Trust

Better Avatars Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested3.9.40
Last updatedDec 2, 2012
PHP min version
Downloads2K

Community Trust

Rating40/100
Number of ratings1
Active installs10
Developer Profile

Better Avatars Developer Profile

Pat Hawks

8 plugins · 130 total installs

84
trust score
Avg Security Score
85/100
Avg Patch Time
30 days
View full developer profile
Detection Fingerprints

How We Detect Better Avatars

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

Asset Fingerprints

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

CSS Classes
facebooktwittergoogle
REST Endpoints
https://graph.facebook.com/https://api.twitter.com/1/users/profile_image
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Better Avatars