
Better Footnotes Security & Risk Analysis
wordpress.org/plugins/better-footnotesA robust solution to provide a fast reference and link to additional information for your readers
Is Better Footnotes Safe to Use in 2026?
Generally Safe
Score 85/100Better Footnotes has no known CVEs and is actively maintained. It's a solid choice for most WordPress installations.
The "better-footnotes" plugin v1.3 exhibits a strong security posture based on the provided static analysis. The code demonstrates excellent practices by exclusively using prepared statements for SQL queries and ensuring all output is properly escaped. The absence of dangerous functions, file operations, and external HTTP requests further reduces the potential attack surface. A single capability check is present, indicating some level of authorization for certain functionalities.
However, the static analysis does reveal some areas that warrant caution. The plugin has two shortcodes, which represent potential entry points into the plugin's functionality. While the analysis indicates zero unprotected entry points, a deeper review of how these shortcodes handle their input and output would be beneficial. The absence of nonce checks on these shortcodes, if they handle user-supplied data, could be a concern. The fact that there are no recorded vulnerabilities in its history is a positive indicator of its past security performance, suggesting a commitment to secure coding or a lack of attractive targets. The inclusion of TinyMCE as a bundled library, while common, could introduce risks if it's an outdated version, though this is not explicitly detailed in the provided data.
In conclusion, "better-footnotes" v1.3 appears to be a well-developed plugin with a focus on core security principles. The lack of identified critical vulnerabilities and its adherence to secure coding practices like prepared statements and output escaping are commendable. The primary areas for potential improvement and further investigation lie in the input sanitization and validation for its shortcodes, particularly concerning nonce checks, to ensure a truly robust security profile.
Key Concerns
- No nonce checks on shortcodes
- Bundled library (TinyMCE) potentially outdated
Better Footnotes Security Vulnerabilities
Better Footnotes Code Analysis
Bundled Libraries
Output Escaping
Better Footnotes Attack Surface
Shortcodes 2
WordPress Hooks 9
Maintenance & Trust
Better Footnotes Maintenance & Trust
Maintenance Signals
Community Trust
Better Footnotes Alternatives
Endnotes
endnotes
Easily add footnotes to your posts and pages.
CiteKit – Citation and Reference Manager
citation-reference-manager
Add in-text citations, tooltips, and auto-generated bibliography to your WordPress posts in APA, MLA, Chicago and more.
Footnotes Made Easy
footnotes-made-easy
Allows post authors to easily add and manage footnotes in posts.
Simple Footnotes
simple-footnotes
Create simple, elegant footnotes on your site. Use the [ref] shortcode and the plugin takes care of the rest.
Citations
citations
This Plugin introduces practical citation functionality to the WordPress Block Editor, aiming to streamline the process of adding references to your c …
Better Footnotes Developer Profile
5 plugins · 610 total installs
How We Detect Better Footnotes
Patterns used to identify this plugin on WordPress sites during automated security audits and web crawling.
Asset Fingerprints
/wp-content/plugins/better-footnotes/assets/css/better-footnotes.css/wp-content/plugins/better-footnotes/assets/js/better-footnotes.js/wp-content/plugins/better-footnotes/assets/css/better-footnotes.min.css/wp-content/plugins/better-footnotes/assets/js/better-footnotes.min.js/wp-content/plugins/better-footnotes/assets/js/better-footnotes.js/wp-content/plugins/better-footnotes/assets/js/better-footnotes.min.jsbetter-footnotes/assets/css/better-footnotes.css?ver=better-footnotes/assets/js/better-footnotes.js?ver=better-footnotes/assets/css/better-footnotes.min.css?ver=better-footnotes/assets/js/better-footnotes.min.js?ver=HTML / DOM Fingerprints
bfn-footnoteHookbfn-footnotesbfn-footnotes-titlebfn-footnotesListdata-footnote-typedata-footnote-contentdata-post-iddata-containerbetterFootnotesOptions<a href="#bfn-footnotes-<div id="bfn-footnotes-<h3 class='bfn-footnotes-title'>