
BetterLinks – URL Shortener, Link Tracking, Analytics & Affiliate Link Manager Security & Risk Analysis
wordpress.org/plugins/betterlinksUltimate plugin to create, shorten, track and manage any URL. Gather analytics reports and run successful marketing campaigns easily.
Is BetterLinks – URL Shortener, Link Tracking, Analytics & Affiliate Link Manager Safe to Use in 2026?
Generally Safe
Score 98/100BetterLinks – URL Shortener, Link Tracking, Analytics & Affiliate Link Manager has a strong security track record. Known vulnerabilities have been patched promptly.
The 'betterlinks' v2.4.7 plugin exhibits a mixed security posture. While it demonstrates good practices such as a high percentage of prepared SQL statements and properly escaped output, several concerning aspects warrant attention. The presence of 5 AJAX handlers without authentication checks significantly expands the attack surface and represents a direct vulnerability. Furthermore, the taint analysis reveals 4 high-severity flows with unsanitized paths, indicating potential for injection or data compromise if input is not handled rigorously. The plugin's vulnerability history, despite having no currently unpatched CVEs, shows a pattern of SQL Injection, Improper Authorization, and Cross-site Scripting vulnerabilities. This suggests a recurring need for careful input validation and authorization enforcement within the plugin's codebase. The recent past vulnerability also highlights the ongoing need for vigilance. Overall, the plugin has strengths in its robust SQL and output handling, but the identified unauthenticated entry points and critical taint flows are significant weaknesses that require immediate remediation.
Key Concerns
- Unprotected AJAX handlers
- High severity taint flows
- Unsanitized paths in taint flows
- Use of unserialize function
BetterLinks – URL Shortener, Link Tracking, Analytics & Affiliate Link Manager Security Vulnerabilities
CVEs by Year
Severity Breakdown
3 total CVEs
BetterLinks <= 2.1.7 - Authenticated (Administrator+) SQL Injection
BetterLinks <= 1.6.0 - Improper Authorization to Data Import and Export
BetterLinks – Shorten, Track and Manage any URL <= 1.2.5 - Stored Cross-Site Scripting
BetterLinks – URL Shortener, Link Tracking, Analytics & Affiliate Link Manager Code Analysis
Dangerous Functions Found
SQL Query Safety
Output Escaping
Data Flow Analysis
BetterLinks – URL Shortener, Link Tracking, Analytics & Affiliate Link Manager Attack Surface
AJAX Handlers 77
WordPress Hooks 69
Scheduled Events 3
Maintenance & Trust
BetterLinks – URL Shortener, Link Tracking, Analytics & Affiliate Link Manager Maintenance & Trust
Maintenance Signals
Community Trust
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BetterLinks – URL Shortener, Link Tracking, Analytics & Affiliate Link Manager Developer Profile
46 plugins · 4.0M total installs
How We Detect BetterLinks – URL Shortener, Link Tracking, Analytics & Affiliate Link Manager
Patterns used to identify this plugin on WordPress sites during automated security audits and web crawling.
Asset Fingerprints
/wp-content/plugins/betterlinks/assets/css/betterlinks-admin.css/wp-content/plugins/betterlinks/assets/css/betterlinks-frontend.css/wp-content/plugins/betterlinks/assets/css/betterlinks-main.css/wp-content/plugins/betterlinks/assets/js/betterlinks-admin.js/wp-content/plugins/betterlinks/assets/js/betterlinks-frontend.js/wp-content/plugins/betterlinks/assets/js/betterlinks-main.js/wp-content/plugins/betterlinks/assets/js/modules/qrcode.jsBetterLinks/wp-content/plugins/betterlinks/assets/js/betterlinks-admin.js/wp-content/plugins/betterlinks/assets/js/betterlinks-frontend.js/wp-content/plugins/betterlinks/assets/js/betterlinks-main.jsbetterlinks/assets/css/betterlinks-admin.css?ver=betterlinks/assets/css/betterlinks-frontend.css?ver=betterlinks/assets/css/betterlinks-main.css?ver=betterlinks/assets/js/betterlinks-admin.js?ver=betterlinks/assets/js/betterlinks-frontend.js?ver=betterlinks/assets/js/betterlinks-main.js?ver=betterlinks/assets/js/modules/qrcode.js?ver=HTML / DOM Fingerprints
betterlinks-admin-wrapbetterlinks-frontend-wrapbetterlinks-slug-inputbetterlinks-input-groupbetterlinks-form-controlbetterlinks-btnbetterlinks-btn-primarybetterlinks-btn-secondary+11 moreBetterLinks Link Slug Input StartBetterLinks Link Slug Input EndBetterLinks Admin Wrap StartBetterLinks Admin Wrap End+2 moredata-betterlinks-iddata-betterlinks-slugdata-betterlinks-urldata-betterlinks-targetdata-betterlinks-reldata-betterlinks-sponsored+6 moreBetterLinksbetterlinks_admin_paramsbetterlinks_frontend_paramsbetterlinks_vars/wp-json/betterlinks/v1/links/wp-json/betterlinks/v1/settings/wp-json/betterlinks/v1/categories/wp-json/betterlinks/v1/tags/wp-json/betterlinks/v1/redirect/wp-json/betterlinks/v1/track/wp-json/betterlinks/v1/heatmap/wp-json/betterlinks/v1/analytics[betterlinks][betterlinks_redirect][betterlinks_tracking]