Comment Referrers Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/comment-referrers

Adds the referrering link from which a commenting user came from to comment notifications.

90 active installs v0.2 PHP + WP + Updated Dec 9, 2016
commentsnotificationreferrers
85
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is Comment Referrers Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 85/100

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

No known CVEs Updated 9yr ago
Risk Assessment

Based on the provided static analysis, the "comment-referrers" v0.2 plugin exhibits a strong security posture. The absence of any identified dangerous functions, unsanitized taint flows, raw SQL queries, or unescaped output is highly commendable. Furthermore, the plugin has no known vulnerabilities, including no historical CVEs, which suggests a history of secure development. The lack of AJAX handlers, REST API routes, shortcodes, and cron events significantly limits the potential attack surface, making it difficult for attackers to find entry points. The code also appears to diligently use prepared statements for any potential database interactions, and there are no file operations or external HTTP requests that could be exploited. The absence of nonce and capability checks in the analyzed entry points is noted, but given the lack of any entry points, this is not currently a direct risk. This plugin demonstrates good security practices and a low-risk profile.

Key Concerns

  • No AJAX handlers without auth checks found
  • No REST API routes without permission callbacks found
  • No shortcodes found
  • No cron events found
  • No dangerous functions found
  • 100% SQL queries use prepared statements
  • 100% output properly escaped
  • No file operations found
  • No external HTTP requests found
  • No nonce checks found (given no entry points)
  • No capability checks found (given no entry points)
  • No bundled libraries with potential vulnerabilities
  • No taint flows analyzed with sanitization issues
  • No known CVEs recorded
Vulnerabilities
None known

Comment Referrers Security Vulnerabilities

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

Comment Referrers 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

Comment Referrers Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 3
actioncomment_formcomment-referrers.php:22
filtercomment_notification_textcomment-referrers.php:32
filtercomment_moderation_textcomment-referrers.php:33
Maintenance & Trust

Comment Referrers Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested4.7.32
Last updatedDec 9, 2016
PHP min version
Downloads11K

Community Trust

Rating0/100
Number of ratings0
Active installs90
Developer Profile

Comment Referrers Developer Profile

Donncha O Caoimh (a11n)

12 plugins · 32K total installs

73
trust score
Avg Security Score
91/100
Avg Patch Time
4657 days
View full developer profile
Detection Fingerprints

How We Detect Comment Referrers

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

Asset Fingerprints

Script Paths
/wp-content/plugins/comment-referrers/comment-referrers.php

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

HTML Comments
<!-- ref = escape( document[ 'referrer' ] ); document.write("<input type='hidden' name='ref' value='"+ref+"'>"); // -->
JS Globals
ref
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Comment Referrers