CYAN Backup Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/cyan-backup

Backup your entire WordPress site and its database into a zip file on a schedule. Remote storage options include FTP, SFTP and FTPS.

300 active installs v2.5.5 PHP + WP 2.9+ Updated Nov 4, 2025
backupftpschedulescpsftp
95
A · Safe
CVEs total4
Unpatched0
Last CVENov 7, 2025
Safety Verdict

Is CYAN Backup Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 95/100

CYAN Backup has a strong security track record. Known vulnerabilities have been patched promptly.

4 known CVEsLast CVE: Nov 7, 2025Updated 5mo ago
Risk Assessment

The "cyan-backup" plugin version 2.5.5 presents a mixed security posture. While the static analysis reveals a seemingly small attack surface with no directly exposed AJAX, REST API, or shortcode entry points without authentication, several concerning code signals warrant attention. The presence of dangerous functions like `create_function` and `unserialize` is a significant red flag, as these can be exploited for code execution or deserialization vulnerabilities if not handled with extreme care and proper input validation. Furthermore, a low percentage (27%) of properly escaped outputs indicates a high risk of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts into the website. The large number of file operations (292) combined with a low output escaping rate increases the potential for insecure file handling as well.

The plugin's vulnerability history is also a major concern. With 4 known CVEs, all categorized as medium severity and related to Path Traversal and XSS, this indicates a pattern of past security weaknesses. While there are currently no unpatched CVEs, the recurring nature of these vulnerability types suggests that the development team may struggle with consistently implementing secure coding practices, particularly around input sanitization and output escaping. The last recorded vulnerability date (2025-11-07) is in the future, which might indicate a data anomaly or a placeholder, but it doesn't negate the historical trend.

In conclusion, despite the lack of immediately obvious unauthenticated entry points in the static analysis, the "cyan-backup" plugin has significant potential for vulnerabilities due to the use of dangerous functions, poor output escaping, and a history of XSS and Path Traversal issues. The high volume of file operations and the low rate of proper output escaping are particularly worrying. Users should exercise caution and ensure thorough security audits are performed on this plugin.

Key Concerns

  • Presence of dangerous functions (create_function, unserialize)
  • Low percentage of properly escaped outputs (27%)
  • High number of past medium severity CVEs (4)
  • Vulnerability types indicate insecure input/output handling
  • No capability checks on entry points
  • SQL queries not consistently using prepared statements (60%)
Vulnerabilities
4

CYAN Backup Security Vulnerabilities

CVEs by Year

1 CVE in 2024
2024
3 CVEs in 2025
2025
Patched Has unpatched

Severity Breakdown

Medium
4

4 total CVEs

CVE-2025-12092medium · 6.5Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

CYAN Backup <= 2.5.4 - Authenticated (Admin+) Arbitrary File Deletion

Nov 7, 2025 Patched in 2.5.5 (1d)
CVE-2024-9662medium · 4.4Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

CYAN Backup <= 2.5.2 - Authenticated (Admin+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting

Mar 3, 2025 Patched in 2.5.3 (88d)
CVE-2024-9663medium · 4.4Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

CYAN Backup <= 2.5.2 - Authenticated (Admin+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting

Mar 3, 2025 Patched in 2.5.3 (88d)
CVE-2024-52390medium · 4.9Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

CYAN Backup <= 2.5.3 - Authenticated (Admin+) Arbitrary File Download

Nov 11, 2024 Patched in 2.5.4 (11d)
Code Analysis
Analyzed Mar 16, 2026

CYAN Backup Code Analysis

Dangerous Functions
2
Raw SQL Queries
2
3 prepared
Unescaped Output
88
32 escaped
Nonce Checks
5
Capability Checks
0
File Operations
292
External Requests
0
Bundled Libraries
0

Dangerous Functions Found

create_functionreturn create_function('$_action, &$self, $_text', $init_crypt . 'if ($_action == "encrypt") { ' . $includes\phpseclib\Crypt\Base.php:2481
unserializeextract(unserialize($partial));includes\phpseclib\Crypt\RSA.php:641

SQL Query Safety

60% prepared5 total queries

Output Escaping

27% escaped120 total outputs
Attack Surface

CYAN Backup Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 8
actioncyan_backup_hookcyan-backup.php:28
actionnetwork_admin_menucyan-backup.php:73
actionadmin_menucyan-backup.php:76
filterplugin_action_linkscyan-backup.php:77
actioninitcyan-backup.php:79
filterquery_varsincludes\class-addrewriterules.php:13
actiongenerate_rewrite_rulesincludes\class-addrewriterules.php:14
actionwpincludes\class-addrewriterules.php:18

Scheduled Events 2

cyan_backup_hook
cyan_backup_hook
Maintenance & Trust

CYAN Backup Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested6.8.5
Last updatedNov 4, 2025
PHP min version
Downloads36K

Community Trust

Rating82/100
Number of ratings11
Active installs300
Developer Profile

CYAN Backup Developer Profile

Greg Ross

34 plugins · 8K total installs

80
trust score
Avg Security Score
88/100
Avg Patch Time
39 days
View full developer profile
Detection Fingerprints

How We Detect CYAN Backup

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

Asset Fingerprints

Asset Paths
/wp-content/plugins/cyan-backup/css/cyan-backup.css/wp-content/plugins/cyan-backup/js/cyan-backup.js/wp-content/plugins/cyan-backup/js/cyan-backup-admin.js
Script Paths
/wp-content/plugins/cyan-backup/js/cyan-backup.js/wp-content/plugins/cyan-backup/js/cyan-backup-admin.js
Version Parameters
cyan-backup/css/cyan-backup.css?ver=cyan-backup/js/cyan-backup.js?ver=cyan-backup/js/cyan-backup-admin.js?ver=

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

CSS Classes
cyan-backup-wrapcyan-backup-page-title
HTML Comments
<!-- Start CYAN Backup Menu --><!-- End CYAN Backup Menu --><!-- Start Backup Settings --><!-- End Backup Settings -->+6 more
JS Globals
CYAN_BACKUP_AJAX_URLCYAN_BACKUP_NONCE
REST Endpoints
/wp-json/cyan-backup/v1/settings/wp-json/cyan-backup/v1/schedule/wp-json/cyan-backup/v1/backup/wp-json/cyan-backup/v1/restore/wp-json/cyan-backup/v1/log
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about CYAN Backup