Excerpt Length Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/excerpt-length

Adds an Excerpt Length field setting to the Reading Settings section, this is used to set the number of words that appear in the the_excerpt().

100 active installs v1.1 PHP + WP 2.7+ Updated Jun 30, 2009
adminexcerptformattinglengthword-limit
85
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is Excerpt Length Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 85/100

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

No known CVEs Updated 16yr ago
Risk Assessment

The "excerpt-length" plugin v1.1 exhibits a strong security posture in several key areas. The static analysis reveals no identified attack surface, no dangerous functions, and all SQL queries utilize prepared statements. Furthermore, there are no recorded vulnerabilities (CVEs) associated with this plugin. This indicates a developer who is either very diligent in their security practices or has developed a plugin with a very limited scope that inherently avoids common vulnerabilities. However, a significant concern arises from the output escaping analysis, where 100% of the analyzed outputs are not properly escaped. This presents a potential cross-site scripting (XSS) risk if user-supplied data is displayed without proper sanitization. While the lack of an attack surface and vulnerability history is positive, the unescaped output is a critical oversight that needs immediate attention to mitigate potential security threats.

Key Concerns

  • Unescaped output detected
Vulnerabilities
None known

Excerpt Length Security Vulnerabilities

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

Excerpt Length Code Analysis

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

Output Escaping

0% escaped2 total outputs
Attack Surface

Excerpt Length Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 4
actionadmin_initexcerpt-length.php:51
filterexcerpt_lengthexcerpt-length.php:52
filterget_the_excerptexcerpt-length.php:53
filterplugin_row_metaexcerpt-length.php:54
Maintenance & Trust

Excerpt Length Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested2.8
Last updatedJun 30, 2009
PHP min version
Downloads12K

Community Trust

Rating0/100
Number of ratings0
Active installs100
Developer Profile

Excerpt Length Developer Profile

vertino

2 plugins · 200 total installs

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

How We Detect Excerpt Length

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

Asset Fingerprints

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

CSS Classes
setting-description
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Excerpt Length