
404 Widget for Google Security & Risk Analysis
wordpress.org/plugins/google-404Add Google search capabilities to your site's 404 "page not found" template.
Is 404 Widget for Google Safe to Use in 2026?
Generally Safe
Score 85/100404 Widget for Google has no known CVEs and is actively maintained. It's a solid choice for most WordPress installations.
The "google-404" plugin version 2.1 exhibits a generally positive security posture based on the provided static analysis. The absence of any AJAX handlers, REST API routes, shortcodes, or cron events with unprotected entry points indicates a well-defined and limited attack surface. The code also demonstrates good practices by exclusively using prepared statements for SQL queries and avoiding dangerous functions and file operations. The lack of recorded vulnerabilities or CVEs in its history further supports a perception of stability and security.
However, the analysis does highlight a significant area of concern: output escaping. With 5 total outputs and only 40% properly escaped, there is a notable risk of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. Any dynamic data displayed to users that is not adequately sanitized before being outputted could be exploited by attackers. The absence of capability checks and nonce checks, while not explicitly problematic given the zero entry points with auth checks, could become a weakness if the plugin were to be extended or if the static analysis missed potential indirect entry points. The zero taint flows are encouraging, but the unescaped output remains a concrete risk.
In conclusion, while the plugin benefits from a small attack surface and good SQL handling, the poor output escaping is a clear weakness that requires immediate attention. The vulnerability history is clean, which is a strength, but the static analysis reveals a specific flaw that could be exploited. The plugin is on the right track, but this output sanitization issue needs to be addressed to improve its overall security.
Key Concerns
- Poor output escaping (40% properly escaped)
404 Widget for Google Security Vulnerabilities
404 Widget for Google Release Timeline
404 Widget for Google Code Analysis
Output Escaping
404 Widget for Google Attack Surface
WordPress Hooks 4
Maintenance & Trust
404 Widget for Google Maintenance & Trust
Maintenance Signals
Community Trust
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404 Widget for Google Developer Profile
5 plugins · 90K total installs
How We Detect 404 Widget for Google
Patterns used to identify this plugin on WordPress sites during automated security audits and web crawling.
Asset Fingerprints
/wp-content/plugins/google-404/css/google-404.css/wp-content/plugins/google-404/js/google-404.js/wp-content/plugins/google-404/js/google-404.jsgoogle-404/css/google-404.css?ver=google-404/js/google-404.js?ver=