Masquerade Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/masquerade

Adds a link to users.php that allows an administrator to login as that user without knowing the password.

70 active installs v1.01 PHP + WP 2.8+ Updated Jun 18, 2012
admin-loginadmin-login-as-userlogin-as-usermasquerade-as-useruser-login
85
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is Masquerade Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 85/100

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

No known CVEs Updated 13yr ago
Risk Assessment

The masquerade plugin v1.01, based on static analysis, presents a generally good security posture with no reported vulnerabilities. The plugin demonstrates an understanding of secure coding practices by utilizing prepared statements for all SQL queries and including nonce and capability checks. The attack surface is also commendably small and appears to be protected.

However, a significant concern arises from the output escaping. With 100% of observed outputs being unescaped, this introduces a high risk of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. Any data displayed by the plugin that originates from user input or external sources could potentially be manipulated to execute malicious scripts within a user's browser.

The lack of any recorded vulnerability history is a positive sign, suggesting a history of responsible development or a lack of significant past issues. Despite the concerning output escaping, the overall strength in preventing direct SQL injection and maintaining a small, guarded attack surface, along with no known CVEs, suggests that while immediate critical risks might be mitigated by other factors not detailed, the XSS vulnerability is a notable weakness that requires immediate attention.

Key Concerns

  • Unescaped output
Vulnerabilities
None known

Masquerade Security Vulnerabilities

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

Masquerade Code Analysis

Dangerous Functions
0
Raw SQL Queries
0
0 prepared
Unescaped Output
3
0 escaped
Nonce Checks
1
Capability Checks
2
File Operations
0
External Requests
0
Bundled Libraries
0

Output Escaping

0% escaped3 total outputs
Attack Surface

Masquerade Attack Surface

Entry Points1
Unprotected0

AJAX Handlers 1

authwp_ajax_masq_usermasquerade.php:65
WordPress Hooks 3
actionadmin_initmasquerade.php:25
filteruser_row_actionsmasquerade.php:28
actionadmin_footermasquerade.php:42
Maintenance & Trust

Masquerade Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested3.3.2
Last updatedJun 18, 2012
PHP min version
Downloads2K

Community Trust

Rating100/100
Number of ratings1
Active installs70
Developer Profile

Masquerade Developer Profile

jrking4

1 plugin · 70 total installs

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

How We Detect Masquerade

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

Asset Fingerprints

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

JS Globals
window.locationmasq_as_user
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Masquerade