Private Plus Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/privateplus

Allow the administrator to choose which groups can see private posts.

10 active installs v.92 PHP + WP 2.3+ Updated Unknown
postpostsprivacyprivateprivate-post
100
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is Private Plus Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 100/100

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

No known CVEs
Risk Assessment

The static analysis of the "privateplus" v.92 plugin reveals a generally good security posture with zero detected AJAX handlers, REST API routes, shortcodes, or cron events exposed as entry points. Furthermore, the absence of dangerous functions, file operations, external HTTP requests, and bundled libraries is commendable. The plugin also demonstrates a positive practice by exclusively using prepared statements for its SQL queries.

However, a significant concern arises from the output escaping. With 100% of outputs not being properly escaped, this indicates a high risk of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. Any dynamic data displayed to users that originates from user input or other potentially untrusted sources could be maliciously crafted to execute JavaScript in the user's browser. Additionally, the taint analysis indicates two flows with unsanitized paths, which, although not classified as critical or high severity, still represent potential avenues for unexpected behavior or information disclosure if not handled carefully.

The plugin's vulnerability history is completely clear, with no known CVEs. This is a strong positive indicator, suggesting that the plugin has historically been well-maintained and secure. The lack of past vulnerabilities, combined with the current lack of exploitable entry points and secure SQL practices, paints a picture of a plugin that, apart from the critical output escaping issue, is built with security in mind. The primary risk is therefore the unescaped output, which requires immediate attention.

Key Concerns

  • All outputs are unescaped
  • Taint flows with unsanitized paths
Vulnerabilities
None known

Private Plus Security Vulnerabilities

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

Private Plus Code Analysis

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

Output Escaping

0% escaped5 total outputs
Data Flows
2 unsanitized

Data Flow Analysis

2 flows2 with unsanitized paths
privatePlus_updateOptions (privatePlus.php:231)
Source (user input) Sink (dangerous op) Sanitizer Transform Unsanitized Sanitized
Attack Surface

Private Plus Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 3
filterposts_whereprivatePlus.php:31
filteruser_has_capprivatePlus.php:32
actionadmin_menuprivatePlus.php:33
Maintenance & Trust

Private Plus Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested2.5
Last updatedUnknown
PHP min version
Downloads6K

Community Trust

Rating0/100
Number of ratings0
Active installs10
Developer Profile

Private Plus Developer Profile

brandonjpetersen

1 plugin · 10 total installs

94
trust score
Avg Security Score
100/100
Avg Patch Time
30 days
View full developer profile
Detection Fingerprints

How We Detect Private Plus

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

Asset Fingerprints

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

HTML Comments
<!-- @todo use regular expressions for this mess of IF Statements -->
Data Attributes
privacyPlus_user_level
Shortcode Output
<div style="width: 200px; float: right; border: 1px solid #14568A;"><div style="width: 195px; background: #0D324F; color: white; padding: 0 0 0 5px;">About this Plugin:</div><div style="width: 180px; padding: 10px;"><a href="http://tech.brandonpetersen.com/privateplus/" target="_blank">Plugin Homepage</a><br>
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Private Plus