Simply RSS Fetcher Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/simply-rss-fetcher

Simple plugin to fetch a desired RSS and put it wherever you want in your blog.

100 active installs v1.2.1 PHP + WP 2.1+ Updated Feb 8, 2009
fetcherrss
85
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is Simply RSS Fetcher Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 85/100

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

No known CVEs Updated 17yr ago
Risk Assessment

The "simply-rss-fetcher" v1.2.1 plugin exhibits a generally strong security posture based on the provided static analysis. The plugin demonstrates an absence of direct vulnerabilities in its attack surface, with no AJAX handlers, REST API routes, shortcodes, or cron events identified. Furthermore, the code signals indicate a positive practice of utilizing prepared statements for all SQL queries, a critical defense against SQL injection. The absence of dangerous functions, file operations, and external HTTP requests further contributes to its perceived safety. However, a significant concern arises from the complete lack of output escaping for all identified outputs. This presents a considerable risk of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities, as unsanitized data displayed to users could be manipulated by attackers. The plugin also lacks nonce and capability checks, which are essential for preventing unauthorized actions and ensuring that only authorized users can perform specific operations. The vulnerability history shows no recorded CVEs, suggesting a generally well-maintained codebase or a lack of past exploitable issues. This, combined with the clean taint analysis and absence of dangerous functions, is a positive indicator. Despite the lack of known vulnerabilities, the critical oversight in output escaping and the absence of authorization checks on potential entry points (even if currently zero) represent notable weaknesses that require immediate attention. The plugin's strengths lie in its sanitized database interactions and minimal attack surface, but its susceptibility to XSS and potential authorization bypasses are significant drawbacks.

Key Concerns

  • Output escaping is missing
  • Capability checks are missing
  • Nonce checks are missing
Vulnerabilities
None known

Simply RSS Fetcher Security Vulnerabilities

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

Simply RSS Fetcher Code Analysis

Dangerous Functions
0
Raw SQL Queries
0
0 prepared
Unescaped Output
7
0 escaped
Nonce Checks
0
Capability Checks
0
File Operations
0
External Requests
0
Bundled Libraries
0

Output Escaping

0% escaped7 total outputs
Attack Surface

Simply RSS Fetcher Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 3
actionsidebar_admin_setupsrssfetcher.php:230
actionsidebar_admin_pagesrssfetcher.php:231
actionwidgets_initsrssfetcher.php:238
Maintenance & Trust

Simply RSS Fetcher Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested2.7
Last updatedFeb 8, 2009
PHP min version
Downloads23K

Community Trust

Rating0/100
Number of ratings0
Active installs100
Developer Profile

Simply RSS Fetcher Developer Profile

Ricardo Gonzalez

8 plugins · 1K total installs

85
trust score
Avg Security Score
87/100
Avg Patch Time
30 days
View full developer profile
Detection Fingerprints

How We Detect Simply RSS Fetcher

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

Asset Fingerprints

Asset Paths
/wp-content/plugins/simply-rss-fetcher/style.css
Version Parameters
simply-rss-fetcher/style.css?ver=

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

CSS Classes
srssfetchersrssfetcher-itemsrssfetcher-linksrssfetcher-timestampsrssfetcher_field
Data Attributes
data-widget-id
JS Globals
srssfetcher_options
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Simply RSS Fetcher