
Top Level Categories Security & Risk Analysis
wordpress.org/plugins/top-level-catsThis plugin allows you to remove the prefix before the URL to your category page (e.g. example.com/dogs instead of example.com/category/dogs)
Is Top Level Categories Safe to Use in 2026?
Generally Safe
Score 85/100Top Level Categories has no known CVEs and is actively maintained. It's a solid choice for most WordPress installations.
The static analysis of the 'top-level-cats' plugin v1.0.1 reveals an exceptionally clean codebase with no identified attack surface points like AJAX handlers, REST API routes, shortcodes, or cron events. The code also demonstrates excellent security practices, with no dangerous functions, all SQL queries using prepared statements, and all outputs being properly escaped. Furthermore, there are no file operations, external HTTP requests, or recorded vulnerabilities (CVEs). This indicates a very strong security posture from a code implementation perspective.
However, the complete absence of nonce checks and capability checks across the entire plugin is a significant concern. While there are no direct entry points identified in this static analysis, the lack of these fundamental WordPress security mechanisms means that if any entry points were to be introduced in future updates or through developer error, they would be immediately susceptible to unauthorized access and manipulation. The vulnerability history being entirely clear is a positive indicator, suggesting a history of secure development. Despite the current lack of exploitability in the analyzed version, the absence of core security checks presents a potential weakness that should be addressed.
In conclusion, the 'top-level-cats' plugin v1.0.1 excels in its clean code and SQL hygiene, with no recorded vulnerabilities. Its strength lies in its minimal attack surface and well-written internal code. The primary weakness is the omission of essential WordPress security checks like nonces and capability checks. While not currently exploitable due to the lack of identified entry points, this absence leaves the plugin vulnerable should new entry points be added without corresponding security measures.
Key Concerns
- Missing nonce checks on all potential entry points
- Missing capability checks on all potential entry points
Top Level Categories Security Vulnerabilities
Top Level Categories Code Analysis
Top Level Categories Attack Surface
WordPress Hooks 3
Maintenance & Trust
Top Level Categories Maintenance & Trust
Maintenance Signals
Community Trust
Top Level Categories Alternatives
FV Top Level Categories
fv-top-level-cats
This is a fix of Top Level Categories plugin for Wordpress 3.1. and above.
No category parents
no-category-parents
This plugin will completely remove the mandatory 'Category Base' and all the parents from your category permalinks (e.g.
WCS Custom Permalinks Hotfix
wcs-custom-permalinks-hotfix
After upgrading to WordPress 3.1.x, many installations suffer broken permalinks for categories and tags. This hotfix repairs the problem.
Update Permalink/Slug Previews in Admin
update-permalink-previews-in-admin
Automatically reloads permalink/slug previews in admin edit view when changing a page's parent or the categories of a post.
Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order
taxonomy-terms-order
Drag-and-drop ordering for Categories & any taxonomy (hierarchically) using a Drag and Drop Sortable JavaScript capability.
Top Level Categories Developer Profile
60196 plugins · 349.8M total installs
How We Detect Top Level Categories
Patterns used to identify this plugin on WordPress sites during automated security audits and web crawling.
Asset Fingerprints
top-level-cats/style.css?ver=top-level-cats/script.js?ver=