WP Advanced Categories Widget Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/wp-advanced-categories-widget

WP Advanced Categories Widget is a no fuss WordPress widget to display your categories with auto generated background image by taking the featured ima …

10 active installs v1.0.0 PHP + WP 5.0+ Updated Sep 4, 2019
categorieslightweightsidebarwidgetwidgets
85
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is WP Advanced Categories Widget Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 85/100

WP Advanced Categories Widget has no known CVEs and is actively maintained. It's a solid choice for most WordPress installations.

No known CVEs Updated 6yr ago
Risk Assessment

The plugin "wp-advanced-categories-widget" version 1.0.0 exhibits a generally strong security posture based on the provided static analysis. The absence of any identified attack surface entry points, dangerous functions, file operations, external HTTP requests, or unescaped outputs is highly positive. The adherence to prepared statements for SQL queries further bolsters its security. The lack of any recorded vulnerabilities in its history, including critical or high severity issues, suggests a history of secure development and maintenance.

While the static analysis indicates a robustly built plugin with no immediate exploitable flaws, the absence of nonce and capability checks in the code, even with zero AJAX handlers or REST API routes, represents a potential area for concern. If future versions introduce such entry points without proper authentication or authorization, this could become a significant risk. However, based solely on the current data, the plugin appears to be secure.

Key Concerns

  • No nonce checks found
  • No capability checks found
Vulnerabilities
None known

WP Advanced Categories Widget Security Vulnerabilities

No known vulnerabilities — this is a good sign.
Code Analysis
Analyzed Mar 17, 2026

WP Advanced Categories Widget Code Analysis

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

Output Escaping

96% escaped70 total outputs
Attack Surface

WP Advanced Categories Widget Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 6
actionwidgets_initinc\class-wpacw-widget.php:13
actionplugins_loadedinc\class-wpacw.php:148
actionadmin_enqueue_scriptsinc\class-wpacw.php:163
actionadmin_enqueue_scriptsinc\class-wpacw.php:164
actionwp_enqueue_scriptsinc\class-wpacw.php:179
actionwp_enqueue_scriptsinc\class-wpacw.php:180
Maintenance & Trust

WP Advanced Categories Widget Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested5.2.24
Last updatedSep 4, 2019
PHP min version
Downloads1K

Community Trust

Rating0/100
Number of ratings0
Active installs10
Developer Profile

WP Advanced Categories Widget Developer Profile

Lazar Momcilovic

2 plugins · 20 total installs

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

How We Detect WP Advanced Categories Widget

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

Asset Fingerprints

Asset Paths
/wp-content/plugins/wp-advanced-categories-widget/dist/css/admin.css/wp-content/plugins/wp-advanced-categories-widget/dist/js/admin.min.js/wp-content/plugins/wp-advanced-categories-widget/dist/css/style.css/wp-content/plugins/wp-advanced-categories-widget/dist/js/main.min.js
Script Paths
/wp-content/plugins/wp-advanced-categories-widget/dist/js/admin.min.js/wp-content/plugins/wp-advanced-categories-widget/dist/js/main.min.js
Version Parameters
wp-advanced-categories-widget/dist/css/admin.css?ver=wp-advanced-categories-widget/dist/js/admin.min.js?ver=wp-advanced-categories-widget/dist/css/style.css?ver=wp-advanced-categories-widget/dist/js/main.min.js?ver=

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

HTML Comments
An instance of this class should be passed to the run() function * defined in Wpacw_Loader as all of the hooks are defined * in that particular class. * * The Wpacw_Loader will then create the relationship * between the defined hooks and the functions defined in this * class. An instance of this class should be passed to the run() function * defined in Wpacw_Loader as all of the hooks are defined * in that particular class. * * The Wpacw_Loader will then create the relationship * between the defined hooks and the functions defined in this * class.
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about WP Advanced Categories Widget