WP Better SEO Links Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/wp-better-seo-links

Adds a checkbox in the insert link popup box for including rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", and rel="ugc" in links as yo …

100 active installs v1.0 PHP + WP 2.8+ Updated Sep 20, 2019
insertlinklinksmetanofollow
85
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is WP Better SEO Links Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 85/100

WP Better SEO Links 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-better-seo-links" v1.0 exhibits a very limited attack surface, with no identified AJAX handlers, REST API routes, shortcodes, or cron events. This absence of direct entry points is a positive security indicator. Furthermore, the code analysis shows no dangerous functions, no file operations, no external HTTP requests, and all SQL queries utilize prepared statements, which are strong security practices. The lack of any known CVEs in its history also suggests a stable and potentially secure plugin.

However, a significant concern arises from the output escaping. With 9 total outputs and 0% properly escaped, this indicates a high risk of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. Any data rendered by the plugin that is not sanitized could be exploited by attackers to inject malicious scripts into the website. The absence of nonce and capability checks, while not directly exploitable due to the lack of other entry points, suggests that if any new entry points were introduced or if existing ones were overlooked in the analysis, the plugin would lack fundamental authorization and validation mechanisms.

In conclusion, while the plugin's minimal attack surface and good SQL practices are commendable, the complete lack of output escaping presents a critical security weakness that could lead to XSS vulnerabilities. The absence of nonce and capability checks, though less immediately concerning in this specific version, points to a potential lack of defensive depth. The overall security posture is therefore mixed, with a potentially exploitable flaw overshadowing the otherwise clean analysis.

Key Concerns

  • 0% output escaping
  • Missing nonce checks
  • Missing capability checks
Vulnerabilities
None known

WP Better SEO Links Security Vulnerabilities

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

WP Better SEO Links Code Analysis

Dangerous Functions
0
Raw SQL Queries
0
0 prepared
Unescaped Output
9
0 escaped
Nonce Checks
0
Capability Checks
0
File Operations
0
External Requests
0
Bundled Libraries
0

Output Escaping

0% escaped9 total outputs
Attack Surface

WP Better SEO Links Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 8
filterplugin_row_metawp-better-seo-links.php:106
actionadmin_initwp-better-seo-links.php:109
actionadmin_menuwp-better-seo-links.php:112
actionadd_meta_boxeswp-better-seo-links.php:282
filterpre_link_relwp-better-seo-links.php:283
filterget_bookmarkswp-better-seo-links.php:287
actionadmin_enqueue_scriptswp-better-seo-links.php:313
filtercomment_textwp-better-seo-links.php:334
Maintenance & Trust

WP Better SEO Links Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested5.2.24
Last updatedSep 20, 2019
PHP min version
Downloads3K

Community Trust

Rating100/100
Number of ratings1
Active installs100
Developer Profile

WP Better SEO Links Developer Profile

WP Help

1 plugin · 100 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 Better SEO Links

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

Asset Fingerprints

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

HTML Comments
<!-- Ultimate Nofollow Plugin | shortcode insertion failed | given href resource not valid, href must begin with:
Data Attributes
name="itswphelp_item[nofollow_comments]"name="itswphelp_item[nofollow_blogroll]"name="itswphelp_blogroll_nofollow_checkbox"name="itswphelp_blogroll_sponsored_checkbox"
Shortcode Output
<a href= rel="nofollow">
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about WP Better SEO Links