WP Crontrol Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/wp-crontrol

WP Crontrol enables you to take control of the cron events on your WordPress website.

300K active installs v1.21.0 PHP 7.4+ WP 6.4+ Updated Jan 28, 2026
croncrontroldebugwoocommercewp-cron
96
A · Safe
CVEs total3
Unpatched0
Last CVEAug 21, 2025
Safety Verdict

Is WP Crontrol Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 96/100

WP Crontrol has a strong security track record. Known vulnerabilities have been patched promptly.

3 known CVEsLast CVE: Aug 21, 2025Updated 2mo ago
Risk Assessment

The static analysis of WP-Crontrol v1.21.0 indicates a generally strong security posture, with a zero attack surface for direct entry points and a high percentage of properly escaped output. The plugin demonstrates good practices by utilizing prepared statements for all SQL queries and implementing a substantial number of nonce and capability checks. However, the presence of file operations and external HTTP requests, while not explicitly flagged as problematic in the static analysis, warrants careful consideration in conjunction with its vulnerability history.

The vulnerability history reveals a concerning pattern of past security flaws, including Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), download of code without integrity checks, and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). The fact that the last vulnerability was in August 2025 suggests that this version has had known security issues, and while there are currently no unpatched CVEs, the types of past vulnerabilities are serious. This history indicates a recurring need for vigilance regarding input sanitization and secure handling of external resources.

In conclusion, while WP-Crontrol v1.21.0 exhibits good static security hygiene in many areas, its historical vulnerability profile necessitates a cautious approach. The plugin has shown susceptibility to critical vulnerability types, and although this specific version is listed as having no unpatched vulnerabilities at the time of this analysis, the past incidents should not be ignored. Continued monitoring and timely updates are crucial for mitigating the risks associated with its historical security weaknesses.

Key Concerns

  • Past high severity vulnerability (SSRF)
  • Past medium severity vulnerability (Code Download)
  • Past medium severity vulnerability (XSS)
  • Presence of file operations
  • Presence of external HTTP requests
Vulnerabilities
3

WP Crontrol Security Vulnerabilities

CVEs by Year

1 CVE in 2015
2015
1 CVE in 2024
2024
1 CVE in 2025
2025
Patched Has unpatched

Severity Breakdown

High
1
Medium
2

3 total CVEs

CVE-2025-8678medium · 5.9Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

WP Crontrol - 1.17.0 - 1.19.1 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Blind Server-Side Request Forgery

Aug 21, 2025 Patched in 1.19.2 (5d)
CVE-2024-28850high · 7.5Download of Code Without Integrity Check

WP Crontrol <= 1.16.1 - Remote Code Execution

Mar 24, 2024 Patched in 1.16.2 (398d)
WF-2a82666d-4c35-4aba-9163-834eef6c50ad-wp-crontrolmedium · 6.1Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

WP Crontrol < 1.3 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting

Aug 21, 2015 Patched in 1.3 (3077d)
Code Analysis
Analyzed Mar 16, 2026

WP Crontrol Code Analysis

Dangerous Functions
0
Raw SQL Queries
0
0 prepared
Unescaped Output
3
133 escaped
Nonce Checks
15
Capability Checks
27
File Operations
1
External Requests
1
Bundled Libraries
0

Output Escaping

98% escaped136 total outputs
Data Flows
All sanitized

Data Flow Analysis

3 flows
action_handle_posts (src\bootstrap.php:168)
Source (user input) Sink (dangerous op) Sanitizer Transform Unsanitized Sanitized
Attack Surface

WP Crontrol Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 21
actioninitsrc\bootstrap.php:58
actionadmin_initsrc\bootstrap.php:59
actionadmin_menusrc\bootstrap.php:60
filterremovable_query_argssrc\bootstrap.php:63
filterpre_unschedule_eventsrc\bootstrap.php:64
filterplugin_row_metasrc\bootstrap.php:65
actionload-tools_page_wp-crontrolsrc\bootstrap.php:67
filtercron_schedulessrc\bootstrap.php:69
actionadmin_enqueue_scriptssrc\bootstrap.php:72
actioncrontrol/tab-headersrc\bootstrap.php:73
actionactivated_pluginsrc\bootstrap.php:74
actiondeactivated_pluginsrc\bootstrap.php:75
actionswitch_themesrc\bootstrap.php:76
filterschedule_eventsrc\bootstrap.php:196
filterschedule_eventsrc\bootstrap.php:258
filterschedule_eventsrc\bootstrap.php:321
filterschedule_eventsrc\bootstrap.php:415
filterschedule_eventsrc\bootstrap.php:498
filterschedule_eventsrc\bootstrap.php:580
actionadmin_noticessrc\event-list-table.php:101
filtercron_requestsrc\event.php:40
Maintenance & Trust

WP Crontrol Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested6.9.4
Last updatedJan 28, 2026
PHP min version7.4
Downloads7.6M

Community Trust

Rating90/100
Number of ratings163
Active installs300K
Developer Profile

WP Crontrol Developer Profile

John Blackbourn

3 plugins · 700K total installs

78
trust score
Avg Security Score
98/100
Avg Patch Time
870 days
View full developer profile
Detection Fingerprints

How We Detect WP Crontrol

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

Asset Fingerprints

Asset Paths
/wp-content/plugins/wp-crontrol/wp-crontrol.css/wp-content/plugins/wp-crontrol/wp-crontrol.js
Script Paths
/wp-content/plugins/wp-crontrol/wp-crontrol.js
Version Parameters
wp-crontrol/wp-crontrol.css?ver=wp-crontrol/wp-crontrol.js?ver=

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

CSS Classes
wp-crontrol-wrapwp_crontrolcrontrol-message-wrapcrontrol-cron-event-tablewp-crontrol-admin-wrapwp-crontrol-add-cron-wrapwp-crontrol-controlswp-crontrol-edit-cron-wrap
HTML Comments
<!-- WP Crontrol --><!-- Begin WP Crontrol -->
Data Attributes
data-crontrol-hookdata-crontrol-iddata-crontrol-action
JS Globals
wp_crontrol_optionswpCrontrolCrontrolwp_crontrol_nonce
REST Endpoints
/wp-json/wp-crontrol/v1/events/wp-json/wp-crontrol/v1/schedules
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about WP Crontrol