
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window Security & Risk Analysis
wordpress.org/plugins/wp-external-linksInternal links & external links manager: open in new window or tab, control nofollow, ugc, sponsored & noopener. SEO friendly.
Is External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window Safe to Use in 2026?
Generally Safe
Score 99/100External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window has a strong security track record. Known vulnerabilities have been patched promptly.
The wp-external-links plugin, version 2.63, exhibits a mixed security posture. While the static analysis indicates good practices such as 100% prepared SQL statements and a relatively small attack surface with no unprotected entry points, the vulnerability history raises significant concerns. The presence of three known medium-severity vulnerabilities, including CSRF and Cross-site Scripting, suggests a history of exploitable weaknesses. The fact that these vulnerabilities have been addressed and are currently unpatched is a positive sign, but the historical pattern indicates a need for ongoing vigilance and thorough security audits. The lack of identified taint flows in the static analysis is encouraging, but the past vulnerabilities highlight that such issues might have been present or overlooked in prior versions.
Key Concerns
- History of medium severity vulnerabilities
- History of CSRF vulnerabilities
- History of XSS vulnerabilities
- 82% output escaping is good, but not 100%
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window Security Vulnerabilities
CVEs by Year
Severity Breakdown
3 total CVEs
External Links <= 2.57 - Cross-Site Request Forgery via action_admin_action_wpel_dismiss_notice
External Links <= 2.55 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Cross-Site Scripting
WP External Links < 1.81 - Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window Code Analysis
Output Escaping
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window Attack Surface
AJAX Handlers 1
WordPress Hooks 10
Maintenance & Trust
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window Maintenance & Trust
Maintenance Signals
Community Trust
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window Alternatives
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External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window Developer Profile
28 plugins · 3.5M total installs
How We Detect External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window
Patterns used to identify this plugin on WordPress sites during automated security audits and web crawling.
Asset Fingerprints
/wp-content/plugins/wp-external-links/public/css/external-links.css/wp-content/plugins/wp-external-links/public/js/external-links.js/wp-content/plugins/wp-external-links/libs/wprun/assets/css/wprun-forms.css/wp-content/plugins/wp-external-links/public/js/external-links.jswp-external-links/public/css/external-links.css?ver=wp-external-links/public/js/external-links.js?ver=wprun/assets/css/wprun-forms.css?ver=HTML / DOM Fingerprints
wpel-tooltipwpel-iconWP External Links Plugin | WebFactory LtdWPEL SettingsWP External LinksNetwork Settings+2 moredata-wpel-icondata-wpel-icon-colordata-wpel-icon-positiondata-wpel-titledata-wpel-tooltip-styleWPEL_Settings