WP Pubsubhubbub Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/wp-pubsubhubbub

Implements a Pubsubhubbub Real Time Publisher informing Planet Earth of your updates now, not later!

200 active installs v1.2.0 PHP + WP 2.5+ Updated Aug 23, 2009
atomfeedfeedspubsubhubbubrss
85
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is WP Pubsubhubbub Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 85/100

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

No known CVEs Updated 16yr ago
Risk Assessment

The 'wp-pubsubhubbub' plugin version 1.2.0 exhibits a generally strong security posture based on the provided static analysis. The absence of any AJAX handlers, REST API routes, shortcodes, or cron events with unprotected entry points is a significant positive, indicating a limited attack surface. The code also demonstrates good practices with 100% of SQL queries using prepared statements and a high percentage of outputs being properly escaped. The lack of recorded vulnerabilities in its history further reinforces this impression of a secure plugin.

However, there are a few areas that warrant attention. The complete absence of nonce checks and capability checks across all entry points, while currently not presenting an immediate threat due to the zero attack surface, represents a potential weakness. If functionality were to be added in the future, the lack of these built-in security mechanisms could be exploited. Similarly, the 7 file operations, while not explicitly flagged as dangerous, coupled with an external HTTP request, could potentially be vectors for abuse if not carefully implemented and validated, especially in the absence of specific sanitization checks highlighted by the taint analysis (which found no issues, but it's a general concern with file/network operations).

In conclusion, 'wp-pubsubhubbub' v1.2.0 appears to be a secure plugin with minimal immediate risks due to its limited attack surface and good coding practices. The primary area for improvement lies in the proactive implementation of nonce and capability checks, which would enhance its security resilience against future potential threats. The current lack of reported vulnerabilities is a good sign, but building in these fundamental WordPress security features is a best practice.

Key Concerns

  • No nonce checks implemented
  • No capability checks implemented
  • Some outputs not properly escaped
Vulnerabilities
None known

WP Pubsubhubbub Security Vulnerabilities

No known vulnerabilities — this is a good sign.
Version History

WP Pubsubhubbub Release Timeline

v1.2.0Current
v1.0.5
v1.0.4
v1.0.2
v1.0.1
v0.9
Code Analysis
Analyzed Apr 16, 2026

WP Pubsubhubbub Code Analysis

Dangerous Functions
0
Raw SQL Queries
0
0 prepared
Unescaped Output
2
5 escaped
Nonce Checks
0
Capability Checks
0
File Operations
8
External Requests
1
Bundled Libraries
0

Output Escaping

71% escaped7 total outputs
Attack Surface

WP Pubsubhubbub Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 10
actionpublish_postwp-pubsubhubbub.php:56
actionwp_set_comment_statuswp-pubsubhubbub.php:57
actioncomment_postwp-pubsubhubbub.php:58
actionatom_headwp-pubsubhubbub.php:138
actionrss2_headwp-pubsubhubbub.php:139
actionrdf_headerwp-pubsubhubbub.php:140
actionrss_headwp-pubsubhubbub.php:141
actioncommentsrss2_headwp-pubsubhubbub.php:146
actioncomments_atom_headwp-pubsubhubbub.php:147
actionadmin_menuwp-pubsubhubbub.php:189
Maintenance & Trust

WP Pubsubhubbub Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested2.8.4
Last updatedAug 23, 2009
PHP min version
Downloads10K

Community Trust

Rating0/100
Number of ratings0
Active installs200
Developer Profile

WP Pubsubhubbub Developer Profile

padraic

1 plugin · 200 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 Pubsubhubbub

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

Asset Fingerprints

Asset Paths
/wp-content/plugins/wp-pubsubhubbub/library/Zend/Pubsubhubbub/Publisher.php

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about WP Pubsubhubbub