WP Widget Preview Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/wp-widget-preview

Enables a preview mode for widgets. In preview mode, widgets are only visible for admins.

10 active installs v1.1 PHP + WP 3.0.1+ Updated Jul 9, 2013
previewwidget
85
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is WP Widget Preview Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 85/100

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

No known CVEs Updated 12yr ago
Risk Assessment

The wp-widget-preview v1.1 plugin exhibits a strong security posture based on the provided static analysis and vulnerability history. The absence of any detected AJAX handlers, REST API routes, shortcodes, or cron events significantly limits the attack surface, and importantly, no unprotected entry points were identified. The code also demonstrates good practices by utilizing prepared statements for all SQL queries and including a capability check. The vulnerability history is clean, with no recorded CVEs, which suggests a history of responsible development and patching.

However, a significant concern arises from the output escaping analysis. With 100% of detected outputs being unescaped, this presents a clear risk of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. While the static analysis did not find any direct taint flows or dangerous functions, an attacker could potentially inject malicious scripts through unescaped output, especially if this plugin is integrated into features that display user-provided or dynamically generated content. The lack of nonce checks, while not explicitly problematic given the zero attack surface, is a missed opportunity for defense-in-depth.

In conclusion, the plugin benefits from a minimal attack surface and good SQL handling. The primary weakness is the lack of output escaping, which is a critical security oversight. While the vulnerability history is positive, the unescaped output could lead to new vulnerabilities if not addressed. It is recommended to prioritize addressing the output escaping issue to mitigate potential XSS risks.

Key Concerns

  • All outputs are unescaped
Vulnerabilities
None known

WP Widget Preview Security Vulnerabilities

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

WP Widget Preview Release Timeline

v1.1Current
Code Analysis
Analyzed Mar 16, 2026

WP Widget Preview Code Analysis

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

Output Escaping

0% escaped2 total outputs
Attack Surface

WP Widget Preview Attack Surface

Entry Points0
Unprotected0
WordPress Hooks 3
filterwidget_update_callbackwp-widget-preview.php:62
actionin_widget_formwp-widget-preview.php:63
filterwidget_display_callbackwp-widget-preview.php:66
Maintenance & Trust

WP Widget Preview Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested3.6.1
Last updatedJul 9, 2013
PHP min version
Downloads5K

Community Trust

Rating0/100
Number of ratings0
Active installs10
Developer Profile

WP Widget Preview Developer Profile

Daan Kortenbach

2 plugins · 210 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 Widget Preview

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

Asset Fingerprints

Asset Paths
/wp-content/plugins/wp-widget-preview/forsite-widget-preview.php

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

HTML Comments
<!-- Widget Preview: Checkbox Input -->
Data Attributes
id="widget_preview_mode"name="widget_preview_mode"value="1"
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about WP Widget Preview