Google Calendar Widget & Short Code Security & Risk Analysis

wordpress.org/plugins/wpgcal

Adds a widget and shortcode to display or embed Google Calendars in WordPress.

100 active installs valpha 2 PHP + WP 2.8.0+ Updated Jun 16, 2010
gcalgoogle-calendarshortcodewidgetwidgets
85
A · Safe
CVEs total0
Unpatched0
Last CVENever
Safety Verdict

Is Google Calendar Widget & Short Code Safe to Use in 2026?

Generally Safe

Score 85/100

Google Calendar Widget & Short Code has no known CVEs and is actively maintained. It's a solid choice for most WordPress installations.

No known CVEs Updated 15yr ago
Risk Assessment

The "wpgcal" valpha 2 plugin exhibits a generally positive security posture, with no known vulnerabilities or critical security signals detected in the static analysis. The absence of dangerous functions, file operations, external HTTP requests, and the exclusive use of prepared statements for SQL queries are all strong indicators of good security practices. The limited attack surface, consisting of only one shortcode with no immediately apparent unprotected entry points, further contributes to its secure profile.

However, a significant concern arises from the low percentage of properly escaped output. With 43 total outputs and only 12% properly escaped, there is a high likelihood of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. This is a critical weakness that could be exploited to inject malicious scripts into pages rendered by the plugin. The lack of nonce checks and capability checks, while not directly linked to the current findings, could also become a concern if new entry points or functionalities are added without proper authorization validation in the future.

In conclusion, while "wpgcal" valpha 2 is free from known malware, vulnerabilities, and major code-level risks like SQL injection or dangerous function usage, the prevalent unescaped output poses a substantial XSS risk. Addressing this output escaping issue should be the highest priority to improve the plugin's overall security.

Key Concerns

  • Low output escaping percentage
  • No nonce checks
  • No capability checks
Vulnerabilities
None known

Google Calendar Widget & Short Code Security Vulnerabilities

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

Google Calendar Widget & Short Code Code Analysis

Dangerous Functions
0
Raw SQL Queries
0
0 prepared
Unescaped Output
38
5 escaped
Nonce Checks
0
Capability Checks
0
File Operations
0
External Requests
0
Bundled Libraries
0

Output Escaping

12% escaped43 total outputs
Attack Surface

Google Calendar Widget & Short Code Attack Surface

Entry Points1
Unprotected0

Shortcodes 1

[gcal] wpgcal.php:18
WordPress Hooks 4
actioninitwpgcal.php:20
filtercontent_save_prewpgcal.php:44
actionadmin_initwpgcal.php:46
actionwidgets_initwpgcal.php:78
Maintenance & Trust

Google Calendar Widget & Short Code Maintenance & Trust

Maintenance Signals

WordPress version tested2.9.2
Last updatedJun 16, 2010
PHP min version
Downloads14K

Community Trust

Rating100/100
Number of ratings1
Active installs100
Developer Profile

Google Calendar Widget & Short Code Developer Profile

Casey Bisson

7 plugins · 290 total installs

68
trust score
Avg Security Score
84/100
Avg Patch Time
3405 days
View full developer profile
Detection Fingerprints

How We Detect Google Calendar Widget & Short Code

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

Asset Fingerprints

HTML / DOM Fingerprints

CSS Classes
widget_gcal
HTML Comments
an example embed code: * <iframe src="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?height=600&amp;wkst=1&amp;bgcolor=%23FFFFFF&amp;src=enk2sgfhkhrjqs57kqb5o1rb91r82rbo%40import.calendar.google.com&amp;color=%235A6986&amp;ctz=America%2FNew_York" style=" border-width:0 " width="500" height="600" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> THIS WORKS // if( preg_match( '/' . preg_quote(addslashes(htmlspecialchars($parsed['embed'], ENT_NOQUOTES)), '/') . '/' , $content )) replace google calendar iframe tag with shortcode +9 more
Data Attributes
gcaltitleembedsrcwidthheight+3 more
Shortcode Output
[gcal
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Google Calendar Widget & Short Code