All WordPress website owners and users must stay informed about any vulnerabilities associated with WordPress plugins before installing, updating, or activating them on their sites.
Please Note: Domains.co.za will not be liable for any vulnerabilities caused by WordPress plugins on your site. We also do not guarantee the functionality or speed of your WordPress site due to installed plugins.
Below is a list of top WordPress plugins that have been reported to have vulnerabilities, listed in alphabetical order. Plugins that are no longer available are noted separately. For a complete list of incompatible plugins, please refer to WordPress Support.
Use Ctrl + F to quickly find a specific plugin by name.
| PLUGIN | DESCRIPTION | COMMENT |
|---|---|---|
| 6Scan Security | Abandoned or unsupported. Duplicates an existing WordPress function. | Last Updated: 5 years ago |
| Broken Link Checker | Known performance issues. | Recommend an off-site product |
| Contextual Related Posts | Increases database load. | Recommend an off-site product |
| CopySafe PDF Protection | Vulnerabilities up to and including Version 0.6 (more info). | Update to Version 0.7 or latest |
| CopySafe Web Protection | Vulnerabilities up to and including Version 2.5 (more info). | Update to Version 2.6 or latest |
| Google XML Sitemaps | Performance issues up to Version 4.0 ONLY. | Last Updated: 2 years ago |
| InfiniteWP Client | Versions up to 1.6.3.1 have known vulnerabilities (more info). | |
| MailPoet | Versions up to 2.6.6 have known vulnerabilities (more info). | |
| Referrer WP | Reduced website performance; not tested on latest 3 major WordPress releases! | Last Updated: 7 years ago; Recommend an off-site product |
| SEO Auto Links & Related Posts | Reduced website performance; not tested on latest 3 major WordPress releases! | Last Updated: 7 years ago; Recommend an off-site product |
| SG Optimizer | Versions up to 5.0.12 have known vulnerabilities (more info). | Adds no value & may not work |
| Similar Posts | Reduced website performance due to numerous database requests. | Recommend an off-site product |
| Slimstat Analytics | Reduced website performance; not tested on latest 3 major WordPress releases! | Refer to notes below tables. |
| Synthesis | May not work correctly and adds no value. | |
| Updraft | Duplicates existing functionality. | Last Updated: 8 years ago; New plugin UpdraftPlus |
| W3 Total Cache | This plugin is unnecessary as it duplicates one of our system functions. | |
| WordPress Beta Tester | Made non-functional due to our security protocols. | Against Domains.co.za Security Protocols |
| WordPress Gzip Compression | This plugin is unnecessary as it duplicates one of our system functions. | Last Updated: 5 years ago; |
| WordPress Popular Posts | Can increase database load and create poor caching and scaling (Version 3.1.1 & below). | Recommend an off-site product |
| WP-Cache.com | This plugin is unnecessary as it duplicates one of our system functions. | Last Updated: 5 years ago; |
| WP-PostViews | Reduced website performance due to high number of database requests! | Recommend an off-site product. |
| WP Database Backup | Vulnerabilities up to and including Version 5.1 (more info). | Update to Version 5.2 or latest |
| WP Fast Cache | This plugin is unnecessary as it duplicates one of our system functions. | Last Updated: 4 years ago; |
| WP Fastest Cache | This plugin is unnecessary as it duplicates one of our system functions. | Adds no value |
| WP File Cache | This plugin is unnecessary as it duplicates one of our system functions. | Last Updated: 9 years ago; |
| WP Live Chat Support | Vulnerabilities up to and including Version 8.0.33 (more info). | Update to Version 8.0.34 or latest |
| WP Power Stats | Reduced website performance; not tested on latest 3 major WordPress releases! | Last Updated: 1 year ago; Recommend an off-site product |
| WP Super Cache | This plugin is unnecessary as it duplicates one of our system functions. | Adds no value |
| wpengine-common | No longer available. | |
| wponlinebackup | Abandoned or unsupported – Last supported 6 years ago. | No longer available. |
| Yet Another Featured Posts Plugin (YAFPP) | Can increase database load and create poor caching and scaling. | Last Updated: 9 years ago; Recommend an off-site product. |
| Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP) | Reduced website performance due to numerous database requests. | Recommend an off-site product. |
OBSOLETE PLUGINS
| OBSOLETE PLUGIN | DESCRIPTION | COMMENT |
|---|---|---|
| 6Scan Backup | Abandoned or unsupported. | No longer available. |
| Adminer | Duplicates WordPress functionality. | No longer available. |
| Clef | Abandoned in 2017 and unsupported. | No longer available. |
| EZPZ One Click Backup | Abandoned or unsupported. | No longer available. |
| Fuzzy SEO Booster | Poor caching and increased database load; closed on July 5, 2019. | No longer available. |
| Google AdSense Click-Fraud Monitoring Plugin | Known performance issues. | No longer available. |
| Google XML Sitemaps with Multisite support | Performance issues; use Yoast SEO or Google Sitemap instead. | No longer available. |
| JR Referrer | Reduced website performance; may reduce site caching; use an off-site product. | No longer available. |
| P3 (Plugin Performance Profiler) | May not work correctly and adds no value. | Last Updated: 4 years ago. |
| Pipdig Power Pack | Security issues in versions up to 4.7.3; closed. | No longer available. |
| Portable phpMyAdmin | Vulnerability issues (more info). | No longer available. |
| Slick Popup: Contact Form 7 Popup Plugin | Vulnerability issues (more info) – closed on May 28, 2019. | No longer available. |
| StatPress | Versions up to 1.2.9.1 have vulnerability issues (more info) – closed. | No longer available. |
| New plugin is NewStatPress | ||
| the-codetree-backup | Removed due to guideline violation; closed on December 16, 2018. | No longer available. |
| ToolsPack | Malware (more info). | No longer available. |
| wp-cache | Removed due to guideline violation. | No longer available. |
| WP-phpMyAdmin | Abandoned or unsupported – Last supported 12 years ago. | No longer available. |
| wpengine-common | No longer available. | |
| wponlinebackup | Abandoned or unsupported – Last supported 6 years ago. | No longer available. |
| WPEngine Snapshot | Abandoned or unsupported – Last supported 9 years ago. | No longer available. |
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING STATISTICS & RELATED POSTS PLUGINS
Statistical Plugins: These plugins may negatively impact your site’s speed and resources due to the numerous requests continuously sent to your MySQL database, potentially preventing your website from caching. We recommend using an off-site service.
Related Posts Plugins: Similar to statistical plugins, related posts plugins can increase your database load and negatively impact your site’s performance due to multiple queries, poor caching, and inefficient scaling, especially on larger sites. We recommend using an off-site service.