Plugins Rating: Your WordPress Plugins’Security and Hygiene, Simplified
Your plugins are themost common source of risk ina WordPress site.The Plugins Rating turns plugin security and updatehygiene into a single, trustworthy score you canact on—fast.
What the Plugins Rating Measures
· A1–6 score reflecting:
· Known vulnerabilities in youractive plugins (Critical, High, Medium, Low)
· Whether any active plugin is outdated compared to the latest available version
How We Calculate the Score
· Weanalyze all active plugins and total issues by severity.
· If any vulnerabilitiesare found, the score is driven by the worst severity:
· Critical → 1
· High → 2
· Medium → 3
· Low/none but risk flags present → 4
·If no vulnerabilities are found,we check update status across active plugins:
· Any plugin behind latest → 5 (Outdated)
· All active plugins up to date (or unknown states resolved) → 6(Secure)
In plain terms: known CVEs lower your score;being fully up to date earns youthe top rating.
Score Meanings at a Glance
·6 — Secure: No knownplugin vulnerabilities; all active plugins are current
·5 — Outdated: No CVEs detected,but one or more active plugins are behind latest
· 4 —At Risk: Low‑severity issues present
· 3 —At Risk: Medium‑severity vulnerabilities present
·2 — Vulnerable: High‑severity vulnerabilities present
·1 — Critical: Critical‑severityvulnerabilities present; patch immediately
Why Plugin Health Matters Most
· Attacksurface: Plugins dramatically expand site functionality—and potential exposure.
·Exploit targeting: Plugin CVEs are activelyscanned by bots and attackers.
·Compatibility: Old pluginversions oftenbreak with core/theme updates and new PHP versions.
How to Improve Your Plugins Rating
·Patch by severity:Fix or replace plugins withCritical/High issues first.
·Update actively: Keep all active pluginson the latest stable versions.
·Reduce risk: Remove unused, abandoned,or unverified plugins; prefer reputable vendors.
·Standardize:Adopt a monthly update window and emergency patchprocess.
Real‑World Examples
·Active plugin has 1 High vulnerability →Score 2 (Vulnerable)
· Noplugin CVEs, but a few are behind latest → Score 5 (Outdated)
· All active pluginshave no known issues and are up to date → Score 6 (Secure)