Description
This plugin automatically checks installed plugins for known vulnerabilities utilizing WPScan’s API and provides optional email alerts.
Features:
- Automatic vulnerability detection in plugins utilizing WPScan’s API
- Optional email alerts
- Utilizes WP Cron to check for new security updates twice a day
- Cached API results to decrease backend load time significantly
Screenshots
Backend display of the Plugins page (plugins.php) 
Backend display of the VPC Settings page (Settings > VPC Settings)
Installation
Installation & Activation
- Upload the folder “vulnerable-plugin-checker” to your WordPress Plugins Directory (typically “/wp-content/plugins/”)
- Activate the plugin on your Plugins Page.
- Suggestion: Install an SMTP plugin such as WP Mail SMTP to prevent potentially dropped emails
- Done!
Enable Email Updates
- After activating “Vulnerable Plugin Checker”, go to Settings > VPC Settings
- Check off “Allow Email Alerts” and enter your email in “Email Address”
- Click Save Changes
FAQ
- Installation Instructions
-
Installation & Activation
- Upload the folder “vulnerable-plugin-checker” to your WordPress Plugins Directory (typically “/wp-content/plugins/”)
- Activate the plugin on your Plugins Page.
- Suggestion: Install an SMTP plugin such as WP Mail SMTP to prevent potentially dropped emails
- Done!
Enable Email Updates
- After activating “Vulnerable Plugin Checker”, go to Settings > VPC Settings
- Check off “Allow Email Alerts” and enter your email in “Email Address”
- Click Save Changes
Reviews
Dan
February 24, 2021
AVOID – NO LONGER KEPT UP-TO-DATE
toremo
May 21, 2018
It seems that this plugin is producing a whole lot false positive as it does not evaluate base64 entries which often get used i.e. by nearly all 100 WPMUDEV plugins.
“VPC: One or more plugins currently installed have known vulnerabilities with their current version. I suggest updating each vulnerable plugin if an update is available”
Many other security scanners incl Sucuri have no problem with that!
And 5-star ratings by its own developers does not mean that this plugin does anything. I would suggest leaving the rating of your plugins to other people!
Kind regards
Toremo
The plugin is very useful to see which plugins have known vulnerabilities. On WordPress multisite, however, it displays this information in the site admin backends instead of the network admin backend. That makes it a bit less useful, because the network admins cannot see the information when they are in the network admin backend.
session9studios
July 3, 2017
I use it on all of my sites, definitely recommend this plugin to all developers!
Storm Rockwell
December 9, 2016
I can say it has made me feel safer when hosting sites. I get alerted before a hack takes place as I have dealt with hacked sites for far too long. I haven’t dealt with a hacked site running my plugin. Plugin vulnerabilities are the easiest way for a hacker to get into your site/server.
rrbarry11
September 3, 2016
Great plugin. Works just as expected with no additional setup needed
Contributors & Developers
“Vulnerable Plugin Checker” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Vulnerable Plugin Checker” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
0.3.12
- Fixed false positive by adding normalizing to the version number in case WPScan’s API adds .0 to the version number
0.3.11
- Now the plugins page only shows only vulnerabilities that affect the current plugin version (suggested by @gbotica)
- Fixed the Settings URL in multiple places (reported by @gbotica)
0.3.10
- Fixed bug where unpatched vulnerabilities were ignored (reported by @pluginvulnerabilities)
0.3.9
- Fixed notice appearing on PHP7+
0.3.8
- fixed bug where it wouldn’t display the saved email
0.3.7
- removed sslverify on wp_remote_get
0.3.6
- changed cURL to wp_remote_get
- added vulnerabilities on plugin page
- fixed issue with plugin not pulling from cache
0.3.5
- fixed readme error
0.3.4
- fixed minor email bug
0.3.2
- changed language
0.3
- Rewrote the plugin for better performance, readability, and more
- Dismissable error message in all back-end pages if there is a vulnerability
- Added SMTP suggestion to prevent dropped emails
- Removed success notice from plugin page if there are no vulnerabilities
- Fixed a few non-breaking bugs
- Added translatable text and translator comments. Translation help is welcome!
- Added todo.txt to see my plans for future updates.
0.2.4
- Fixed conflicts with Gravity Forms
0.2.3
- Added support for adding multiple email addresses
0.2.2
- Fixed issue where text display appeared on multiple backend pages
0.2
- Text display on the plugins page if there are no known vulnerabilities
- Runs a scan when a new plugin is activated
- Fixed issue when a plugin was deleted it would throw an error
0.1.4
- WP 4.5 Support
0.1.3
- Fixed issue when more than one plugin was found vulnerable on plugins.php