3

I'm not sure if my question is appropriate here, apologies in advance but I am confused and need some helpful thoughts!

We were using this plugin for our site , which has recently been removed from the WordPress site, and replaced with a suggested alternative. The alternative is very expensive and beyond our budget.

My site recently got hacked, and some spam links were included in some of the plugin files, including this one.

As the plugin is no longer supported, and hence there won't be any security updates, is this a source of vulnerability?

Improve this question
1
  • 2
    In the case of this plugin, some searching suggests it was indeed removed because of a published security flaw. I don't know what the published vulnerability was, but I thinking I found an XSS vulnerably after a quick glance.
    – Alexander O'Mara
    Commented Jul 20, 2016 at 18:24

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
14

There is no definite answer as each plugin, whether available in a repo or not, should be handled on its own merit. Also, who says that that plugin caused your site to get hacked, it might have being a loophole in another plugin or even your theme.

Just in general, one should avoid using plugins and themes that are not actively being maintained as it does have an increased security vulnerability

Improve this answer
0

which has recently been removed from the WordPress site, and replaced with a suggested alternative. The alternative is very expensive and beyond our budget.

If the plugin has been removed from the WordPress main repo, there must be a reason.

I wrote on how you can check a plugin for malicious code. So you may check that first.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.