PLUGIN SECURITY
Is Category Posts safe?
Adds a block that shows the most recent posts from a single category.
What this plugin does
- Slug:
category-posts - Author: ZephyrWest
- 40000+ active installs
- 90/100 rating (79 reviews on wordpress.org)
- 1815131 all-time downloads
- On WordPress.org since 2007-10-24
blockcategoriescategorypostsrecent posts
Maintenance status
- Latest known version: 4.9.22
- Last updated: 2026-08-21 4:11pm GMT
- Tested up to WordPress: 7.1
- Requires PHP: 5.3+
- Max supported PHP (analyzed): 8.4
Known vulnerabilities
3 known CVEs on file for Category Posts.
| CVE | Vulnerability | Type | Severity | Affected | Fixed in | Published | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-6158 | Category Posts Widget [category-posts] < 4.9.17 | Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') | Medium 4.8 | < 4.9.17 | 4.9.17 | 2024-07-19 | ✓ fixed in latest |
| — | Category Posts Widget [category-posts] < 4.9.18 | Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') | Medium 4.8 | < 4.9.18 | 4.9.18 | 0000-00-00 | ✓ fixed in latest |
| — | Category Posts Widget [category-posts] < 4.9.20 | Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') | Medium 4.8 | < 4.9.20 | 4.9.20 | 0000-00-00 | ✓ fixed in latest |
| CVE-2024-9638 | Category Posts Widget < 4.9.18 - Admin+ Stored XSS | — | Unknown | < 4.9.18 | 4.9.18 | — | ✓ fixed in latest |
| CVE-2025-1453 | Category Posts Widget < 4.9.20 - Admin+ Stored XSS | — | Unknown | < 4.9.20 | 4.9.20 | — | ✓ fixed in latest |
How to fix it
Keep Category Posts updated — 4.9.22 is the latest version on wordpress.org, and each CVE above lists the exact release that fixed it ("Fixed in").
This is the plugin's full known vulnerability history, not a scan of any specific installation — run a free scan of your own site to check your exact installed version.
Safer / more established alternatives
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- Search & Filter — 50000+ active installs — 90/100 (175) — max PHP 8.4
- Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms — 40000+ active installs — 92/100 (194) — max PHP 8.4
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