Description
Most compromised WordPress sites aren’t hit by some clever, brand-new exploit – they’re breached through a known vulnerability in an outdated plugin or theme that nobody noticed in time. The fix is almost always as simple as running an update. The hard part is knowing there’s a problem at all.
SiteCare Vulnerability Scanner watches that blind spot for you. It checks your installed plugins, themes, and WordPress core against a continuously updated database of publicly known vulnerabilities, then tells you in plain language – right in your dashboard – what is affected and what to do about it.
- Automatic daily monitoring in the background – plus an instant re-scan whenever you install, update or activate a plugin or theme.
- Email alerts the moment a new vulnerability appears, so you find out without having to be logged in.
- Clear severity ratings (CVSS) and CVE references, with the most urgent components listed first.
- One-click updates right from the results whenever a fix is available.
- Security score A-F (0-100) that grades your whole site at a glance, with a trend against your previous scan.
- Abandoned & removed plugin detection – warns you when an installed plugin has been closed on WordPress.org or has had no update for years.
- Slack / Discord alerts via webhook, and a WP-CLI command (
wp vulnerability scan) with a CI-friendly exit code. - Shown where you already look – a dashboard widget and a WordPress Site Health check.
Your site’s data never leaves your server. The plugin only reads public vulnerability information through the WP Vulnerability API – no account, no external tracking, and no noticeable impact on performance.
Key Features
- Accurate version-range detection against a continuously updated vulnerability database
- Automatic background scans (daily, configurable) with instant re-checks after site changes
- Email alerts for newly discovered vulnerabilities – only new ones, never repeated
- Severity ratings (CVSS), CVE references and “fixed in” versions
- One-click updates for affected plugins, themes and WordPress core
- Dashboard widget and WordPress Site Health integration
- Security score (A-F / 0-100) with a trend against the previous scan
- Detection of abandoned and removed (closed) plugins via the WordPress.org API
- Slack and Discord notifications through a webhook URL
- WP-CLI command (
wp vulnerability scan/status) with a CI-friendly exit code - Read-only: only component slugs and versions are sent; no data leaves your site
- Support development via Buy Me a Coffee
License
This plugin is distributed under the GNU General Public License v2.0 or later. See the license.txt file for details.
Screenshots
Installation
From your WordPress dashboard (recommended)
- Go to Plugins Add New and search for “SiteCare Vulnerability Scanner”.
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
Manual upload
- Download the plugin .zip file.
- Go to Plugins Add New Upload Plugin and choose the .zip.
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
Getting started
Open the Vulnerabilities menu in your WordPress admin. The first scan runs automatically; press Scan now any time to re-check. Fine-tune the automatic scan frequency and email alerts under Vulnerabilities Settings.
FAQ
- Does it scan automatically? Yes. It runs a background scan once a day (configurable) and an immediate re-scan whenever you install, update or activate a plugin or theme. You can also press “Scan now” any time.
- Will it email me? Yes, if email alerts are enabled (they are by default). You are notified only about new vulnerabilities, never repeatedly about the same one. You can turn this off under Vulnerabilities Settings.
- How does it decide something is vulnerable? It compares your installed version against the affected version ranges published for each known vulnerability – so it catches issues even when you are several versions behind, not only on an exact-version match.
- Does it send my data anywhere? No. Only the public slug and version of each plugin, theme and WordPress core are looked up against the WP Vulnerability API. No site content, credentials or personal data ever leave your server.
- Does it slow down my site? No. Lookups are cached and scans run in the background via WP-Cron, so your admin stays fast.
- What is the security score? A single A-F grade (0-100) that summarises the health of your whole site – lower when you have open vulnerabilities or abandoned components, higher when everything is up to date. Each scan also shows whether the score went up or down since last time.
- How do abandoned / removed plugins get flagged? The plugin checks each installed component against the WordPress.org directory. If a plugin has been closed (removed) or has had no update for a very long time, it is flagged so you can plan a replacement. Premium or off-directory plugins are not falsely flagged.
- Can I get Slack or Discord alerts? Yes. Paste a Slack or Discord webhook URL under Vulnerabilities Settings and new findings are posted there.
- Is there a WP-CLI command? Yes:
wp vulnerability scanandwp vulnerability status. It returns a non-zero exit code when vulnerabilities are found, so you can use it in CI. - Can I support plugin development? Yes, via Buy Me a Coffee.
Reviews
7 Oktober 2024
Love this plugin! It keeps an eye on vulnerabilities without any hassle. Super easy to use. Perfect if you want quick security without the fuss.
5 Oktober 2024
I’ve been managing multiple WordPress sites, and security has always been a top concern. Since installing Simple WP Vulnerability Watcher, I’ve had greater peace of mind knowing that any potential vulnerabilities are caught early. The plugin notifies me instantly if there’s an issue with my plugins, themes, or core, allowing me to act swiftly. This has saved me countless hours of manually checking for updates or vulnerabilities and helped keep my sites secure effortlessly. It’s definitely a plugin I can’t do without.
Contributors & Developers
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Changelog
2.1.1
- Added a subtle link to SiteCare for people who manage several sites and want them all watched from one dashboard.
2.1.0
- New security score (A-F / 0-100): an at-a-glance grade for your whole site, shown on the dashboard, in the admin bar and the dashboard widget, with a trend against your previous scan.
- New abandoned & removed plugin detection: installed plugins that have been closed on WordPress.org, or left without an update for years, are now flagged (premium/off-directory plugins are not falsely flagged).
- New Slack / Discord webhook alerts: paste a webhook URL in Settings to get new findings posted to your channel.
- New WP-CLI command:
wp vulnerability scanandwp vulnerability status, with a CI-friendly exit code. - Refreshed dashboard UI: score hero, health badges and a clearer scan/last-scan status line.
- A friendly “your site is clean” note after a spotless scan (dismissible).
2.0.0
- Major rewrite. Fixed detection: vulnerabilities are now matched by version range (CVSS-aware) instead of an exact-version match that previously missed almost every real case.
- New background monitoring via WP-Cron (daily, configurable) plus instant re-scans after installs, updates and activations.
- New email alerts for newly discovered vulnerabilities (only new ones), with a Settings screen.
- New results screen: severity ratings, CVE links, “fixed in” versions and one-click updates, most urgent first.
- New WordPress Site Health check and dashboard widget.
- API responses are cached to keep the admin fast; full data cleanup on uninstall.
1.5.0
- Rebranded to SiteCare – Vulnerability Scanner, part of the SiteCare plugin family
- Donate and support links now point to Buy Me a Coffee
1.4.1
- Fixed the “Donate” and “Support me on Ko-fi” links to point to the correct account
- Fixed malformed markup on the Ko-fi support button
- Asset versions now follow the plugin version for reliable cache-busting
1.4.0
- Tested up to WordPress 6.8.3
- Minor improvements and bug fixes
1.3.0
- Tested up to WordPress 6.8.3
- Minor improvements and bug fixes
1.2.0
- Tested up to WordPress 6.8.3
- Minor improvements and bug fixes
1.1.0
- Tested up to WordPress 6.8.3
- Minor improvements and bug fixes
1.0.0
- Initial release
- Automated scanning of installed plugins, themes, and WordPress core
- Real-time results and alerts
- Uses WP Vulnerability API (read-only)
- Lightweight and efficient
- Easy-to-use admin interface
- Supports donations via Buy Me a Coffee
- Installation via WordPress plugin screen or upload