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PluginCanary

WP Popular Posts

by Hector Cabrera · 100,000+ active installs · Checked 3 Nov 2026
Healthy

Healthy: maintained, last release 2 Nov 2026, 15 releases in 24 months, no unpatched vulnerabilities.

87/ 100 Canary Score
Sub-scores for WP Popular Posts
Ownership100
Maintenance100
Security85
Support67
Reputation70

How the score works

Quick answers

Is WP Popular Posts still maintained?
Yes. Last release 2 Nov 2026, 15 releases in the last 24 months. 2 Nov 2026 · wordpress.org
Who owns WP Popular Posts, and has it changed hands?
No change recorded. Main committer hcabrera since Sep 2011. 3 Nov 2026 · SVN log
Was WP Popular Posts removed from wordpress.org?
No. Listed on wordpress.org as of 3 Nov 2026. 3 Nov 2026 · wordpress.org
Is WP Popular Posts safe?
8 known vulnerabilities, all fixed (latest in 7.4.3). Not on the exploited list. 30 Sep 2026 · Wordfence Intelligence
Is the latest WP Popular Posts update safe to install?
No ownership change before 7.4.4. No one-star spike after it. 2 Nov 2026 · Release history

Active signals

Facts we detected, with links to the source.

  • InfoHST-1Kinsta lists this plugin as not allowed on its hosting (seen 4 Nov 2026). Check your host's rules before installing. Some hosts disable listed plugins automatically.4 Nov 2026Evidence

Ownership timeline

Who commits to the plugin's code on wordpress.org, over time.

Committers and their active periods
hcabrera27 Sep 2011 to 2 Nov 2026, 208 commits

1 committer recorded. No ownership change since 2008.

Maintenance

Last release
yesterday
Releases, 24 months
15
Tested up to
7.1 current
Requires PHP
7.4 supported 8.2+
Releases per quarter
Releases per quarter for WP Popular Posts
Q1 20243
Q2 20241
Q3 20242
Q4 20241
Q1 20251
Q2 20253
Q3 20250
Q4 20253
Q1 20262
Q2 20261
Q3 20263
Q4 20261

Last release 2 Nov 2026. Tested with WordPress 7.1 (current).

Reputation

Last 90 days: no reviews. Lifetime: 4.5.

Average rating per quarter for WP Popular Posts
Q1 20245.0
Q2 20244.0
Q3 20243.0
Q4 20245.0
Q2 20254.0
Q1 20261.0
Q2 20265.0

Average rating stayed at 5.0 between Q1 2024 and Q2 2026.

Rating distribution
5 star206
4 star11
3 star6
2 star5
1 star21
Latest low reviews

Security record

2 vulnerabilities in 24 months (8 on record), all patched (latest fixed in 7.4.3).

Show 8 patched vulnerabilities
PublishedIssueCVSSAffectedFixed inDays to patch
30 Sep 2026WP Popular Posts <= 7.4.2 - Unauthenticated Information Disclosure in 'post_type' and 'context' Parameters5.3<= 7.4.27.4.3Patched before disclosure
3 Jan 2025WordPress Popular Posts <= 7.1.0 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary Shortcode Execution7.3<= 7.1.07.2.0Patched before disclosure
6 Oct 2023WordPress Popular Posts <= 6.3.2 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcode6.4< 6.3.36.3.3Patched before disclosure
18 Nov 2022WordPress Popular Posts <= 6.0.5 - Unauthenticated Views Changes5.3<= 6.0.56.1.0Patched before disclosure
29 Jun 2022WordPress Popular Posts <= 5.5.1 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting6.1<= 5.5.16.0.0Patched before disclosure
12 Nov 2021WordPress Popular Posts <= 5.3.2 - Authenticated Arbitrary File Upload8.8<= 5.3.25.3.3Patched before disclosure
4 Jul 2021WordPress Popular Posts <= 5.3.3 - Authenticated (Admin+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting5.5<= 5.3.35.3.4Patched before disclosure
23 Jun 2021WordPress Popular Posts <= 5.3.2 - Authenticated Cross-Site Scripting6.4< 5.3.35.3.3Patched before disclosure

Changelog mentions of security fixes: 7.4.4 (security).

Sources: Wordfence Intelligence, CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, readme changelogs.

Support

67% of 6 support threads resolved in the last 2 months.

Momentum

100,000+ active installs. History builds with each weekly snapshot.

Weekly downloads, last 27 weeks
Weekly downloads for WP Popular Posts
4 May 20261,458
11 May 20262,819
18 May 20262,845
25 May 20262,941
1 Jun 20262,503
8 Jun 202647,777
15 Jun 20267,499
22 Jun 20265,693
29 Jun 20265,176
6 Jul 20266,168
13 Jul 20264,137
20 Jul 20264,689
27 Jul 20264,047
3 Aug 20263,383
10 Aug 20262,814
17 Aug 20269,081
24 Aug 202643,991
31 Aug 202647,191
7 Sep 20269,944
14 Sep 20267,906
21 Sep 202610,074
28 Sep 202647,371
5 Oct 202610,472
12 Oct 20265,475
19 Oct 202613,141
26 Oct 20266,692
2 Nov 2026944

Weekly downloads over the last 4 weeks are 44% below the 27-week average.

Healthier alternatives

Same job, rated Healthy, higher Canary Score and at least 10,000 installs. Never sponsored.

Recent Posts Widget With ThumbnailsScore 93 · 100,000+WebberZone Top 10Score 91 · 10,000+Related Posts by TaxonomyScore 90 · 10,000+Category Posts BlockScore 89 · 40,000+Related Posts for WordPressScore 89 · 10,000+

Facts

Version7.4.4
AuthorHector Cabrera
Added20 Nov 2008
Last updated2 Nov 2026
Active installs100,000+
Requires WordPress6.2
Tested up to7.1.4
Requires PHP7.4
CategoryContent Management > Blog & Article Publishing
Tagstop, posts, popular, trending, popularity

Other plugins by this author: Recently

Questions

Is WP Popular Posts still maintained?

Yes. Last release 2 Nov 2026, 15 releases in the last 24 months.

Who owns WP Popular Posts, and has it changed hands?

No change recorded. Main committer hcabrera since Sep 2011.

Was WP Popular Posts removed from wordpress.org?

No. Listed on wordpress.org as of 3 Nov 2026.

Is WP Popular Posts safe?

8 known vulnerabilities, all fixed (latest in 7.4.3). Not on the exploited list.

Is the latest WP Popular Posts update safe to install?

No ownership change before 7.4.4. No one-star spike after it.

Data: wordpress.org Plugins API, plugins SVN and Trac, wordpress.org reviews and support forum, Wordfence Intelligence, CISA KEV, NVD.Plugin data refreshed 3 Nov 2026.Report a data issue