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PluginCanary

External Links

External Links - nofollow, noopener & new window
by WebFactory · 80,000+ active installs · Checked 4 Nov 2026
Healthy

Healthy: maintained, last release 16 Aug 2026, 4 releases in 24 months, no unpatched vulnerabilities.

93/ 100 Canary Score
Sub-scores for External Links
Ownership100
Maintenance100
Security100
SupportNo data
Reputation60

How the score works

Quick answers

Is External Links still maintained?
Yes. Last release 16 Aug 2026, 4 releases in the last 24 months. 16 Aug 2026 · wordpress.org
Who owns External Links, and has it changed hands?
No change recorded. Main committer WebFactory since Jun 2019. 4 Nov 2026 · SVN log
Was External Links removed from wordpress.org?
No. Listed on wordpress.org as of 4 Nov 2026. 4 Nov 2026 · wordpress.org
Is External Links safe?
3 known vulnerabilities, all fixed (latest in 2.58). Not on the exploited list. 8 Mar 2023 · Wordfence Intelligence
Is the latest External Links update safe to install?
No ownership change before 2.66. No one-star spike after it. 24 Jul 2026 · Release history

Active signals

Facts we detected, with links to the source.

  • InfoMOM-2Downloads in the last 4 weeks are down more than half vs the 26-week average. Review this plugin.4 Nov 2026Evidence

Ownership timeline

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

Committers and their active periods
WebFactory11 Jun 2019 to 16 Aug 2026, 80 commits
talextech27 Dec 2019 to 27 Dec 2019, 2 commits

2 committers recorded. No ownership change since 2011.

Maintenance

Last release
3 months ago
Releases, 24 months
4
Tested up to
7.1 current
Requires PHP
7.2 supported 8.2+
Releases per quarter
Releases per quarter for External Links
Q1 20241
Q2 20240
Q3 20241
Q4 20241
Q1 20250
Q2 20250
Q3 20251
Q4 20250
Q1 20261
Q2 20261
Q3 20261
Q4 20260

Last release 16 Aug 2026. Tested with WordPress 7.1 (current).

Reputation

Last 90 days: no reviews. Lifetime: 4.3.

Average rating per quarter for External Links
Q4 20231.0
Q1 20242.3
Q2 20243.0
Q3 20243.0
Q2 20251.0
Q3 20255.0
Q4 20252.0

Average rating rose from 1.0 to 2.0 between Q4 2023 and Q4 2025.

Rating distribution
5 star194
4 star7
3 star8
2 star6
1 star32
Latest low reviews

Security record

3 vulnerabilities on record, all patched (latest fixed in 2.58).

Show 3 patched vulnerabilities
PublishedIssueCVSSAffectedFixed inDays to patch
8 Mar 2023External Links <= 2.57 - Cross-Site Request Forgery via action_admin_action_wpel_dismiss_notice4.3<= 2.572.581
20 Nov 2022External Links <= 2.55 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Cross-Site Scripting5.5<= 2.552.56Patched before disclosure
23 Mar 2016WP External Links < 1.81 - Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting6.4< 1.811.8132

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

Support

100% of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months.

Momentum

80,000+ active installs. History builds with each weekly snapshot.

Weekly downloads, last 27 weeks
Weekly downloads for External Links
4 May 2026601
11 May 20261,869
18 May 202633,133
25 May 20266,666
1 Jun 20264,144
8 Jun 20263,150
15 Jun 20263,228
22 Jun 20262,194
29 Jun 20262,064
6 Jul 20262,085
13 Jul 20262,118
20 Jul 202631,709
27 Jul 20268,029
3 Aug 20266,872
10 Aug 20263,695
17 Aug 20263,076
24 Aug 20262,784
31 Aug 20262,341
7 Sep 20262,069
14 Sep 20262,042
21 Sep 20262,095
28 Sep 20261,849
5 Oct 20262,193
12 Oct 20261,535
19 Oct 20262,704
26 Oct 20261,967
2 Nov 2026357

Weekly downloads over the last 4 weeks are 68% below the 27-week average.

Healthier alternatives

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

WP Sitemap PageScore 100 · 200,000+Social Preview and Open Graph TagsScore 100 · 50,000+BoldGrid Easy SEOScore 100 · 40,000+WP Robots TxtScore 100 · 40,000+Virtual Robots.txtScore 100 · 40,000+

Facts

Version2.66
AuthorWebFactory
Added27 Feb 2011
Last updated16 Aug 2026
Active installs80,000+
Requires WordPress4.2
Tested up to7.1.4
Requires PHP7.2
CategorySite Administration & Utilities > URL Redirects & 301 Management
Tagsnew tab, nofollow, noopener, new window, external links

Other plugins by this author: Maintenance, Under Construction, WP Reset, 301 Redirects - Redirect Manager, Advanced Google reCAPTCHA, Minimal Coming Soon - Coming Soon Page, Custom Sidebars - Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager, Captcha Code, Login Lockdown & Protection, Simple Author Box, Sticky Menu & Sticky Header, Email Log

Questions

Is External Links still maintained?

Yes. Last release 16 Aug 2026, 4 releases in the last 24 months.

Who owns External Links, and has it changed hands?

No change recorded. Main committer WebFactory since Jun 2019.

Was External Links removed from wordpress.org?

No. Listed on wordpress.org as of 4 Nov 2026.

Is External Links safe?

3 known vulnerabilities, all fixed (latest in 2.58). Not on the exploited list.

Is the latest External Links update safe to install?

No ownership change before 2.66. 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 4 Nov 2026.Report a data issue