Is Akismet Anti-spam safe to use?

Laskyr does not give safety verdicts. No known unpatched vulnerabilities in the latest version (5.7.2). As of 2026-11-01. 1 issue is on record for older versions; version 3.1.5 or newer fixes all of them that state a fix. Keep Akismet Anti-spam on the latest version (5.7.2) and remove it if you do not use it.

Which versions of Akismet Anti-spam are vulnerable?

Known issues on record (newest first): Cross-site scripting (XSS) (older than 3.1.5, fixed in 3.1.5). The full list with sources is on this page.

What is the latest version of Akismet Anti-spam?

5.7.2, according to wordpress.org (last updated 2026-08-18). It has 5+ million active installs.

What should I do if my Akismet Anti-spam is out of date?

Take a backup, then update it from Dashboard > Updates (or run wp plugin update akismet). If you cannot update right away, deactivate it until you can. If you think the site was already attacked, run a free scan at https://laskyr.com/scan.

Plugins · akismet · data as of 2026-11-01

Is Akismet Anti-spam safe? Known vulnerabilities and latest version

Latest version: 5.7.2
Last updated: 2026-08-18
Active installs: 5+ million
Known issues on record: 1
Unpatched in latest: 0
Tested up to WP: 7.1.4 · PHP 7.2+

The best anti-spam protection to block spam comments and spam in a contact form. The most trusted antispam solution for WordPress and WooCommerce. — by Automattic

What to do

Update to the latest version (5.7.2). Anything older than 3.1.5 has at least one known issue listed below. Dashboard → Updates, or Plugins → “update now”.
If you cannot update right away, deactivate it until you can.
Turn on auto-updates for it: Plugins → “Enable auto-updates” on its row.
If you ran a vulnerable version and something looks off (spam pages, strange admins, redirects), run the free scan.

With WP-CLI: wp plugin get akismet --field=version shows what you run; wp plugin update akismet updates it.

Check your version

Known vulnerabilities

1 on record, newest first. “Affected” is the version range the source gives; “fixed in” is the version the source names, or (marked *) the first wordpress.org release after the last affected version.

medium 6.1 CVE-2015-9357 · published 2019-08-28

Cross-site scripting (XSS) in Akismet Anti-spam (older than 3.1.5)

Affected: older than 3.1.5
Fixed in: 3.1.5
Access needed (per CVSS): No login needed; someone on the site has to click a link or open a page
Range from: NVD analysis · score by NVD

Details from the advisory

The akismet plugin before 3.1.5 for WordPress has XSS.

NVD CVE-2015-9357 wordpress.org

Recent activity

2026-08-18 — latest release on wordpress.org (5.7.2).
2019-08-28 — Cross-site scripting (XSS) disclosed (CVE-2015-9357), fixed in 3.1.5.

Free. We check the CVE feeds every day and email you only when a new issue for Akismet Anti-spam (akismet) is published or a fix ships. Unsubscribe in one click.

Where this data comes from

Version, last update, installs: wordpress.org/plugins/akismet (Plugins API), fetched 2026-11-01.
Vulnerabilities: NIST National Vulnerability Database (NVD), checked 2026-11-01. This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
Each record links to its CVE page and to the original advisory (Wordfence, Patchstack or WPScan) where there is one. We only list a CVE here when its references or its advisory name this exact plugin, so a few real issues may be missing; none should be about a different plugin. Spot an error? Email Daniel.

Badge for your site or docs (states facts with a date, not a verdict):

<a href="https://laskyr.com/plugins/akismet"><img src="https://laskyr.com/plugins/akismet/badge.svg" alt="Akismet Anti-spam vulnerability status"></a>

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