Is Debugger & Troubleshooter safe to use?

Laskyr does not give safety verdicts. No known unpatched vulnerabilities in the latest version (1.5.1). As of 2026-11-04. 1 issue is on record for older versions; version 1.4.0 or newer fixes all of them that state a fix. Keep Debugger & Troubleshooter on the latest version (1.5.1) and remove it if you do not use it.

Which versions of Debugger & Troubleshooter are vulnerable?

Known issues on record (newest first): Privilege escalation (1.3.2 and older, fixed in 1.4.0). The full list with sources is on this page.

What is the latest version of Debugger & Troubleshooter?

1.5.1, according to wordpress.org (last updated 2026-10-20). It has 90+ active installs.

What should I do if my Debugger & Troubleshooter is out of date?

Take a backup, then update it from Dashboard > Updates (or run wp plugin update debugger-troubleshooter). 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 · debugger-troubleshooter · data as of 2026-11-04

Is Debugger & Troubleshooter safe? Known vulnerabilities and latest version

Latest version: 1.5.1
Last updated: 2026-10-20
Active installs: 90+
Known issues on record: 1
Unpatched in latest: 0
Tested up to WP: 7.1.4 · PHP 7.4+

A WordPress plugin for debugging & troubleshooting. Safely simulate plugin deactivation, theme switching, and WP_DEBUG. — by Jhimross Olinares

What to do

Update to the latest version (1.5.1). Anything older than 1.4.0 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 debugger-troubleshooter --field=version shows what you run; wp plugin update debugger-troubleshooter 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.

high 8.8 CVE-2026-5130 · published 2026-03-30

Privilege escalation in Debugger & Troubleshooter (1.3.2 and older)

Affected: 1.3.2 and older
Fixed in: 1.4.0 *
Access needed (per CVSS): Needs a low-level account (e.g. subscriber)
Range from: CVE record (the advisory publisher) · score by Wordfence

Details from the advisory

The Debugger & Troubleshooter plugin for WordPress was vulnerable to Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation in versions up to and including 1.3.2. This was due to the plugin accepting the wp_debug_troubleshoot_simulate_user cookie value directly as a user ID without any cryptographic validation or authorization checks. The cookie value was used to override the determine_current_user filter, which allowed unauthenticated attackers to impersonate any user by simply setting the cookie to their target user ID. This made it possible for unauthenticated attackers to gain administrator-level access and perform any privileged actions including creating new administrator accounts, modifying site content, installing plugins, or taking complete control of the WordPress site. The vulnerability was fixed in version 1.4.0 by implementing a cryptographic token-based validation system where only administrators can initiate user simulation, and the cookie contains a random 64-character token that must be validated against database-stored mappings rather than accepting arbitrary user IDs.

NVD CVE-2026-5130 Wordfence advisory Code change (fix)Plugin source

Recent activity

2026-10-20 — latest release on wordpress.org (1.5.1).
2026-03-30 — Privilege escalation disclosed (CVE-2026-5130), fixed in 1.4.0.

Free. We check the CVE feeds every day and email you only when a new issue for Debugger & Troubleshooter (debugger-troubleshooter) is published or a fix ships. Unsubscribe in one click.

Browse vulnerabilities

Types found in this plugin: Privilege escalation (1)

Where this data comes from

Version, last update, installs: wordpress.org/plugins/debugger-troubleshooter (Plugins API), fetched 2026-11-04.
Vulnerabilities: NIST National Vulnerability Database (NVD), checked 2026-11-04. 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/debugger-troubleshooter"><img src="https://laskyr.com/plugins/debugger-troubleshooter/badge.svg" alt="Debugger & Troubleshooter vulnerability status"></a>

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