Is Essential Widgets safe to use?

Laskyr does not give safety verdicts. No known unpatched vulnerabilities in the latest version (3.2.1). As of 2026-11-04. 2 issues are on record for older versions; version 3.0.1 or newer fixes all of them that state a fix. Keep Essential Widgets on the latest version (3.2.1) and remove it if you do not use it.

Which versions of Essential Widgets are vulnerable?

Known issues on record (newest first): Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) (3.0 and older, fixed in 3.0.1); Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) (2.2.2 and older, fixed in 2.3). The full list with sources is on this page.

What is the latest version of Essential Widgets?

3.2.1, according to wordpress.org (last updated 2026-06-18). It has 10,000+ active installs.

What should I do if my Essential Widgets is out of date?

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

Is Essential Widgets safe? Known vulnerabilities and latest version

Latest version: 3.2.1
Last updated: 2026-06-18
Active installs: 10,000+
Known issues on record: 2
Unpatched in latest: 0
Tested up to WP: 7.0.8 · PHP 7.4+

Essential Widgets is a WordPress plugin for widgets that allows you to create and add amazing widgets with high customization option — by Catch Themes

What to do

Update to the latest version (3.2.1). Anything older than 3.0.1 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 essential-widgets --field=version shows what you run; wp plugin update essential-widgets updates it.

Check your version

Known vulnerabilities

2 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 6.4 CVE-2026-0867 · published 2026-02-05

Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) in Essential Widgets (3.0 and older)

Affected: 3.0 and older
Fixed in: 3.0.1 *
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 Essential Widgets plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's ew-author, ew-archive, ew-category, ew-page, and ew-menu shortcodes in all versions up to, and including, 3.0 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping on user supplied attributes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. NOTE: This vulnerability was partially fixed in version 3.0.

NVD CVE-2026-0867 Wordfence advisory Code change (fix)

medium 6.5 CVE-2025-67543 · published 2025-12-09

Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) in Essential Widgets (2.2.2 and older)

Affected: 2.2.2 and older
Fixed in: 2.3
Access needed (per CVSS): Needs a low-level account (e.g. subscriber); someone on the site has to click a link or open a page
Range from: CVE record (the advisory publisher) · score by Patchstack

Details from the advisory

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Catch Themes Essential Widgets essential-widgets allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Essential Widgets: from n/a through <= 2.2.2.

NVD CVE-2025-67543 Patchstack advisory

Recent activity

2026-06-18 — latest release on wordpress.org (3.2.1).
2026-02-05 — Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) disclosed (CVE-2026-0867), fixed in 3.0.1.
2025-12-09 — Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) disclosed (CVE-2025-67543), fixed in 2.3.

Free. We check the CVE feeds every day and email you only when a new issue for Essential Widgets (essential-widgets) is published or a fix ships. Unsubscribe in one click.

Browse vulnerabilities

Types found in this plugin: Cross-site scripting (XSS) (2)

Where this data comes from

Version, last update, installs: wordpress.org/plugins/essential-widgets (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/essential-widgets"><img src="https://laskyr.com/plugins/essential-widgets/badge.svg" alt="Essential Widgets vulnerability status"></a>

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