Is Head Meta Data safe to use?

Laskyr does not give safety verdicts. No known unpatched vulnerabilities in the latest version (20260810). As of 2026-11-04. 2 issues are on record for older versions; version 20260105 or newer fixes all of them that state a fix. Keep Head Meta Data on the latest version (20260810) and remove it if you do not use it.

Which versions of Head Meta Data are vulnerable?

Known issues on record (newest first): Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) (20251118 and older, fixed in 20260105); Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) (20250327 and older, fixed in 20251118). The full list with sources is on this page.

What is the latest version of Head Meta Data?

20260810, according to wordpress.org (last updated 2026-08-10). It has 10,000+ active installs.

What should I do if my Head Meta Data is out of date?

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

Is Head Meta Data safe? Known vulnerabilities and latest version

Latest version: 20260810
Last updated: 2026-08-10
Active installs: 10,000+
Known issues on record: 2
Unpatched in latest: 0
Tested up to WP: 7.1.4 · PHP 5.6.20+

Adds a custom set of <meta> tags to the <head> section of all posts & pages. — by Jeff Starr

What to do

Update to the latest version (20260810). Anything older than 20260105 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 head-meta-data --field=version shows what you run; wp plugin update head-meta-data 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-2026-0608 · published 2026-01-20

Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) in Head Meta Data (20251118 and older)

Affected: 20251118 and older
Fixed in: 20260105 *
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 Head Meta Data plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'head-meta-data' post meta field in all versions up to, and including, 20251118 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. 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.

NVD CVE-2026-0608 Wordfence advisory Code change (fix)

medium 5.9 CVE-2025-66081 · published 2025-11-21

Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) in Head Meta Data (20250327 and older)

Affected: 20250327 and older
Fixed in: 20251118
Access needed (per CVSS): Needs an admin-level account; 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 Jeff Starr Head Meta Data head-meta-data allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Head Meta Data: from n/a through <= 20250327.

NVD CVE-2025-66081 Patchstack advisory

Recent activity

2026-08-10 — latest release on wordpress.org (20260810).
2026-01-20 — Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) disclosed (CVE-2026-0608), fixed in 20260105.
2025-11-21 — Stored cross-site scripting (XSS) disclosed (CVE-2025-66081), fixed in 20251118.

Free. We check the CVE feeds every day and email you only when a new issue for Head Meta Data (head-meta-data) 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/head-meta-data (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/head-meta-data"><img src="https://laskyr.com/plugins/head-meta-data/badge.svg" alt="Head Meta Data vulnerability status"></a>

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