WordPress 4.4.2 is an outdated version of the world's most popular website platform, released in 2016. If your website still runs this version, you're exposing yourself to serious security risks. Our analysis reveals 29 known vulnerabilities affecting this version, with 1 critical flaw that could allow attackers to completely compromise your site.
The dangers are very real. Approximately 92 websites worldwide still use WordPress 4.4.2, making them attractive targets for hackers. These vulnerabilities span from SQL injection attacks that steal your data to cross-site scripting that hijacks user sessions. In this guide, we'll help you identify if you're at risk and provide step-by-step instructions to secure your WordPress installation.
WordPress is a free, open-source platform that powers over 43% of all websites on the internet. It allows anyone to create and manage websites without coding knowledge, making it incredibly popular for blogs, small businesses, and online stores. WordPress 4.4.2 was released in February 2016 as a security update, but it's now nearly a decade old and no longer receives official support or security patches from WordPress.
When WordPress versions become outdated, they're like leaving your front door unlocked. Hackers actively search for websites running old versions because they know about the vulnerabilities and can exploit them automatically. WordPress 4.4.2 is particularly dangerous because it contains unfixed security flaws that attackers can use to steal your data, inject malware, or take complete control of your website. The longer you wait to update, the greater your risk of a successful attack.
29 CVEs found. The most critical are explained below.
The Content Timeline plugin version 4.4.2 has a serious flaw that lets hackers send specially crafted requests to your website. These requests can trick your website into revealing or modifying your entire database without authorization.
Impact: Attackers could steal your customer data, passwords, and sensitive business information, or completely corrupt your website's database causing total site failure.
↗ View on NVDThe RSS Aggregator plugin through version 4.4.2 doesn't properly filter user input in its search feature. This allows attackers to inject malicious database commands through the search box.
Impact: Hackers could access your database to steal customer information, posts, or modify website content without your knowledge or permission.
↗ View on NVDWordPress versions before 5.4.1 can be tricked into running harmful code if someone uploads a file with a specially crafted filename through the Media library. Only users with upload permissions can do this.
Impact: A staff member or hacker with upload access could run malicious code on your server, potentially taking over your entire website.
↗ View on NVDWordPress versions before 4.4.2 have a flaw in how it validates web addresses. Hackers can craft special URLs that bypass your security checks and make your site access internal systems.
Impact: Attackers could access restricted internal resources or use your website as a stepping stone to attack your servers and network infrastructure.
↗ View on NVDWordPress before 4.4.2 improperly validates redirect links, allowing attackers to create deceptive URLs that appear legitimate. When users click these links, they're sent to fake phishing websites.
Impact: Your users could be tricked into entering passwords or personal information on fake websites, compromising their security and damaging your website's reputation.
↗ View on NVDThe vcita Booking plugin through version 4.4.2 fails to properly check user permissions and sanitize input. Attackers can inject malicious code that gets stored and displayed to your visitors.
Impact: Hackers could inject malware or phishing code into your website that affects all visitors, potentially stealing customer information or infecting their devices.
↗ View on NVDShowing first 10 of 23. View all on NVD ↗
| CVE ID | Severity | Score | Published | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-37262 | HIGH | 7.1 | 2024-07-22 | Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation (XSS or 'Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in vCita.Com Online Booking & Scheduling Calendar for WordPress by vcita … |
| CVE-2020-4047 | MEDIUM | 6.8 | 2020-06-12 | In affected versions of WordPress, authenticated users with upload permissions (like authors) are able to inject JavaScript into some media file attachment pages in a certain way.… |
| CVE-2024-1318 | MEDIUM | 6.5 | 2024-02-29 | The RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a m… |
| CVE-2024-37499 | MEDIUM | 6.5 | 2024-07-09 | Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in vCita Online Booking & Scheduling Calendar for WordPress by vcita allows Path Trave… |
| CVE-2020-11030 | MEDIUM | 6.4 | 2020-04-30 | In affected versions of WordPress, a special payload can be crafted that can lead to scripts getting executed within the search block of the block editor. This requires an authent… |
| CVE-2024-4273 | MEDIUM | 6.4 | 2024-06-04 | The Essential Real Estate plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the plugin's 'ere_property_map' shortcode in all versions up to, and including, 4.4… |
| CVE-2025-5568 | MEDIUM | 6.4 | 2025-06-07 | The WpEvently plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via multiple parameters in all versions up to, and including, 4.4.2 due to insufficient input sanit… |
| CVE-2020-11027 | MEDIUM | 6.1 | 2020-04-30 | In affected versions of WordPress, a password reset link emailed to a user does not expire upon changing the user password. Access would be needed to the email account of the user… |
| CVE-2024-5859 | MEDIUM | 6.1 | 2024-06-21 | The Online Booking & Scheduling Calendar for WordPress by vcita plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via the ‘d’ parameter in all versions up to, a… |
| CVE-2020-11025 | MEDIUM | 5.8 | 2020-04-30 | In affected versions of WordPress, a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the navigation section of Customizer allows JavaScript code to be executed. Exploitation requires … |
| CVE-2020-11028 | MEDIUM | 5.8 | 2020-04-30 | In affected versions of WordPress, some private posts, which were previously public, can result in unauthenticated disclosure under a specific set of conditions. This has been pat… |
| CVE-2020-11029 | MEDIUM | 5.8 | 2020-04-30 | In affected versions of WordPress, a vulnerability in the stats() method of class-wp-object-cache.php can be exploited to execute cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. This has been… |
| CVE-2020-4048 | MEDIUM | 5.7 | 2020-06-12 | In affected versions of WordPress, due to an issue in wp_validate_redirect() and URL sanitization, an arbitrary external link can be crafted leading to unintended/open redirect wh… |
| CVE-2020-4046 | MEDIUM | 5.4 | 2020-06-12 | In affected versions of WordPress, users with low privileges (like contributors and authors) can use the embed block in a certain way to inject unfiltered HTML in the block editor… |
| CVE-2023-2299 | MEDIUM | 5.3 | 2023-06-03 | The Online Booking & Scheduling Calendar for WordPress by vcita plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized medication of data via the /wp-json/vcita-wordpress/v1/actions/a… |
| CVE-2024-3216 | MEDIUM | 5.3 | 2024-04-06 | The WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes and Shipping Labels plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability… |
| CVE-2025-13079 | MEDIUM | 5.3 | 2026-02-19 | The Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authorization bypass in all versions up to, and including, 4.… |
| CVE-2021-24681 | MEDIUM | 4.8 | 2021-10-11 | The Duplicate Page WordPress plugin through 4.4.2 does not sanitise or escape the Duplicate Post Suffix settings before outputting it, which could allow high privilege users to pe… |
| CVE-2024-9236 | MEDIUM | 4.8 | 2025-05-15 | The Team WordPress plugin before 4.4.2 does not sanitise and escape some of its settings, which could allow high privilege users such as admin to perform Stored Cross-Site Script… |
| CVE-2024-1985 | MEDIUM | 4.7 | 2024-03-13 | The Simple Membership plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'Display Name' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 4.4.2 due to insuffi… |
| CVE-2024-4274 | MEDIUM | 4.3 | 2024-06-04 | The Essential Real Estate plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized loss of data due to insufficient validation on the remove_property_attachment_ajax() function in all v… |
| CVE-2020-4050 | LOW | 3.5 | 2020-06-12 | In affected versions of WordPress, misuse of the `set-screen-option` filter's return value allows arbitrary user meta fields to be saved. It does require an admin to install a plu… |
| CVE-2020-4049 | LOW | 2.4 | 2020-06-12 | In affected versions of WordPress, when uploading themes, the name of the theme folder can be crafted in a way that could lead to JavaScript execution in /wp-admin on the themes p… |
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Running WordPress 4.4.2 puts your website, your users, and your business at serious risk. With 29 known vulnerabilities—including critical SQL injection flaws—attackers can steal your data, compromise user accounts, and destroy your reputation. The good news is that updating WordPress and your plugins is quick, easy, and free. Most updates take less than five minutes and are worth every second of your time.
Don't wait until your site gets hacked. Visit SiteRecipe.com today to scan your website for vulnerabilities and get personalized recommendations for securing your WordPress installation. Our platform makes it easy to identify outdated software, understand your security risks, and take action to protect your online presence. Your website's security is too important to ignore—start your free security audit now at SiteRecipe.com.
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