WP Engine, the managed web host recently banned from WordPress.org, has filed a federal lawsuit against WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging attempted extortion as well as seeking relief from trademark infringement claims. The goal of the federal lawsuit is to stop Mullenweg from continuing to “harm” WP Engine and the WordPress ecosystem as … Read more
Matt Mullenweg posted on WordPress.org that WP Engine users have been granted a reprieve from the block on the WordPress plugin and theme repository until October 1st, allowing them to access updates as usual. WordPress Versus WP Engine Matt Mullenweg and popular web host WP Engine have been locked in a conflict for the past … Read more
Joost de Valk, co-founder of the Yoast SEO plugin, published an article calling for more equitable contributions from large WordPress companies, greater financial transparency, and a new board that represents the voices of contributors and companies. Joost de Valk Supports Matt Mullenweg Joost de Valk’s article is supportive of WordPress and agrees with Automattic’s CEO … Read more
WordPress banned WP Engine, a managed WordPress web host, blocking thousands of websites from adding or updating plugins and themes. Technology writer Robert Scoble described the decision as “universally hated in tech” and that out of hundreds of posts on the subject almost none was on Mullenweg’s side on the issue. What Happened Matt Mullenweg, … Read more
The WordPress Foundation applied to trademark ‘Managed WordPress’ and ‘Hosted WordPress’ for software and hosting services. If approved, this would limit commercial use of these terms by web hosts and even plugins without prior permission. Trademark Applications Filed By WordPress The trademark applications for the two hosting related phrases are dated July 12, 2024 and … Read more
Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic announced on Reddit that WP Engine initiated legal action against WordPress, Automattic, and Mullenweg himself. Mullenweg wrote that WordPress is countersuing. WP Engine is a leading managed WordPress host provider that Mullenweg alleges is violating the WordPress trademark. Mullenweg’s comments came in a Reddit thread titled … Read more
WordPress security company Patchstack announced a round of $5 million USD funding and the addition of Joost de Valk, co-founder of Yoast SEO, to their board. The funding will accelerate the development of Patchstack toward becoming the fastest full-cycle security solution. Patchstack – Trusted Security Partner Patchstack, based in Estonia, is a fast growing WordPress … Read more
The co-founders of Yoast have launched a plugin that helps users plan tasks, defeat procrastination, and remove distractions, making it easier to achieve success. This plugin simplifies managing critical tasks like maintaining website health, publishing posts, and updating content. Why This Plugin Helps Users Become Successful A reason why some websites fail to achieve all … Read more
Advisories have been issued regarding vulnerabilities discovered in two of the most popular WordPress contact form plugins, potentially affecting over 1.1 million installations. Users are advised to update their plugins to the latest versions. +1 Million WordPress Contact Forms Installations The affected contact form plugins are Ninja Forms, (with over 800,000 installations) and Contact Form … Read more
A recent webinar featuring WordPress executives from Automattic and Elementor, along with developers and Joost de Valk, discussed the stagnation in WordPress growth, exploring the causes and potential solutions. Stagnation Was The Webinar Topic The webinar, “Is WordPress’ Market share Declining? And What Should Product Businesses Do About it?” was a frank discussion about what … Read more
A vulnerability advisory was issued about two WordPress themes found on ThemeForest that could allow a hacker to delete arbitrary files and inject malicious scripts into a website. Two WordPress Themes Sold On ThemeForest The two WordPress themes with vulnerabilities are sold on ThemeForest and together they have over a half million sales. The two … Read more
A WordPress plugin add-on for the popular Elementor page builder recently patched a vulnerability affecting over 200,000 installations. The exploit, found in the Jeg Elementor Kit plugin, allows authenticated attackers to upload malicious scripts. Stored Cross-Site Scripting (Stored XSS) The patch fixed an issue that could lead to a Stored Cross-Site Scripting exploit that allows … Read more
A critical vulnerability was discovered in the WPML WordPress plugin, affecting over a million installations. The vulnerability allows an authenticated attacker to perform remote code execution, potentially leading to a total site takeover. It is listed as rated 9.9 out of 10 by the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) organization. WPML Plugin Vulnerability The plugin … Read more
Up to 5 million installations of the LiteSpeed Cache WordPress plugin are vulnerable to an exploit that allows hackers to gain administrator rights and upload malicious files and plugins The vulnerability was first reported to Patchstack, a WordPress security company, which notified the plugin developer and waited until the vulnerability was patched before making a … Read more
Multiple user reports have surfaced warning that the latest version of WordPress is triggering trojan alerts and at least one person reported that a web host locked down a website because of the file. What really happened turned into a learning experience. Antivirus Flags Trojan In Official WordPress 6.6.1 Download The first report was filed … Read more
A week after releasing the troubled version 6.6, WordPress has released another version that fixes seven major issues including two that caused fatal errors (website crashes), another issue that caused a security plugins to issue false warnings plus several more that created unwanted UI changes. Fatal Errors In WordPress 6.6 The one issue that got … Read more
Managed WordPress web host WP Engine announced that they are acquiring NitroPack, a leading SaaS website performance optimization solution. The acquisition of of NitroPack by WP Engine demonstrates their continued focus on improving site performance for clients. NitroPack NitroPack is a relatively pricey but well regarded site performance solution that has for years been known … Read more
The U.S. National Vulnerability Database (NVD) and Wordfence published a security advisory of a high severity Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability affecting the Nested Pages WordPress plugin affecting up to +100,000 installations. The vulnerability received a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) rating of 8.8 on a scale of 1 – 10, with ten representing … Read more
