Marc Armengou

PlugSeal gives administrators granular control over what each active plugin is allowed to do, inspired by Android app permissions and Flatseal for Flatpak. Each active plugin is listed in the settings page. For each plugin, administrators can allow or deny individual permissions with immediate effect. All permissions are allowed by default, so no existing functionality is broken until an administrator explicitly restricts it.
Permissions covered:
<ul>
<li><code>db:read</code> / <code>db:write</code> — database queries via $wpdb</li>
<li><code>db:read:users</code> / <code>db:write:users</code> — read and write access to user data (also covers wp_delete_user and wp_update_user)</li>
<li><code>http:outbound</code> — outbound HTTP requests via the WordPress HTTP API</li>
<li><code>options:read</code> / <code>options:write</code> — WordPress options via get_option / update_option (see limitations)</li>
<li><code>email:send</code> — sending email via wp_mail()</li>
<li><code>cron:write</code> — scheduling events via wp_schedule_event()</li>
<li><code>transients:write</code> — writing transients via set_transient()</li>
<li><code>users:create</code> — creating users via wp_create_user() (deletes are covered by db:write:users)</li>
<li><code>rest:register</code> — registering REST API endpoints via register_rest_route()</li>
<li><code>shortcode:register</code> — registering shortcodes via add_shortcode()</li>
<li><code>rewrite:register</code> — registering rewrite rules via add_rewrite_rule()</li>
<li><code>admin:menu</code> — adding entries to the admin menu and submenus</li>
<li><code>dashboard:widget</code> — adding dashboard widgets via wp_add_dashboard_widget()</li>
<li><code>hooks:frontend</code> — hooking into frontend hooks (wp_head, wp_footer, the_content, wp_enqueue_scripts…)</li>
<li><code>hooks:admin</code> — hooking into admin hooks (admin_head, admin_notices, admin_enqueue_scripts…)</li>
<li><code>hooks:auth</code> — hooking into authentication hooks (wp_login, wp_logout, user_register, authenticate…)</li>
<li><code>hooks:content</code> — hooking into content hooks (save_post, delete_post, pre_get_posts, wp_handle_upload…)</li>
<li><code>hooks:lifecycle</code> — hooking into plugin and theme lifecycle hooks (activated_plugin, deactivated_plugin, switch_theme…)</li>
</ul>
Honest limitations:
This plugin intercepts official WordPress APIs by identifying the calling plugin via the PHP call stack. It cannot intercept calls made by WordPress core on behalf of a plugin — for example, when WordPress processes a settings form via <code>options.php</code>, the call stack contains core files rather than the plugin files.
Specific limitations:
<ul>
<li><code>options:read</code> / <code>options:write</code> — work when a plugin calls these APIs directly from its own code (hooks, AJAX, cron). Do not block standard WordPress settings forms processed by <code>options.php</code>.</li>
<li>Filesystem access (<code>file_get_contents</code>, <code>fopen</code>, etc.) is not intercepted.</li>
<li>Direct <code>mysqli</code> connections, <code>eval()</code>, and raw PHP file functions bypass all interceptors.</li>
<li><code>wp_update_user()</code> and <code>wp_delete_user()</code> are covered by <code>db:write:users</code> since they write directly to the users table.</li>
<li><code>admin_init</code> is intentionally excluded from <code>hooks:admin</code> as it is too critical to block safely.</li>
</ul>

PlugSeal

Control what each active plugin is allowed to do. Allow or deny specific permissions per plugin, with immediate effect.

Guido Schad

Lockora Security Audit helps site owners and agencies review a WordPress site’s security posture from the admin area.
Current prototype features include:
<ul>
<li>Manual security scans.</li>
<li>Weighted security score out of 100.</li>
<li>WordPress core file integrity checks using official checksums.</li>
<li>WordPress authentication key and salt checks, with an explicit action to generate missing salts.</li>
<li>Must-use plugin directory presence checks.</li>
<li>PHP version status using WordPress.org Serve Happy data.</li>
<li>HTTPS and HTTP security header checks.</li>
<li>WordPress core, plugin, and theme update posture checks.</li>
<li>Administrator account posture checks for default usernames, excess admins, inactive admins, user ID 1 exposure, and an admin username/email inventory.</li>
<li>Optional known vulnerability matching with a configured Wordfence Intelligence API key.</li>
<li>Optional AI client reports on WordPress 7.0+ when the site’s AI Connector is configured.</li>
<li>Reversible hardening toggles for XML-RPC, REST user routes, generator tag output, and basic security headers.</li>
</ul>
<h3>External Services</h3>
Lockora Security Audit may connect to external services only when the administrator runs a scan or generates an AI client report.
WordPress.org APIs: 
* Used for WordPress core checksums, PHP version support status, and WordPress core/plugin/theme update data. 
* Data sent: the site’s WordPress version and locale for core checksums and PHP compatibility; WordPress itself may send installed plugin and theme slugs/versions to WordPress.org when update data is refreshed. 
* WordPress.org terms: https://wordpress.org/about/terms/ 
* WordPress.org privacy policy: https://wordpress.org/about/privacy/
Wordfence Intelligence: 
* Optional. 
* Used only when a Wordfence Intelligence API key is configured and an administrator runs a scan that includes vulnerability matching. 
* Used to retrieve vulnerability data and match it locally against installed WordPress core, plugin, and theme versions. 
* Data sent: the configured Wordfence Intelligence API key is sent in an Authorization header when requesting the vulnerability feed. Installed software details are not sent by this plugin to the Wordfence Intelligence endpoint; matching is performed locally after the feed is retrieved. 
* Wordfence Intelligence terms: https://www.wordfence.com/wordfence-intelligence-terms-and-conditions/ 
* Wordfence privacy policy: https://www.wordfence.com/privacy-policy/
WordPress AI Client / Connectors: 
* Optional. 
* Used only when the administrator clicks Generate Client Report. 
* Data sent: sanitized scan findings, score, counts, and recommendations needed to generate a client-facing report. The plugin is designed not to send passwords, salts, API keys, raw logs, full user lists, or file contents. 
* The configured AI provider is controlled by the site owner’s WordPress Connector settings. 
* Terms and privacy policy: these depend on the AI provider configured by the site owner in WordPress. Site owners should review the selected provider’s terms and privacy policy before enabling AI reports.

Lockora Security Audit

Lockora Security Audit checks WordPress security posture, hardening, core integrity, vulnerabilities, and optional AI reports.

PlugSeal vs Lockora Security Audit