Secure Plugin Development

Secure plugin & theme development (baseline)

When to use this skill

Use this skill at the start of any WordPress development work and whenever you add a feature that crosses a trust boundary:

• Creating a new plugin main file or theme functions.php addition.
• Registering hooks (add_action / add_filter) that handle input or render output.
• Adding admin pages, settings, shortcodes, blocks, widgets, or REST routes.
• Reviewing an existing plugin to bring it up to a secure baseline.

This is the router skill. Follow the security decision tree: choose the entry path (browser/API, renderer, cron, or CLI), then add the relevant data and policy branches. It explains when to combine focused skills and when browser nonce checks do not apply; do not load every skill for every task.

Core principles (and why they matter)

1. Never trust input; always escape output. Every value from $_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST, $_COOKIE, the database, or a remote API is untrusted until sanitized, and untrusted again the moment it is echoed. These are two separate jobs.
2. Block direct file access. Plugin files are reachable by URL. Without an ABSPATH guard, an attacker can execute them outside WordPress, bypassing all your checks.
3. Separate authentication, CSRF, and authorization. Use a nonce for cookie-authenticated state changes and an appropriate capability/object check for privileged actions. REST API credentials, cron, and CLI have different trust models; follow the decision tree rather than adding browser checks everywhere.
4. Use core APIs, not hand-rolled code. Prefer maintained sanitize/escape/DB/HTTP APIs, but choose the API and its arguments for the actual trust boundary.
5. Least privilege by default. Default options to the safe value, scope capabilities tightly, and expose the minimum surface.
6. Fail closed. On any failed check, stop and return an error — never fall through.

Step-by-step implementation

1. Guard the file: defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit; at the top of every PHP file.
2. Namespace everything: prefix functions, hooks, options, and globals (e.g. my_plugin_*) to avoid collisions and accidental overrides.
3. Choose the handler trust model using the decision tree:
   1. Apply transport-appropriate authentication and CSRF protection.
   2. Check authority over the action and specific resource.
   3. Validate input shape/type, unslash WordPress-slashed request input, and sanitize.
   4. Use $wpdb->prepare() for dynamic values in custom queries.
   5. Escape at each output sink for its actual context.
4. Set safe defaults for all options; validate on save and on read.
5. Enqueue assets properly (wp_enqueue_script/style) and pass data via wp_localize_script() rather than inline-echoing PHP into JS.
6. Keep secrets out of the repo and out of client-readable output.

Supporting references

Common AI mistakes / anti-patterns

Mistake 1 — No ABSPATH guard

// ❌ Insecure: file executes if requested directly over HTTP.
<?php
function my_plugin_init() { /* ... */ }

// ✅ Secure: bail unless loaded within WordPress.
<?php
defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit;

function my_plugin_init() { /* ... */ }

Mistake 2 — Doing the work before the security checks

// ❌ Insecure: option saved before anything is verified.
function my_plugin_save() {
    update_option( 'my_opt', $_POST['val'] );
    check_admin_referer( 'my_plugin_save' );
    current_user_can( 'manage_options' );
}

// ✅ Secure: verify, authorize, sanitize, THEN act.
function my_plugin_save() {
    check_admin_referer( 'my_plugin_save', 'my_plugin_nonce' );
    if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
        wp_die( esc_html__( 'Forbidden', 'my-plugin' ), 403 );
    }
    $val = isset( $_POST['val'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( wp_unslash( $_POST['val'] ) ) : '';
    update_option( 'my_opt', $val );
}

Mistake 3 — Rolling your own instead of using core APIs

// ❌ Insecure: manual SQL, manual escaping, raw remote fetch.
$rows = $wpdb->get_results( "SELECT * FROM t WHERE id = " . $_GET['id'] );
echo "<a href=" . $_GET['url'] . ">x</a>";
$body = file_get_contents( $remote_url );

// ✅ Secure: prepared query, escaped output, HTTP API.
$id   = absint( $_GET['id'] ?? 0 );
$rows = $wpdb->get_results( $wpdb->prepare( "SELECT * FROM {$wpdb->prefix}t WHERE id = %d", $id ) );
echo '<a href="' . esc_url( wp_unslash( $_GET['url'] ?? '' ) ) . '">x</a>';
$response = wp_remote_get( $remote_url );
$body     = is_wp_error( $response ) ? '' : wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response );

Mistake 4 — Unsafe defaults

// ❌ Insecure: feature ships enabled, capability defaults wide open.
add_option( 'my_plugin_allow_uploads', true );

// ✅ Secure: default to the safe value; opt-in to risk.
add_option( 'my_plugin_allow_uploads', false );

Correct code examples

A minimal but complete secure plugin skeleton — ABSPATH guard, an admin page behind a capability, and the full verify → authorize → sanitize → act → escape flow — lives in references/secure-plugin-skeleton.php.

Checklist

• Every PHP file opens with defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit;.
• Functions, hooks, and options are uniquely prefixed.
• Each request handler verifies nonce, then capability, then sanitizes input.
• All custom DB access uses $wpdb->prepare().
• All dynamic output is escaped at the point of echo.
• Options have safe defaults and are validated on save.
• Remote requests use the WP HTTP API (wp_remote_*), not file_get_contents/cURL.
• No secrets, keys, or credentials are hard-coded or sent to the browser.
• Scripts are enqueued and given data via wp_localize_script().

Official references

• Security — Common APIs Handbook
• Plugin Security — Plugin Handbook
• Checking User Capabilities
• Data Validation
• Escaping Data
• HTTP API
• OWASP Top Ten