Plugins help you boost the functionality of your site. But we should remind you that they can cause irreparable damage if you're not careful. You may install plugins for various reasons. Eventually, they serve their purpose, or you find a better alternative.
However, you don't get rid of the unused plugins. You may think to yourself that there's no harm in keeping them, even though you no longer need them. Uninstalling them may seem like an effort. So, they're just there taking up the space for no reason.
It's not just the space you should worry about. The installed plugins that serve no purpose also give rise to security concerns.
It's possible that many of the plugins you installed on your site have been forgotten by their developers and no longer receive any updates. So, they can eventually become a loophole in your site's security.
Today, we'll talk about the security risks caused by forgotten plugins and why you should uninstall the ones you no longer need.
Let's dive in!

What are Forgotten Plugins?

If we're to describe forgotten plugins in simple words, they're tools once developed and maintained to serve certain purposes. But now, those who developed them no longer take any ownership. 
The creators of these plugins might have moved on to other things, lost their interest, faced problems maintaining the plugins, and so on. There may be different reasons why the plugins were abandoned and stopped receiving updates.
What's worth noticing is that the lack of updates leads to glitchy performance and security issues. The tools haven't received any patches regarding newly discovered vulnerabilities. So, it's a risky move to keep using such plugins.
It's not easy to identify forgotten plugins. While some of them might clearly state they haven't been updated in years, others might not be so obvious. You might have a plugin that seems okay, but it's fueled by unoptimized code that doesn't meet industry standards. However, carefully assessing their performance may reveal the truth.

Security Issues Caused by Forgotten Plugins

Now that we've talked about forgotten WordPress plugins, let's discuss the damage they can do if you keep them. They can cause endless problems, but we'll talk about the noteworthy security issues.

1. Security Vulnerabilities

One of the biggest risks is that forgotten plugins often have security flaws that were discovered after the developer stopped updating them. This serves as an opportunity for hackers or cybercriminals, as they keep a close eye on such vulnerabilities.
In simple terms, your site becomes an easy lock to pick. Hackers will look up the exploit for that specific plugin version and effortlessly gain access to information stored on your site.
They can download your data or upload any files they want. And before you notice, it's already too late. Now, you're wide open with nowhere to run or protect yourself.

2. Malware Injection

Forgotten plugins can act as easy entry points for malware. Since the tools aren't getting security patches from their developers, attackers can easily get in and inject malicious code. It puts your website's core files or database at risk.
Once hackers have successfully injected malware into your site, you can expect all sorts of bad things. Your site could start redirecting visitors to spam or fraudulent sites. Plus, your visitors may start seeing unsolicited ads.
It may have a devastating impact on your website's reputation. You should definitely expect a search engine penalty and say goodbye to high search rankings.

3. Cross-Site Scripting Attacks

Cross-site scripting is a type of attack where cybercriminals inject malicious scripts into website pages viewed by other users. Forgotten plugins can be vulnerable to XSS attacks if they don't properly sanitize user input or handle output securely.
If a plugin has an XSS vulnerability, even a novice attacker can easily identify and exploit it. They'll inject a script that runs in your visitors' browsers. The script hijacks their sessions, redirecting them to malicious sites. Your visitors may even start seeing different content on your site---the one that you never published.

4. SQL Injection Attacks

SQL injection is another common attack type you may encounter if you continue using obsolete plugins. Here, an attacker inserts malicious SQL queries into input fields that a vulnerable plugin processes.
An attacker can then effortlessly access, steal, or delete sensitive data from your database. They can modify your database content in any way they see fit, as they have full administrative control over your WordPress site. The damage from an attack like this can be devastating, leading to a complete website takeover.

5. Brute Force Attacks

You can't technically blame the code of forgotten plugins if you ever encounter a brute-force attack. However, it's worth mentioning that these plugins often come with weak credentials by default. Plus, they might lack the proper brute-force protection mechanisms that newer, well-maintained plugins have.
So, they kind of play a part in facilitating brute-force attacks. If a forgotten plugin creates a new login endpoint or uses predictable credentials, attackers use automated scripts for login combinations until they get in.
Just uninstalling obsolete plugins won't help you here. You need to understand the significance of having strong login credentials and the implementation of two-factor authentication.

What's the Best Course of Action?

Now that you know the risks of keeping forgotten plugins, it goes without saying that you shouldn't hesitate for a second and uninstall them at this very moment. It won't take you more than a few minutes to review plugins that you no longer need or the ones that likely contribute to security vulnerabilities.
You must only keep plugins from reputable sources and the ones that you readily use. Installing plugins from trusted sources gives you peace of mind and protects your data from unauthorized access. Reliable plugin developers periodically review the tools for security vulnerabilities and actively dispatch viable fixes for the problems identified.
It's also worth mentioning that even though you install plugins from reliable sources, at the end of the day, it's your call if you end up keeping them up-to-date or not. So, you shouldn't be negligent. When you see that little notification in your WordPress dashboard telling you a plugin needs an update, please don't ignore it.
Before you do that, a standard best practice is to create a backup for your site. It's a preventive measure that will keep your data safe if anything goes wrong during the update process.

It's a Wrap

Today, we discussed WordPress security issues caused by plugins forgotten by their developers. These plugins compromise the security of your site and severely affect your reputation. We highly recommend you install the plugins from trusted sources only and keep the ones that you actively use.