SudoWP Radar

SudoWP Radar is a runtime security auditor for the WordPress 6.9 Abilities API. It scans every registered ability across all active plugins and themes, applying a rule engine that detects the vulnerability patterns most likely to be exploited in production.

What it audits:

• Open and weak permissions — abilities with no permission_callback, or one that allows any authenticated user through.
• Missing or loose input schemas — abilities that accept unconstrained string inputs, creating potential injection vectors for path traversal, SSRF, and similar attacks.
• REST overexposure — abilities marked show_in_rest with no or open permission control, accessible to unauthenticated callers.
• MCP overexposure — abilities marked meta.mcp.public = true with a weak or null permission callback are directly callable by any connected AI agent. Flagged as CRITICAL.
• Orphaned callbacks — execute_callbacks that reference functions no longer loaded, often left behind by deactivated plugins.
• Namespace collisions — duplicate ability names where the last registration silently overwrites the first, potentially downgrading the permission model.

How it works:

SudoWP Radar reads the live abilities registry after all plugins and themes have loaded. It applies static rules to each ability and returns a structured findings report with severity ratings (Critical, High, Medium, Low) and actionable remediation guidance. A risk score from 0-100 summarises the overall exposure of the site.

Security model:

• Requires the radar_run_audit capability (granted to site administrators by default).
• All audit requests are nonce-gated. No public-facing endpoints.
• Audit findings are stored in user meta, not global options.
• Rate-limited to one audit per 30 seconds per user.

Optional premium extension (SudoWP Pro):

The free plugin is a fully functional standalone security auditor. An optional premium add-on extends it with SudoWP Vulnerability Dataset matching (CVE references, CVSS scores, patch guidance), scheduled audits with email alerts, multi-site dashboard aggregation, and report export. None of these are required to use the core auditing features.

SudoWP Radar is a complement to static analysis tools. It audits the live, runtime state of your site — what is actually registered and executing — not just what is declared in code.

Premium Extension Filters

SudoWP Radar exposes four WordPress filters so a premium plugin can extend
the audit engine without modifying core plugin files.

radar_dataset_enabled

Controls whether dataset lookups run during an audit. Return true to activate.

Parameters:
$enabled (bool) — default false.
Returns:
bool

Example:

add_filter( 'radar_dataset_enabled', function ( bool $enabled ): bool {
    return true; // Enable dataset lookups.
} );

radar_dataset_findings

Inject Finding objects from a vulnerability dataset for a specific ability.
Called once per ability during an audit. Non-Finding return values are stripped.

Parameters:
$findings (array) — current Finding[] for this ability, default [].
$ability (array) — ability data array from Scanner (name, meta, callbacks, etc.).
Returns:
Finding[]

Note: register with accepted_args=2 to receive both parameters.

Example:

add_filter(
    'radar_dataset_findings',
    function ( array $findings, array $ability ): array {
        if ( str_starts_with( $ability['name'], 'my-plugin/' ) ) {
            $findings[] = new \SudoWP\Radar\Finding(
                ability_name:   $ability['name'],
                severity:       \SudoWP\Radar\Finding::SEVERITY_CRITICAL,
                vuln_class:     \SudoWP\Radar\Finding::VULN_DATASET_MATCH,
                message:        'Known vulnerable ability pattern detected (CVE-2026-1234).',
                recommendation: 'Update my-plugin to version 2.1.0 or later.',
                is_premium:     true,
            );
        }
        return $findings;
    },
    10,
    2
);

radar_dataset_status

Override the dataset status array displayed in the admin UI.

Parameters:
$status (array) — default status with keys:
enabled (bool) — false in free version.
label (string) — UI display string.
last_updated (string|null) — ISO 8601 date or null.
total_entries (int) — 0 in free version.
Returns:
array (same shape as input)

Example:

add_filter( 'radar_dataset_status', function ( array $status ): array {
    return [
        'enabled'       => true,
        'label'         => 'SudoWP Vulnerability Dataset: Connected. 4,821 entries.',
        'last_updated'  => '2026-03-08',
        'total_entries' => 4821,
    ];
} );

radar_audit_findings

Modify the complete findings array after all rules and dataset lookups have run.
Use this to add cross-ability findings, re-score existing findings, or suppress
false positives. Called once per full audit run.

Parameters:
$findings (array) — complete Finding[] from the full audit.
$abilities (array) — all ability data arrays scanned during this audit.
Returns:
Finding[]

Note: register with accepted_args=2 to receive both parameters.

Example:

add_filter(
    'radar_audit_findings',
    function ( array $findings, array $abilities ): array {
        // Example: promote medium findings to high for a high-risk site.
        return array_map( function ( $finding ) {
            if ( $finding->severity === \SudoWP\Radar\Finding::SEVERITY_MEDIUM ) {
                return new \SudoWP\Radar\Finding(
                    ability_name:   $finding->ability_name,
                    severity:       \SudoWP\Radar\Finding::SEVERITY_HIGH,
                    vuln_class:     $finding->vuln_class,
                    message:        $finding->message,
                    recommendation: $finding->recommendation,
                    context:        $finding->context,
                    is_premium:     $finding->is_premium,
                );
            }
            return $finding;
        }, $findings );
    },
    10,
    2
);