Common compliance mistakes cost WordPress developers time and money.
At CRA Compliance Suite, we’ve analyzed thousands of WordPress plugins to identify the most frequent compliance violations. Avoiding these mistakes accelerates your compliance journey.
Mistake 1: Incomplete SBOM Documentation
The most common mistake is missing components in your Software Bill of Materials.
Developers often forget to document bundled JavaScript libraries included as static files, custom PHP classes copied from other projects, forked open-source components with modifications, and development dependencies that accidentally ship in production builds. Every missing component is a compliance violation. Use automated SBOM generation and manual verification to ensure completeness.
Incomplete SBOMs fail regulatory audits.
Mistake 2: Ignoring Transitive Dependencies
Many developers only track direct dependencies while ignoring transitive dependencies.
When you include a library, you also include all of its dependencies recursively. A single direct dependency might pull in dozens of transitive dependencies, any of which could have vulnerabilities. The CRA requires tracking all dependencies, not just top-level ones. Our tools automatically detect and document the entire dependency tree.
Transitive dependencies represent 70% of vulnerability findings.
Mistake 3: Inadequate Security Documentation
Developers often provide minimal or generic security documentation.
The CRA requires comprehensive, specific documentation about your plugin’s security features, risk assessments, vulnerability handling procedures, and update mechanisms. Generic statements like “we take security seriously” don’t meet compliance requirements. Document specific authentication methods, encryption algorithms, input validation techniques, and security design decisions with technical detail.
Quality documentation demonstrates security commitment.
Mistake 4: Delaying Vulnerability Remediation
Some developers discover vulnerabilities but delay fixing them due to release schedules.
The CRA mandates timely vulnerability remediation with specific notification timeframes. Critical vulnerabilities require immediate action, often within 24-48 hours. Delaying fixes to align with your quarterly release schedule violates CRA requirements. Implement security patch releases separate from feature releases to enable rapid vulnerability response.
Rapid response is mandatory, not optional.
Mistake 5: Insufficient Update Mechanism Security
Update mechanisms are often overlooked security components.
Many plugins use HTTP instead of HTTPS for update checks, don’t verify digital signatures before installing updates, lack integrity checking with cryptographic hashes, and have no rollback capability when updates fail. These gaps create attack vectors where compromised update servers could distribute malware to all plugin users. Implement comprehensive update security including HTTPS, signature verification, integrity checking, and automatic rollback.
Visit CRA Compliance Suite to identify and fix common compliance mistakes in your WordPress plugin before they become violations.