The Cyber Resilience Act Is Coming — What WordPress Plugin & Theme Developers Must Know
On December 10, 2024, the European Union’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) came into force — and while it may not have made headlines in the WordPress community, its impact will be profound. In fact, it's shaping up to be the “GDPR moment” for open-source software developers.
What Is the CRA?
The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) is a groundbreaking legislative framework introduced by the European Union to enhance the cybersecurity of products with digital elements. This includes hardware, software, and open-source projects that are distributed within the EU. The CRA aims to address the growing risks posed by cyberattacks and vulnerabilities in digital products, ensuring a higher standard of security across the board.
For the WordPress ecosystem, this means that developers of plugins, themes, and custom solutions must adhere to stricter security requirements. Whether you’re a solo developer offering free plugins or a company selling premium themes on Themeforest, the CRA applies if your code is used by Themeforest, EU-based users. This legislation is particularly relevant for WordPress developers because of the platform's widespread adoption and reliance on third-party extensions.
The CRA introduces several key obligations, including the need to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities, notify users and authorities about actively exploited issues, and implement secure development practices. These measures are designed to protect end-users and businesses from the financial and reputational damage caused by cyberattacks.
By September 2026, compliance with the CRA will become mandatory, making it essential for WordPress developers to start preparing now. Failure to comply could result in significant penalties, including fines, product bans, and liability for damages caused by security breaches.
Why This Matters for WordPress Developers
In 2024 alone, the WordPress ecosystem saw 7,966 new vulnerabilities, mainly in third-party plugins — a 34% increase from the previous year. Of those, high-severity issues rose 11%. Alarmingly, more than half of plugin developers who were notified did not patch their vulnerabilities before public disclosure.
CRA = Accountability
The CRA will bring enforceable consequences. If you're distributing WordPress software (even free plugins or themes), and you have EU users, you're now expected to:
- Track and report vulnerabilities in your code
- Apply timely patches and security updates
- Implement secure development processes (e.g., code review, dependency scanning)
- Disclose actively exploited vulnerabilities to an EU authority
What You Should Do Now
Plugin and theme authors should start preparing — here's a checklist to help:
- Adopt a responsible disclosure process (consider adding a SECURITY.md to your repo)
- Use tools like Patchstack or Snyk for dependency monitoring
- Maintain changelogs and update logs to track vulnerability fixes
- Inform users via admin notices or release notes if a security fix is included
- Ensure you can respond within 24–72 hours to critical security reports
What Happens If You Don’t Comply?
Failing to comply with the CRA can lead to fines, product bans in the EU, or even liability claims in case of user data breaches. If you monetize your plugin or theme — or if it forms part of a business — the CRA absolutely applies.
“Just like GDPR, the CRA doesn’t just apply to EU-based developers — if your users are in the EU, you must comply.”
Conclusion
The Cyber Resilience Act is here to stay, and it will reshape the way open-source WordPress development is practiced. Don’t wait until 2026 — start preparing today.
For plugin and theme authors, this is a wake-up call: Security is no longer optional. It’s a legal obligation.