bbPress

82 Quality Score

Active Installs

23/30

With 100,000 active installs, bbPress is by far the most widely used WordPress forum plugin, which is the main reason its popularity score sits high despite a modest overall quality grade.

Update Freshness

25/25

The plugin was updated on July 2, 2025, and is tested against WordPress 6.9.4, so it is current, though the 64/25 maintenance score reflects the age of its codebase and slower pace of new feature work.

User Rating

12/15

A 78 out of 100 rating from 342 reviewers shows users generally like it, but the rating is dragged down by people who find it too plain compared to newer community tools.

Support Health

8/15

Support health is the weakest area at 50/15, with 0 of 0 listed support threads resolved, meaning there is essentially no visible owner-led help and you are mostly relying on community forums and documentation.

WP Compatibility

15/15

A perfect compatibility score is earned by testing against WordPress 6.9.4, requiring WordPress 6.0+ and PHP 5.6.20+, which covers virtually every modern hosting environment.

Scores higher than 86% of indexed plugins

About

bbPress is forum software for WordPress.

Active Installs 100k+

Rating ★★★½ 3.9/5

Last Updated 2026-09-21 2:24pm GMT

Requires WordPress 6.0+

Tested Up To 7.1.2

Requires PHP 7.2+

Security History

8 known vulnerabilities, all patched

1 Critical 2 High 5 Medium

Most recent: September 11, 2026

View details ▸

bbPress <= 2.6.14 - Unauthenticated Information Exposure Medium

September 11, 2026 Patched in ["2.6.15"] CVE-2026-62137

bbPress <= 2.6.14 - Missing Authorization Medium

August 31, 2026 Patched in ["2.6.15"] CVE-2026-74010

bbPress <= 2.6.11 - Cross-Site Request Forgery to Limited Privilege Escalation Medium

March 4, 2025 Patched in ["2.6.12"] CVE-2025-1435

bbPress <= 2.6.4 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation Critical

May 28, 2020 Patched in ["2.6.5"] CVE-2020-13693

bbPress <= 2.6.4 - Authenticated (Admin+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the forums list table Medium

May 28, 2020 Patched in ["2.6.5"] CVE-2020-13487

bbPress < 2.5.13 - Unauthenticated Blind SQL Injection High

November 13, 2017 Patched in ["2.5.13"]

bbPress <= 2.5.9 - Cross-Site Scripting Medium

July 13, 2016 Patched in ["2.5.10"]

bbPress < 2.5.9 - Stored Cross-Site Scripting High

May 3, 2016 Patched in ["2.5.9"]

What It Does

bbPress adds forum functionality directly into a WordPress site, letting administrators create topic-based discussion boards, user profiles, and reply threads that live as native WordPress content. It integrates with the WordPress user system, so registration, roles, and permissions work the same way as the rest of the site. The plugin also supports extensions for features like private forums, subscriptions, and spam controls.

Who It's For

bbPress is best for site owners running WordPress who want a simple, built-in community forum without paying for a separate platform or dealing with heavy third-party software. It suits small to medium communities, hobby groups, product support boards, and membership sites that need basic threaded discussions rather than a full social network. It works particularly well for people who value long-term stability over flashy features.

Who Should Skip It

If you need a modern social network, course platform, or full-featured community suite with messaging, activity feeds, and gamification, bbPress will feel too bare. Sites expecting active maintainer-led support on forums should also look elsewhere given the 0% resolved support thread rate.

The Bottom Line

bbPress remains the default WordPress forum plugin thanks to its 100,000 active installs, rock-solid compatibility, and lightweight footprint, earning a 72.62/100 overall quality score. Its main weaknesses are minimal visible support, a dated interface, and a feature set that feels basic next to newer community platforms. It is a safe, dependable choice for straightforward forums, but not the right pick if you want a modern social or course-driven community experience.

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