Title: Definitions list
Last modified: June 18, 2020

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# Definitions list

 *  Resolved [BeoR4](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rr44/)
 * (@rr44)
 * [6 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/definitions-list/)
 * Hello,
 * Is it possible to know which plugins are in the definitions list?
 * That way we can work out if our core plugins will be protected by the MD5s or
   whatever it is you compare.
 * Many thanks indeed!

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

 *  Plugin Author [Eli](https://wordpress.org/support/users/scheeeli/)
 * (@scheeeli)
 * [6 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/definitions-list/#post-13006833)
 * I don’t put plugins on any definition list. The various threat definition are
   used to identify malicious code in any file, regardless of what directory it’s
   in (plugins or otherwise).
 * The definition white-list is used to omit files that match a safe md5 hash (these
   files may otherwise have been flagged as malware but later found to be safe).
 * The Core Files definition are used to compare WP Core Files with the original
   installation source and search for alteration to the files, but that feature 
   does not extend to plugins or themes.
 * Please let me know if you have any more questions.
 *  Thread Starter [BeoR4](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rr44/)
 * (@rr44)
 * [6 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/definitions-list/#post-13008980)
 * Ahaaa… I had the mental image of the plugin crowdsourcing MD5s of installed plugin
   versions and benchmarking individual installations against them to look for suspect
   plugins. I guess my mental image of the wordpress core comparison functionality
   is what made my mind make too many assumptions.
 * Many thanks for expanding the detail.
 * My mistake does sound like a good idea though! Pretty simple and bullet proof
   in what it would be limited to (esp as you already have a large install base 
   according to this site).
 * Or am I missing something?
 *  Plugin Author [Eli](https://wordpress.org/support/users/scheeeli/)
 * (@scheeeli)
 * [6 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/definitions-list/#post-13014452)
 * It not a bad idea, and I have considered it in the past. The biggest thing that
   keeps me from white-listing plugin files just because they match the origin install
   source is that there are sometimes plugins that contain malicious code or a security
   vulnerability in the source code that is available for download and the WordPress
   community (and sometimes the developer too) is unaware of the threat until it
   is discovered by another developer or a plugin like mine.
 * There are also many plugin developers that do a poor job of maintaining the consistency
   of their own trunk and don’t know how to use the tags path correctly so it makes
   it hard for a 3rd-party like me to trust that the information in the repository
   correctly reflects the plugin files found on sites that have installed these 
   plugins. It is also common for plugins to write new files into their own path
   after install and these cannot be assumed to be maliciously added or you would
   have too many false positives for that kind of scan to be trusted.
 *  Thread Starter [BeoR4](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rr44/)
 * (@rr44)
 * [6 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/definitions-list/#post-13029098)
 * Your thinking makes sense. A good idea in an impractically perfect world that
   doesn’t exist LoL
 * But, thinking probabilistically, perhaps an alternative approach to “whitelisting”
   would be scoring? Less binary and would allow for this.
 * I am not familiar enough with what you see. Your instincts will be able to interpret
   and contextualise what I am thinking. Might be just as irrelevant.
 * Many thanks again
 *  Plugin Author [Eli](https://wordpress.org/support/users/scheeeli/)
 * (@scheeeli)
 * [6 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/definitions-list/#post-13031396)
 * Those are good ideas. I have been wanting to integrate a ranking system for a
   while now but it would be a fundamental shift in my scan engine and I just haven’t
   had the time to prioritize it.
 *  Thread Starter [BeoR4](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rr44/)
 * (@rr44)
 * [6 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/definitions-list/#post-13033700)
 * More than understand 🙂

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

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 * 6 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [BeoR4](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rr44/)
 * Last activity: [6 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/definitions-list/#post-13033700)
 * Status: resolved