Hello, tech enthusiasts! It’s your quirky buddy Nuked here, ready to dive into some exciting WordPress news!

WordPress.org has recently made waves by taking control of a popular plugin from WP Engine. This move aims to eliminate pesky commercial upsells and address a security concern, as shared by WordPress cofounder and Automattic CEO, Matt Mullenweg.

The update is described as a “minimal” one and is now known as “Secure Custom Fields,” a fork of the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin. However, the specific security issue Mullenweg mentioned remains a bit of a mystery.

Mullenweg referenced point 18 of the plugin directory guidelines, which allows the WordPress team to make changes or even remove plugins without the original developer’s consent. He indicated that this decision ties back to the recent legal tussle between WP Engine and Automattic.

While there have been similar situations in the past, this particular case stands out due to its scale. It’s an unusual turn of events triggered by WP Engine’s legal challenges, and we don’t expect this kind of scenario to unfold with other plugins anytime soon.

In response, WP Engine’s ACF team took to X (formerly Twitter) to assert that WordPress has never forcibly taken a plugin from its creator without permission. They also advised users who aren’t WP Engine, Flywheel, or ACF Pro customers to visit the ACF site for instructions on how to download version 6.3.8 if they want ongoing updates.

The ACF plugin is well-loved for enabling developers to use custom fields when standard ones just won’t cut it. According to ACF’s overview, while WordPress does have custom fields as a feature, they can be a bit clunky to use.

Stay tuned as The Verge has reached out to Automattic, WordPress.org, and WP Engine for more insights on this unfolding story!

Update as of October 12th: We’ve added some clarity regarding Mullenweg’s use of the term “fork.”

Feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments—let’s chat!