At O’Brien Media, we recognise the critical role that plugins such as Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) play in the smooth operation of your website. It’s our priority to keep you informed about any important developments that could affect your website’s performance and security.
Recently, a significant and unexpected change occurred with the ACF plugin, which may impact some websites. As your digital partner, we want to reassure you that we are closely monitoring the situation and taking steps to ensure your site remains secure and fully operational. For clients with an active WordPress support agreement, we are already addressing this issue and, if further action is needed, we will be contacting you directly.
What Has Happened?
On 12th October, control of the ACF plugin on WordPress.org was unexpectedly and forcibly transferred. This unprecedented action has resulted in the release of a modified version of the plugin under the name “Secure Custom Fields” (SCF). The code for this modified version has not been approved by the original ACF development team, raising concerns about its reliability and security.
This change could potentially affect millions of websites using the free version of ACF, as updates to the plugin are no longer being handled by the trusted ACF development team. Instead, they are being managed by another entity. Please note, however, that any website using ACF Pro, or those hosted on certain managed platforms, are unaffected by this change.
What Steps Are We Taking?
At O’Brien Media, we take these matters very seriously. Our primary focus is to ensure your website remains secure, stable, and up-to-date. If you have a support agreement with us, you needn’t worry – we are already assessing your site’s configuration to determine if it has been affected by this change. If we find that your version of ACF has been replaced by SCF, we will take immediate steps to reinstate the genuine ACF plugin and ensure no loss of functionality occurs during this process.
For clients who manage their websites independently, we encourage you to review your ACF plugin installation. If your site has been updated with the modified “Secure Custom Fields” plugin, we recommend following the one-time process outlined in the official ACF installation guide. This guide will help you safely revert to the genuine ACF plugin without losing any data or configuration.
Reassurance for Our Clients
We understand that unexpected changes like this can be concerning. That’s why we want to assure you that you’re in safe hands. O’Brien Media has a long-standing history of providing reliable support to our clients, and we will continue to take proactive steps to ensure your website operates smoothly.
If your site is affected, we will contact you directly. We are fully prepared to make the necessary adjustments swiftly and efficiently to ensure the integrity of your website. There’s no need for you to take action unless we reach out to you, or if you are managing your site independently and using the free version of ACF.
Your Website’s Security is Our Priority
At O’Brien Media, we place the highest priority on keeping our clients’ websites secure and fully functional. Although this situation is beyond anyone’s control, we are committed to handling it in a way that minimises any disruption to your website.
If you have any concerns or questions about your website’s current configuration, or if you’re unsure whether this change affects you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. We are here to offer support and reassurance at every step, and we will continue to monitor developments to protect your site.
We will keep you informed of any further updates as the situation progresses. For now, rest assured that we have the situation under control and are taking all necessary steps to ensure your site remains secure and fully functional.
Thank you for trusting O’Brien Media to support your business online. We are committed to standing by you through all challenges, ensuring you always have a website you can depend on.