The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has released its formal investigation into the premature publication of the November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook – an event that triggered widespread embarrassment, significant political disruption, and ultimately led to the resignation of the organisation’s Chair.
The findings make one point painfully clear: a single misconfigured WordPress plugin was enough to expose one of the UK’s most sensitive financial documents hours before the Chancellor’s Budget speech .
For anyone running a WordPress website, the message is unmistakable. Your plugins and server settings are not just functional extras – they are potential gateways to serious reputational and security risks if not configured correctly.
What went wrong at the OBR?
According to the investigation, the OBR used WordPress with a third-party plugin (Download Monitor) to pre-upload documents ahead of publication. Staff believed that WordPress’ “future” publication protections would prevent public access. They were wrong.
Two separate configuration issues allowed the unpublished EFO document to be accessed simply by typing a predictable URL into a browser:
- The Download Monitor plugin automatically generated a live, accessible URL that bypassed the intended authentication protections.
- The server itself had not been configured to block direct access to download directories.
Together, these errors meant that anyone who guessed the address could open the confidential document – and several people did exactly that. Reuters published details at 11:41am, more than an hour before the Chancellor stood up to deliver the Budget .
The report states plainly that these vulnerabilities were pre-existing and had gone unnoticed for previous fiscal events. The March 2025 EFO, for example, was also accessed early by at least one user.
Why this matters to every WordPress site owner
The OBR incident wasn’t the result of a sophisticated cyber-attack. It wasn’t even a case of someone pressing “publish” too soon. It was caused by:
- A common WordPress plugin behaving exactly as designed
- Incorrect assumptions about built-in protections
- Server-level settings that hadn’t been properly configured
These are issues that can affect any WordPress website, regardless of size, sector, or technical expertise.
When plugins are misconfigured – or when server rules aren’t set up correctly – content you believe is private may not be private at all. In the OBR’s case, the consequences were national. For a business, the risks might include:
- Accidental leaks of confidential documents
- Exposure of sensitive customer files
- Premature release of financial statements or product launches
- Loss of trust and reputational damage
- Regulatory or legal repercussions
If an organisation with government oversight, dedicated staff and established procedures can fall victim to this kind of error, smaller organisations are even more vulnerable.
How to protect your WordPress website
The lesson is not that WordPress is unsafe – it’s that WordPress requires proper configuration, ongoing monitoring, and expert oversight.
Key steps include:
- Reviewing plugin behaviour and access rules
- Applying server-level restrictions to block direct file access
- Ensuring draft or “future” content cannot be reached via predictable URLs
- Keeping plugins, themes and WordPress core fully updated
- Running regular security audits and penetration tests
- Using staging environments for sensitive pre-publication workflows
Not sure if your site is configured securely?
If the OBR’s experience shows anything, it’s that assumptions about website security can be costly. A few misconfigured settings were enough to trigger a full investigation, media scrutiny, and a leadership resignation.
If you’re unsure whether your WordPress plugins, server rules, or publication processes are set up safely, speak to us. As an experienced digital agency specialising in WordPress development, security and maintenance, we can review your setup, identify risks, and put robust protections in place.
Don’t wait for a mistake to make headlines. Get in touch with BBI Brandboost and let us help keep your WordPress website secure.