WordPress Cache Plugin Issue After the 7.0.2 Security Update

If your WordPress site recently stopped showing changes, even after clicking “Purge All” or clearing your cache, you are not alone. Following the WordPress 7.0.2 security release, some site owners and administrators have reported a frustrating WordPress cache plugin issue: the cache says it cleared successfully, but visitors still see old content.

This is especially important for businesses that rely on WordPress for announcements, product updates, service pages, forms, or time-sensitive information. A stale cache can make it look like your site is broken, outdated, or not accepting changes, even when your WordPress dashboard shows the correct content.

What Happened With WordPress 7.0.2?

WordPress released version 7.0.2 as a security update addressing one critical and one high-severity vulnerability. According to the official WordPress 7.0.2 release notes, fixes were also backported to WordPress 6.9.5 and 6.8.6, and affected sites were pushed toward automatic updates because of the severity.

Security vendors have reported that the vulnerabilities include CVE-2026-60137, a SQL injection issue affecting WordPress 6.8 and later, and CVE-2026-63030, an unauthenticated remote code execution chain affecting WordPress 6.9 and later. Cloudflare also deployed WAF protections for WordPress sites, but those protections should be treated as temporary mitigation, not a replacement for updating WordPress.

The security update itself is necessary. The problem is that some caching layers appear to be behaving unexpectedly after the update, especially on sites using full-page caching plugins such as LiteSpeed Cache.

The Main Symptom: Cache Purge Reports Success, But Nothing Changes

The most common symptom is simple: you update a page, clear the cache, and the public version of the site still shows old content.

In some cases, adding a random query string to the URL, such as ?test=1, shows the correct version of the page. That is a strong sign that WordPress has the updated content, but the normal public URL is still being served from cache.

A recent WordPress.org LiteSpeed Cache support thread describes this exact issue. Users reported that common purge methods appeared to succeed, but stale pages remained. Some found that disabling the LiteSpeed Cache plugin temporarily made the updated content visible again.

Why This Matters for Business Websites

Caching is normally a good thing. It helps WordPress load faster by saving ready-made versions of pages so the server does not have to rebuild them for every visitor. For small businesses, caching can improve page speed, search performance, and user experience.

But when caching fails to clear properly, it creates real operational problems:

• New business hours may not appear.
• Updated pricing or service details may stay hidden.
• Form changes may not show correctly.
• Blog posts or announcements may seem unpublished.
• Design edits may look broken or incomplete.
• Security fixes may be harder to confirm visually.

For business owners, the concern is not just technical. It is trust. If customers cannot see the current version of your website, they may act on outdated information.

What Site Owners Should Do Now

First, make sure WordPress core is updated to a patched version. For most current sites, that means WordPress 7.0.2, 6.9.5, or 6.8.6 depending on your major version. Do not roll back WordPress just to make caching easier unless a qualified professional has reviewed the risk. The security update is important.

Next, update your caching plugin as soon as a compatible release is available. If you use LiteSpeed Cache, watch for plugin updates and support notices. Plugin developers often need a short window to adjust after major security changes in WordPress core.

Then clear every cache layer, not just the WordPress plugin cache. A typical WordPress site may have several caches active at once, including:

• WordPress cache plugin cache
• Server-level cache
• Object cache
• Browser cache
• CDN cache, such as Cloudflare
• Hosting provider cache

If the issue continues, temporarily disabling the caching plugin may be the safest short-term workaround. This can make the correct content visible while you wait for a plugin update. However, disabling cache can affect site speed, so it should be monitored carefully.

How to Confirm Whether Cache Is the Problem

A quick test is to compare the normal page URL with the same URL plus a query string. For example:

https://example.com/service-page

and:

https://example.com/service-page/?cachetest=1

If the query string version shows the new content but the regular URL does not, you are likely dealing with a caching problem.

You can also test from a private browser window, a different device, or a mobile connection. If different visitors see different versions of the same page, that is another sign that one or more cache layers are out of sync.

The Practical Fix

For now, the best fix is a careful sequence:

1. Confirm WordPress is updated to a patched version.
2. Update your caching plugin when an update is available.
3. Purge cache at the plugin, server, and CDN levels.
4. Temporarily disable the caching plugin if stale pages continue.
5. Re-test important pages, forms, menus, and mobile views.
6. Re-enable caching only after confirming it works correctly.

If your site is behind Cloudflare, confirm WAF protection is active, but remember that WAF rules are not a substitute for patching WordPress.

Need Help With a WordPress Cache Plugin Issue?

If your WordPress site is showing old content, failing to clear cache, or acting strangely after the 7.0.2 security update, Illini Tech Services can help review the issue and get your site working properly again.

We support businesses and organizations across central Illinois with WordPress maintenance, cybersecurity, hosting support, and troubleshooting. Contact Illini Tech Services at 217-854-6260 or [email protected] for help with your website.

Update: LiteSpeed Web Server 6.3.6 Build 1 Fixes the Cache Purge Issue

LiteSpeed has confirmed that the cache purge problem was caused by an issue in LiteSpeed Web Server 6.3.6 Build 0. The issue has been fixed in LSWS 6.3.6 Build 1, which should now be the default build on the 6.3.6 branch.

After updating our server to LiteSpeed Web Server 6.3.6-b1, the stale cache problem was no longer reproducible. Page updates began appearing normally after cache purges, and the previously cached content stopped being served.

Site owners experiencing this problem should check which LiteSpeed Web Server build their hosting environment is running. If the server is still using 6.3.6 Build 0, ask the hosting provider or server administrator to update it to 6.3.6 Build 1 or newer.

After the server update:

1. Purge the LiteSpeed cache.
2. Clear any CDN or hosting-level cache.
3. Test the affected page in a private browser window.
4. Confirm that updated content appears on the normal URL without adding a query string.

This fix applies to the LiteSpeed Web Server software, not only the LiteSpeed Cache WordPress plugin. Updating the plugin alone may not resolve the issue if the server is still running the affected LSWS build.