WordPress.org has lifted its ban on hosting provider WP Engine until October 1, after imposing a ban on it earlier this week. The ban prevented several websites from updating their plugins and themes, exposing them to potential security risks.

WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, who has been in a dispute with WP Engine for over a week, blamed WP Engine’s private equity investor Silver Lake.

“I have heard from WP Engine customers that they are frustrated that WP Engine was unable to get updates, plugin directory, theme directory, and Openverse working on their sites. It saddens me that they were negatively impacted by Silver Lake’s commercial decisions,” Mullenweg said on the WordPress.org blog.

“WP Engine was well aware that if they ignored our efforts to resolve our differences and enter into a commercial license agreement, we could have access revoked. Heather Brunner, Lee Wittlinger and their board decided to take this risk. WPE was also aware that they were placing this risk directly on WPE customers,” he added.

After Mullenweg banned WP Engine from accessing WordPress.org resources, many people in the WordPress community criticized the sudden move, which affected several websites.

Last week, Mullenweg called WP Engine a “cancer for WordPress” and called attention to its lack of contribution to the WordPress ecosystem. WP Engine sent a cease and desist letter to Automattic – the owner of WordPress.com and an exclusive commercial license to the WordPress brand – and to Mullenweg to retract these comments. In response, Automattic also sent its cease and desist letter to WP Engine, accusing them of trademark infringement.

This battle impacts a larger ecosystem, as WordPress technology is open source, free, and powers a large portion of the internet – about 40% of websites. Websites can host their own WordPress instance or use a provider like Automattic or WP Engine for a plug-and-play solution.

In recent days, Mullenweg has said his fight is against WP Engine – and primarily brands. However, the WordPress community as a whole was unsure about how to use WordPress in their services and whether Automattic or Mullenweg would come after them too.

The WordPress Foundation, owner of the WordPress brand, filed two new trademarks in July: “Managed WordPress” and “Hosted WordPress.”j. Developers and providers fear that these trademarks could be used against them if granted.