4.5.33

TL;DR

WordPress 4.5.33 is primarily a security and maintenance release that updates the bundled Root Certificates to ensure secure connections, adds an end-of-support notification for WordPress 4.5, and includes several build and testing infrastructure improvements. This release is critical for maintaining secure connections on sites running WordPress 4.5, though users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to a supported WordPress version as this branch is no longer receiving regular security updates.

Highlight of the Release

• Updated Root Certificate bundle to maintain secure connections
• Added end-of-support notification for WordPress 4.5
• Updated composer/ca-bundle to version 1.5.7
• Improved build and testing infrastructure with reusable workflows

Migration Guide

Migration from WordPress 4.5

WordPress 4.5 has reached its end-of-support status. While this maintenance release provides critical security updates to the Root Certificate bundle, users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to a supported WordPress version.

To upgrade from WordPress 4.5 to a current version:

1. Backup your site: Create a complete backup of your files and database
2. Check plugin and theme compatibility: Verify that your plugins and themes are compatible with newer WordPress versions
3. Update in stages: Consider updating incrementally through major versions (e.g., 4.5 → 5.0 → 5.9 → 6.x) if you encounter issues
4. Follow the WordPress update guide: Use the official WordPress update documentation for detailed instructions

If you maintain a site that cannot be updated immediately, this 4.5.33 release will help maintain secure connections in the short term, but a migration plan should be implemented as soon as possible.

Upgrade Recommendations

Critical for WordPress 4.5 users

This release contains important security updates to the Root Certificate bundle that are essential for maintaining secure connections. All sites running WordPress 4.5 should update to 4.5.33 immediately.

However, WordPress 4.5 has reached end-of-support status. While this maintenance release addresses critical security concerns, users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to a currently supported WordPress version as soon as possible to ensure continued security updates and support.

The automatic update system should update sites to this version, but manual updates may be necessary for some configurations.

Bug Fixes

Build and Testing Infrastructure Fixes

• Fixed WordPress Importer fetching in tests by switching from SVN to Git
• Fixed container architecture issues by updating the MySQL container to always prefer amd64 containers
• Fixed MacOS CI jobs by pinning to macos-13 instead of macos-latest
• Fixed SVN-related command failures in CI workflows
• Fixed JavaScript testing on Ubuntu 24 by disabling AppArmor

New Features

End-of-Support Notification

A new notification has been added to alert site administrators that WordPress 4.5 has reached its end-of-support status. This notification encourages users to upgrade to a newer, supported version of WordPress to continue receiving security updates.

Security Updates

• Updated the bundled Root Certificate (ca-bundle.crt) to the latest version from Mozilla, maintaining backward compatibility with unexpired legacy 1024bit certificates
• Updated composer/ca-bundle to version 1.5.7
• These updates ensure that WordPress 4.5 sites can continue to establish secure connections with remote servers using SSL/TLS

Performance Improvements

Build and Testing Improvements

• Implemented reusable workflows for the 4.5 branch
• Migrated to Docker Compose V2
• Removed version property from docker-compose.yml
• Improved artifact and comment generation for Playground testing
• Updated the actions/github-scripts action to the latest version
• Enhanced the healthcheck command for the mysql container

Impact Summary

WordPress 4.5.33 is primarily a security maintenance release that updates the bundled Root Certificates to ensure sites can continue establishing secure connections. It also adds an end-of-support notification to alert administrators that WordPress 4.5 is no longer receiving regular security updates.

The Root Certificate updates are critical for maintaining the security of WordPress 4.5 sites, ensuring they can continue to establish secure connections with remote servers. Without these updates, sites might eventually encounter SSL/TLS connection issues as certificates expire or change.

The build and testing infrastructure improvements included in this release are mainly relevant to developers working with the 4.5 branch codebase, providing better compatibility with modern development environments.

While this release helps maintain security in the short term, WordPress 4.5 has reached its end-of-support status, and users should prioritize upgrading to a supported WordPress version to ensure continued security updates and compatibility with modern web standards.