Drupal Release: 7.43

TL;DR

Drupal 7.43 Security Release

This release addresses critical security vulnerabilities (SA-CORE-2016-001) with contributions from numerous community members. It's primarily a security-focused update with minimal feature changes, focusing on patching important security issues that could affect Drupal 7 sites.

Highlight of the Release

• Critical security fixes addressing vulnerabilities identified in SA-CORE-2016-001
• Collaborative security patch with contributions from over 25 community members
• Minimal changes (360 total code changes) focused specifically on security issues

Migration Guide

No migration steps are required for this update. This is a direct security update that doesn't change APIs or functionality.

To update:

1. Back up your site's files and database
2. Update Drupal core to version 7.43
3. Run the database update script by visiting /update.php in your browser
4. Clear all caches

No additional migration steps are needed as this is a security-focused release.

Upgrade Recommendations

Immediate Upgrade Strongly Recommended

All Drupal 7 site owners should upgrade to Drupal 7.43 immediately. This release contains fixes for critical security vulnerabilities that could potentially be exploited on unpatched sites.

The security team has released this update to address specific vulnerabilities detailed in SA-CORE-2016-001. Given the nature of security releases, immediate action is recommended to protect your site from potential attacks.

The update process is straightforward and should not affect site functionality as it focuses exclusively on security patches.

Bug Fixes

This release primarily addresses security bugs rather than functional bugs. The specific security issues fixed are detailed in the security advisory SA-CORE-2016-001, which was contributed to by numerous community members including agerard, Alan Evans, benjy, berdir, catch, Damien Tournoud, and many others.

New Features

No new features were introduced in this release. Drupal 7.43 is strictly a security-focused update addressing vulnerabilities identified in security advisory SA-CORE-2016-001.

Security Updates

Security Advisory SA-CORE-2016-001

This security release addresses critical vulnerabilities in Drupal 7. While the specific details of the vulnerabilities are not fully disclosed in the commit messages to prevent exploitation, the security advisory SA-CORE-2016-001 contains the complete information.

The security fixes were contributed by a large team of Drupal security experts and community members, including:

• agerard
• Alan Evans
• benjy
• berdir
• catch
• Damien Tournoud
• DamienMcKenna
• Dave Cohen
• Dave Reid
• David_Rothstein
• dsnopek
• effulgentsia
• FengWen
• fgm
• fnqgpc
• greggles
• Gábor Hojtsy
• Juho Nurminen 2NS
• klausi
• larowlan
• nagba
• Pere Orga
• plach
• pwolanin
• quicksketch
• rickmanelius
• scor
• stefan.r
• StryKaizer
• YesCT

The collaborative nature of this security fix demonstrates the strength and responsiveness of the Drupal security team and community.

Performance Improvements

No specific performance improvements were included in this release. The focus was entirely on addressing security vulnerabilities.

Impact Summary

Drupal 7.43 is a critical security release that addresses vulnerabilities identified in security advisory SA-CORE-2016-001. The impact is primarily positive, providing essential protection for Drupal 7 sites against potential security exploits.

The release represents a collaborative effort from over 25 community members who contributed to identifying and fixing these security issues. With 328 additions and only 32 deletions across 14 files, the changes are targeted and focused specifically on security concerns.

Site administrators should prioritize this update to ensure their sites remain secure. The update itself should have minimal impact on site functionality as it doesn't introduce new features or change existing APIs - it simply patches security vulnerabilities in the existing codebase.