Ghost Release: 3.41.6

TL;DR

Ghost 3.41.6: Bug Fix Release

This minor release addresses two important bugs: payment method attachment issues for subscriptions and error handling improvements for NodeJS >=13. The payment method fix ensures that updated payment cards are properly attached to subscriptions, preventing renewal failures. The error handling improvement provides clearer messages when Ghost encounters port conflicts during startup on newer NodeJS versions.

Highlight of the Release

• Fixed payment method attachment to subscriptions, preventing renewal failures
• Improved error handling for port conflicts on NodeJS 13 and newer
• Updated members-api package to address subscription payment method issues

Migration Guide

No migration steps are required for this release. Simply update to Ghost 3.41.6 to benefit from the bug fixes.

Upgrade Recommendations

This release is recommended for all Ghost users, especially those:

• Running Ghost on NodeJS 13 or newer who may encounter port conflicts during startup
• Using the subscription/membership features with payment processing

The update addresses important bugs that could affect subscription renewals and system error handling. As this is a patch release with no breaking changes, upgrading should be straightforward with minimal risk.

To upgrade, follow the standard Ghost update process:

ghost update

Bug Fixes

Payment Method Attachment Fix

Fixed an issue where updated payment methods (credit cards) weren't being properly attached to subscriptions. This bug could cause subscription renewals to fail even after a customer updated their card information. The problem was caused by:

• A missing await statement in the code
• An incorrect subscription ID extraction in the underlying members-api package

This fix ensures that when customers update their payment information, it's correctly associated with their subscription, preventing renewal failures due to expired cards remaining as the default payment method.

EADDRINUSE Error Handling Improvement

Fixed error handling for EADDRINUSE errors (port already in use) on NodeJS version 13 and newer. Previously, the user-friendly "port is already in use" message wasn't displaying correctly because:

• From NodeJS v13 onward, error.errno returns a numeric error code instead of a string
• The code was checking for a specific string value that no longer existed in newer NodeJS versions

The fix changes the code to use error.code instead, which provides consistent behavior across NodeJS versions, ensuring users get clear error messages when attempting to start Ghost on a port that's already in use.

New Features

No new features were introduced in this release.

Security Updates

No security fixes were included in this release.

Performance Improvements

No specific performance improvements were included in this release.

Impact Summary

Ghost 3.41.6 is a maintenance release that addresses two specific bugs without introducing any new features or breaking changes. The payment method attachment fix is particularly important for sites using Ghost's subscription features, as it prevents potential revenue loss from failed renewals when customers update their payment information. The EADDRINUSE error handling improvement enhances the developer experience by providing clearer error messages when starting Ghost on newer NodeJS versions (13+) with port conflicts.

Both fixes are targeted solutions to specific problems and should have minimal impact on overall system behavior while improving reliability. The update to the members-api package is contained within this release, requiring no additional action from users beyond the standard update process.

Full Release Notes