WordPress 5.3.1 Update Log: Solutions for Failed Automatic Updates

WordPress 5.3.1 has prompted an update in the website Admin Dashboard. This version mainly fixes 4 security issues. It is recommended to update to the latest version. If the automatic update fails, please refer to the manual update method in this article.

Security Updates

4 security issues affect WordPress 5.3 and earlier versions. Version 5.3.1 fixes these issues, so you need to upgrade. If you haven't updated to 5.3 yet, you can also update to the latest sub-version of the corresponding version (3.7-5.2) to fix these security issues.

• Unauthorized users can pin posts via the REST API.
• Cross-site scripting (XSS) can be stored in crafted links.
• Enhancedwp_kses_bad_protocol() to ensure it understands the named colon attributes.
• Stored XSS vulnerability exists when using block editor content.

Maintenance Update

Here are some key update points:

• Admin: Improved admin forms to control standardization of height and alignment (see related Developer Notes), dashboard widget link accessibility, and alternative color scheme readability issues (see related Developer Notes).
• Block Editor: Fixed Edge scrolling issues and intermittent JavaScript problems.
• Bundled Themes: Added customizer options to show/hide author bio, replaced JS-based smooth scrolling with CSS (see related Developer Notes), and fixed CSS for Instagram embeds.
• Date/Time: Improved calculation for non-GMT dates, fixed date format output for specific languages, and made get_permalink() PHP timezone changes more resilient.
• Embeds: Removed the CollegeHumor oEmbed provider as the service no longer exists.
• External Libraries: Updated sodium_compat。
• Site Health: Allows filtering the email verification interval for admin notifications.
• Uploads: Avoid thumbnail overwriting other uploads when filenames match, and exclude scaling for PNG images after upload.
• Users: Ensure admin email verification uses the user's locale instead of the site locale.

For more information,Please browse the complete list of changes on Trac, or view the Version 5.3.1 documentation page。

Solutions for Failed Automatic Updates

If automatic WordPress update fails, you can manually update using the following methods:

• WordPress Latest Chinese Simplified Version Local Download_Installation Package

Method 1: Download Offline Package for Manual Update

You can download the new version of the WordPress installation package yourself and then manually update it. For downloading the offline installation package of the new WordPress version, you can refer to this article:WordPress New Version Simplified Chinese Local DownloadAfter downloading,the method for manually updating WordPress is:：

• ①. Extract the downloaded installation package and delete the wp-content folder inside;
• ②. Use FTP to deletethewp-admin and wp-includes folders on the server;
• ③. Upload the remaining local files to the server, overwriting all files;
• ④. Log in to the WordPress website Admin Dashboard to see if there is a request to update the database. If there is, update it; if not, the update is already complete.

For detailed upgrade methods, please refer to:Several Methods for Automatic and Manual WordPress Updates

Method 2: Update Using a Plugin

Update:Plugins can be directly usedWP Downgrade, allowing you toinstall old or new versions of WP. The blogger "I Love Boiled Fish" created a plugin for a Chinese download mirror. The plugin automatically switches the download mirror to the specified URL in the plugin when you upgrade to the Chinese version of WordPress. After the upgrade, simply disable the plugin.Plugin code is as follows:

updates as &$update) {
		if($update->locale == 'zh_CN'){
			$update->download	= 'http://www.xintheme.cn/download/wordpress-zh_CN.zip';
			$update->packages->full	= 'http://www.xintheme.cn/download/wordpress-zh_CN.zip';
		}
	}

	return $value;
});

Plugin Usage Method:Save the above code as a PHP file, upload it to the wp-content/plugins directory on the server, enable the plugin in the Admin Dashboard, and then click the update button. You can alsoclick here to downloadthe plugin file saved by Naibabiji, and directly upload the zip package via the website Admin Dashboard to install, enable, and update the plugin.Plugin Notes:The download address provided in the plugin is not very fast (it may time out during updates, causing failure). You can upload the installation package to your own server and modify the link for faster downloads.

Method 3: Update Using Code + Compressed Package

This method comes from the Long Xiaotianxia blog and is similar to Method 2, appearing even simpler and more convenient. It can alsoresolve429 Too Many Requests and automatic update failure issues，The specific usage method is as follows:

1. Download the WordPress installation package file and rename it to wordpress.zip
2. Upload wordpress.zip to your website's root directory
3. Copy the code below into the Theme's functions file
4. Click Update in the Admin Dashboard
5. After the update is complete, delete the function code

/**
 * 临时更改WordPress程序包地址以便WP在线更新成功 - 龙笑天下
 * https://www.ilxtx.com/how-to-update-wordpress-successfully.html
 */
function lxtx_site_transient_update_core( $value ){
    foreach ($value->updates as &$update) {
        $update->download = home_url( 'wordpress.zip' );
        $update->packages->full = home_url( 'wordpress.zip' );
    }
    return $value;
}
add_filter('site_transient_update_core', 'lxtx_site_transient_update_core');

If you don't know how to add code to the Theme's functions file, you can use the following Plugin for assistance.Safe method to add code to the functions.php file: Code Snippets

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For more methods, refer to:

• Automatic Update Failed_Several Methods to Manually Update WordPress Version