Here’s a roundup of fixes we’ve shipped since Hotfix roundup: September 21–28, 2026. Fixes that went out with the September 28 release are covered in September 28, 2026: Maintenance and Reliability improvements.
Newspack
- On sites running Perfmatters, readers who signed up through a form set to register readers, such as a Gravity Forms newsletter signup, often didn’t get a reader account. Those forms now register readers regardless of how long the reader waits before interacting with the page. (newspack@6.53.5)
- On sites using Perfmatters’ Remove Unused CSS, the mobile sticky footer ad stopped appearing on posts. Google Ad Manager still requested the ad, so sticky impressions dropped while requests held steady. The ads stylesheet now loads with the page, and the sticky ad appears again. (newspack@6.53.1)
- On sites running WooCommerce Subscriptions 9, readers couldn’t pay for a pending subscription an admin had created for them when the product was limited to one active subscription; checkout showed “You’re already a subscriber!” instead. Readers can now complete that payment, while the one-subscription limit still applies otherwise. (newspack@6.53.8)
- On sites that offer a free product for complimentary access, automated orders that skipped reCAPTCHA created unwanted active subscriptions. WooCommerce’s checkout now refuses free products from those orders; admins can still assign them by hand. A site that sells a free product on purpose through the Checkout block will see “cannot be purchased,” and a developer can allow it again. (newspack@6.53.4)
- On sites that require readers to sign in before checkout, promotional checkout links sometimes opened checkout without the sign-in step on a slow connection or first visit, and a campaign prompt could appear on top of it. These links now ask readers to sign in or register first, and prompts wait until checkout closes. (newspack-blocks@4.34.2)
- In Campaigns segments, the “Has active subscription” and “Does not have active subscription” pickers now list private subscription products, which sites moving from WooCommerce Memberships often keep for legacy readers. A saved product that later becomes private, draft, or trash keeps its name with its status shown instead of reading “Deleted subscription.” (newspack@6.53.7)
Republication Tracker Tool
- The republication page, widget, and Republish Button block could offer drafts, scheduled, private, and password-protected posts for republication. They now offer only published posts that any visitor can already read. (republication-tracker-tool@2.9.3)
Listings
- Listing excerpts could show the opening words of a password-protected listing. Those excerpts now read “This content is password-protected,” while the full text stays behind its password on the listing’s own page. (newspack-listings@3.7.7)
Story Budget
- Story Budget search now matches $, %, and _ exactly as typed in custom fields such as Story Name and Description. Previously, a search for “$10” listed stories that didn’t contain it. (newspack-story-budget@1.3.3)