Joomla 4.2.1 Security and Bug Fix Release

Details: Created: 30 August 2022

The Joomla! Project is delighted to announce a security release for 4.x series of Joomla which addresses a security vulnerability and contains various bug fixes and improvements

This release continues Joomla 4’s high standards in accessible web design and brings exciting new features, highlighting Joomla's values of inclusiveness, simplicity and security into an even more powerful open-source web platform.

With Joomla 4.2.1, we have new and improved features for bloggers and authors, web designers, extension developers and web agencies.

The highlights are:

Keyboard Shortcuts

With the new keyboard shortcuts, you can save time and become more productive.

There are 9 built into the administrator side of your site such as J + F to jump into the search field or J + S to save

And the great news is that other extensions are able to add their own shortcuts as well. Pressing J + X to get a list of them all. The keystrokes are all sequential, making it more accessible than hitting them simultaneously.

Multi-factor Authentication

Until now, Joomla only offered ‘Two-Factor’ Authentication; with ‘Multi-factor’ Authentication, we are taking site access security one step further by allowing you to choose different authentication mechanisms to secure your site. You can choose to use a Yubi-key, Web Authentication, a verification code, or a code by email.

The way Multi-factor Authentication works is that you first log in with your username and password. After that, you are presented with another screen to enter your second authentication method.

This means that you will no longer be able to enter your two-factor authentication code on the same page as the login page.

Where can I download Joomla 4.2.1?

On the Downloads site, of course :)

New Installations

New installation instructions and technical requirements

Install 4.2.1

Upgrade

Upgrade 4.2.1

Remember… Please clear your browser's cache after updating.

Security Issues Fixed

[20220801] Low Severity - Low Impact - Multiple Full Path Disclosures because of missing '_JEXEC or die check' (affecting Joomla! 4.2.0) More Information

Bug fixes and Improvements with 4.2.1

Failure in setting Redis cache > See here
Change the db calls back to the getDbo > See here
Error when Gather Statistic enabled in Smart Search > See here
Fixed menu login with redirect to menu item on multi-language site > See here
Add bcmath_compat polyfill for servers without BCmath / GMP support > See here
Remove unused imports in Multi-factor Authentication > See here
Fix issue "updateCheck is null" > See here
Remove hotkeys.js as they have been renamed > See here
Stats collection must not be shown in captive MFA pages > See here
CLI application crashed when MVCFactory is used > See here
Correctly revert pull request no. 38244 for updating from 4.2.0 RC 1 > See here

Visit GitHub for the full list of bug fixes.

Where can I find documentation about Joomla 4?

We have tutorials to help you with Joomla 4. Creating a Plugin or a Module for Joomla 4, namespaces conventions, prepared statements, using the new web asset classes and many more.

We encourage developers to help write the documentation about Joomla 4 on docs.joomla.org to help and guide users and other extension developers.

A JDocs page will help developers to see the existing documentation, and the documentation still needed.

We invite you to check it regularly, update it and provide the missing content:https://docs.joomla.org/Special:MyLanguage/JDOC:Joomla_4_Tutorials_Project

Should I plan to upgrade to Joomla 4.2?

Joomla 4.2 is Joomla’s latest major version.

Joomla 3.10 is released alongside Joomla 4 as the last minor release of Joomla 3 (see this article).

Joomla 3.10 will continue to be supported with security fixes until 17th August 2023, giving you plenty of time to plan your migration to Joomla 4 and update your extensions (if required) to become Joomla 4 compatible versions.

As it is now a year since the release of J4.0, you should be planning or in the process of migrating to the latest version of Joomla.

We provide resources to help with the migration on the documentation site.

Make some noise. Joomla 4.2.1 is out!

We released the best Joomla yet. Let’s tell the world!

Get the message out about the great new features using the hashtag #Joomla4 and #Joomla4All.

J4 Brochure: https://joom.la/J4brochure

J4 Documentation: https://docs.joomla.org/J4.x:Getting_Started_with_Joomla!

Who is Joomla! For?

Do you need to make a website? For personal use, your work, a charity, not for profit. Perhaps a university, local government, then Joomla is for you.

A web agency needs a well-supported framework that can grow as your clients' needs grow. Then Joomla is for you.

Written by volunteers from every sector, it's used all over the internet for all kinds of projects: from blogs and intranets to national government sites. From small shops to world-leading brand sites, Joomla is capable of growing to fit your needs.

Joomla’s power comes from its ever-evolving code base, keeping up with best practices, but also from its large ecosystem of developers who see opportunities in the market and fill those gaps with good software designed to meet real-world needs.

Joomla 4.2.1 is the latest in a world-class CMS that allows you to start your website knowing it can grow with your needs and scale with your customers.

All this, and Joomla 4 is free to use and open-source software.

What are you waiting for? Install today and grow your future.

How can you help Joomla development?

There are a variety of ways in which you can get actively involved with Joomla. It doesn't matter if you are a coder, an integrator, or a user of Joomla. You can contact any of our volunteer engagement team to get more information, or if you are ready, you can jump right into the Joomla! Bug Squad.

The Joomla! Bug Squad and the CMS Release Team are some of the most active teams in the CMS development process and are always looking for people (not just developers) that can help with sorting bug reports, coding patches and testing solutions. A great way for increasing your working knowledge of the Joomla code base, and also a great way to meet new people from all around the world.

If you are interested, please read about them here Joomla! Wiki and, if you wish to join, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Project also wants to thank all the contributors who have taken the time to prepare and submit work to be included in the Joomla CMS and Framework.

A Huge Thank You to Our Volunteers!

Joomla 4.2.1 is the result of thousands of hours of work by lots of volunteers.

A Huge Thank You goes out to everyone that contributed to the 4.2 release!

Related information

If you are an extension developer, please make sure you subscribe to the general developer mailing list, where you can discuss extension development. News that may affect custom development will also be posted there from time to time.

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