WordPress 6.9 Hotfixes ![rw-book-cover](https://s.w.org/images/home/wordpress-default-ogimage.png) Since being released on December 2, WordPress 6.9 has been [downloaded over nine million times](https://wordpress.org/download/counter/). Shipping is the first step, and core contributors have been monitoring bug reports, forum posts, and social networks to see the effects of the release. Issues are analyzed to understand how widespread they are, the impact they have on sites, and if there is a viable workaround available. This is combined with analyzing potential release dates, coordination with other projects that may be necessary, and the riskiness of fixes to decide on a release date for a maintenance release. Please note, only a small subset of sites are facing these issues. For WordPress 6.9, this analysis has led to the decision that a maintenance release will be best in January at the earliest. Some of the reported bugs can be fixed using small code snippets, but not everyone is comfortable editing PHP files on their site. To reduce the burden on site administrators who are affected by these reported bugs, these snippets have also been made available as plugins. It is recommended to test your site before installing one of these plugins. #### CSS Issues from Loading Separate Block Styles on Demand WordPress 6.9’s new ability to [load block styles on demand in classic themes](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2025/11/18/wordpress-6-9-frontend-performance-field-guide/#load-block-styles-on-demand-in-classic-themes) has led to some instances where some sites running a classic theme are seeing content styled in unexpected ways due to `wp-block-library` styles being omitted when they were previously included by default. There can also be differences in file loading leading to unexpected changes in the CSS Cascade. See [#64354](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/64354) for more information and to follow as a permanent fix is developed. The [Load Combined Core Block Assets Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/load-combined-core-block-assets/) by core committer [@westonruter](https://profiles.wordpress.org/westonruter/) is available to help here. #### E-Mails Not Being Sent Some changes aimed at [improving the reliability of email](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2025/11/18/more-reliable-email-in-wordpress-6-9/) have uncovered bugs with some configurations of the underlying libraries and applications used to send email. This means that is some circumstances, WordPress installs that had been able to send emails no longer can. See [#64368](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/64368) for more information and to follow as a permanent fix is developed. The [Hotfix](https://wordpress.org/plugins/hotfix/) plugin, maintained by multiple core committers, has been updated to include a workaround. #### Adjacent Post Navigation Additionally, [a change to adjacent post navigation](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2025/12/10/adjacent-post-navigation-changes-in-wordpress-6-9-and-compatibility-issues/) is leading to some sites seeing infinite loops when modifying the `get_{$adjacent}_post_where` filter. This change was not previously publicized, but the linked dev note is now published and highlighted in the [6.9 field guide](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2025/11/25/wordpress-6-9-field-guide/). Please ensure you are using the most up-to-date version of plugins and themes when updating to WordPress 6.9. Thank you to the contributors who have tested and reported issues they have seen along. Futher, thank you to the developers who have followed up on these reports and are continuing to work to find solutions that help WordPress users in both the short and long term. As a community project, WordPress would not be able to function without the volunteers and individuals sponsored to work on WordPress Core. If you see an issue, please report it to either [trac](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/newticket) or the [gutenberg repository](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/new/choose) depending on where the issue occurs. Props [@desrosj](https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/) and [@westonruter](https://profiles.wordpress.org/westonruter/) for assisting with drafting this post., WordPress 6.9 Hotfixes, Make WordPress Core, 01kcagtt2yvkh9emdq8kaf7ba9.