v5.5.8

What's Changed

Bug Fixes

• fix(settings): resolved multiple PHP 8.x "Undefined array key" warnings for type and module in settings registration and rendering (#394)
• fix(settings): added centralized Settings::is_valid_setting() validation method to enforce required-key contract on zerospam_settings filter — invalid settings are logged in debug mode
• fix(settings): settings_field() now applies wp_parse_args() defaults, preventing undefined key warnings for optional field attributes
• fix(settings): settings missing the section key now default to general instead of triggering warnings
• fix(api): corrected app_type case mismatch and app_details/email_details encoding
• fix(caching): prevented caching of 403 forbidden pages to resolve compatibility with LiteSpeed Cache (closes #383)
• fix(david walsh): improved JS reliability for comment forms to prevent false positives (closes #378)
• fix(david walsh): resolved conflict where WPForms submissions were blocked when David Walsh protection was enabled (closes #364)
• fix(ipinfo): corrected issue where location data was reported as "unknown" in the dashboard widget (closes #360)
• fix(install): resolved database errors on fresh installations due to strict dbDelta requirements (closes #332)

Performance

• perf(core): optimized disallowed words option to prevent autoloading large data
• perf(core): optimized disposable email domains storage to prevent autoloading large data
• perf(api): implemented async detection reporting to reduce server load
• perf(api): implemented persistent response caching (transients)
• perf(api): implemented circuit breaker pattern for API fault tolerance

Maintenance

• chore(requirements): updated PHP and WP version requirements
• chore(standards): fixed issues with strict types
• docs(project): updated project documentation files
• ci(github): updated GitHub workflows and templates