[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #43734: user_profile_update_errors hook needs work-around to validate a to-be updated email address

[WordPress Trac]

#43734: user_profile_update_errors hook needs work-around to validate a to-be
updated email address
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 Reporter:  BjornW        |      Owner:
     Type:  defect (bug)  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal        |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Users         |    Version:  trunk
 Severity:  normal        |   Keywords:
  Focuses:  docs          |
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 The 'user_profile_update_errors' hook can be used to (in)validate (custom
 added) fields in the user_profile before these fields are saved.

 As far as I know, the 'best-practice' to do this is, is by accessing the
 field using it's name in {{{$_POST}}}. Grab it's value, do your thing and
 if this results in an error, add an error message to the $errors object
 and prevent the field from being saved to the database.

 This does not work with the email field anymore (since WordPress version
 4.9.0?), because {{{$_POST['email']}}} is reset to the current value in
 the database in the function {{{send_confirmation_on_profile_email()}}}.
 See: [https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/trunk/src/wp-
 includes/user.php#L2792 wp-includes/user.php]

 The reset of {{{$_POST['email']}}} to the current email address in the
 database prevents the 'best-practice' of accessing a field's value through
 {{{$_POST}}} because the new email address is now gone from {{{$_POST}}}.

 '''Why is there a reset on $_POST?
 '''
 ''My assumption is:''
 Resetting {{{$_POST['email']}}} to the current email address in the
 database is needed, because of the new flow in WordPres in which WordPress
 requests a user's confirmation of a proposed email change (by sending an
 email to the new address and requesting the user to clink a link to
 confirm the change) before saving the new email address.

 Therefor the value in the form should (at least temporarily) not be
 changed until the user has confirmed the change in email address. The
 chosen solution is such that the new email address is temporarily saved in
 a user meta field with the name '_new_email' including a hash. This is
 then processed upon when the user clicks on the link in the email
 requesting the email change.
 '''

 '''Solution'''
 I don't have a good solution yet and by submitting this ticket I hope more
 people can have a look at this issue.

 For now I'd suggest to update docs to include detailed information on how
 to use the user meta field {{{_new_email['newemail']}} instead of
 {{{$_POST['email']}}} in the user_profile_update_errors hook.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/43734>
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