v23.0.02

Welcome to Gibbon v23.0.00 (Ga Yau). We’re continuing to build momentum with each release, with Ee Gaa (而家, “right now”), Faai Di Laa (快啲啦, “hurry up”), and now Ga Yau (加油, “add oil!”). With the previous version focusing on front-end changes and themes, this version primarily focuses on back-end changes and stability. We have refactored several key areas of the system, including the installer, session management, payments, and authentication. This version introduces new OAuth2 login handling, enabling Microsoft and generic SSO logins, as well as a new Stripe payment gateway. It also cleans up the codebase and removes deprecated functions, as well as improves the handling of user input data.

Important Note: This release contains a number of security improvements and fixes that are highly recommended for all Gibbon installations. These improvements address validation vulnerabilities brought to our attention near the end of the v23 development cycle.

Due to the scope of the changes made during this version, it is unfortunately not feasible for these security improvements to be released for v22, which is why we strongly recommend that schools update their systems to v23. As always, we aim for a high degree of stability in Gibbon. Extra testing has been conducted on this release, but please do backup your database and code before updating.

Our appreciation goes out to everyone who continues to work hard to translate Gibbon into their language. Thanks to your ongoing efforts Gibbon is available in 22 languages! We did not add any new languages this release, however there were lots of improvements to translation strings in the interface.If you would like to volunteer to translate Gibbon into your language, please email support@gibbonedu.org.

Gibbon v23.0.02 includes an important security update. All installations of Gibbon running a prior version are highly recommended to update to this latest stable release. Please check the Changelog for a list of changes in this release.

Important Notes for v23.0.02

• Gibbon v23 requires a minimum PHP version of 7.3. Please check to ensure your server supports this requirement before upgrading. Gibbon v23 supports PHP 8.1 and MySQL 8.0, which are the highest recommended versions.
• Always backup your files and database before upgrading. This is especially important this release, as there are a number of structural changes to the database.
• If you are upgrading, please read the Changes With Important Notices section of CHANGELOG.txt before you install, to see if your upgrade requires any manual intervention.
• If you encounter a “MySQL Server has gone away” message during update or installation, please check the following forum thread: https://ask.gibbonedu.org/discussion/3308/
• See the Updating Gibbon guide for detailed steps.

Developer Notes

• Our Gibbon Development Road Map includes our GitHub branch, project board for v24 and future release dates. Take a look at https://docs.gibbonedu.org/developers/getting-started/gibbon-road-map.

Expert Support

The Gibbon community continues to offer a high level of friendly, timely and knowledgeable support via our forums. For schools requiring support beyond what the community provides, we offer a range of Expert Support options via gibbonedu.com.