Title: PHP Warning: Undefined array key “widgetType”
Last modified: July 26, 2025

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# PHP Warning: Undefined array key “widgetType”

 *  Resolved [bjf2000](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bjf2000/)
 * (@bjf2000)
 * [9 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-warning-undefined-array-key-widgettype/)
 * This entry in the wp-admin log has been happening for months at high volume. 
   If anything, it’s ramped up in the last week for whatever reason (the latest 
   WordPress maintenance update?), and it’s so absurd now that I really do need 
   to put a stop to it. I’m talking dozens of lines per second.
 * **[17-Jul-2025 19:03:21 UTC] PHP Warning:  Undefined array key “widgetType” in/
   home/sitename/public_html/wp-content/plugins/elementor/modules/content-sanitizer/
   module.php on line 45**
 * I know you’re probably going to say to disable all other plugins, but I really
   can’t do that. No, I don’t see that there’s an actual problem beyond this.
 * Please help me narrow down what part of Elementor this pertains to (a setting?).
   Or maybe I can make an edit in that module, which is quite small (like actually
   defining the array).
 * We use PHP 8.2, so it’s not as if it’s a radically new version. Elementor has
   been current all along, as is WordPress.

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

 *  Plugin Support [Milos](https://wordpress.org/support/users/miloss84/)
 * (@miloss84)
 * [9 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-warning-undefined-array-key-widgettype/#post-18573583)
 * Hi there,
 * Thanks for contacting us and hope you are doing well and having a great day.
 * Please deactivate all your plugins (besides Elementor) to rule out the possibility
   of a plugin or theme conflict. I understand that you don’t want to do this on
   your live site, but this is the first step to identifying the potential issue.
 * Please if you cannot do this on the live site you can create a staging site and
   do this there – [https://elementor.com/help/create-staging-site/](https://elementor.com/help/create-staging-site/)
 * If it solves the issue reactivate them one by one to find the culprit. If it 
   didn’t help, switch your theme (temporarily) to a default WP theme such as Twenty
   Nineteen and see if it makes any difference.
 * Also, the warning is harmless but noisy. You can try rolling back to a previous
   version of PHP and see if this helps.
 * I am looking forward to hearing back from you soon.
 * Kind regards,
 *  Thread Starter [bjf2000](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bjf2000/)
 * (@bjf2000)
 * [9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-warning-undefined-array-key-widgettype/#post-18582502)
 * Please just tell me what the nature of the particular file is and its importance.
   Also, what particular Elementor settings, if any, pertain to it. I need to make
   this stop and I don’t feel it’s fair that you’re not revealing anything about
   such a small file that should have a very clear purpose that you could relate
   to me in a couple sentences.
 * 50,000 lines in the log in 7 days is not harmless.
 * Purely hypothetically, why would one think it’s correct to have a PHP file with
   an undefined array key when presumably array keys should be defined?
 *  Plugin Support [Milos](https://wordpress.org/support/users/miloss84/)
 * (@miloss84)
 * [9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-warning-undefined-array-key-widgettype/#post-18585555)
 * Hi there,
 * Thank you for contacting me again.
 * The file in question, /modules/content-sanitizer/module.php, is part of Elementor’s
   internal content sanitization system. It filters or cleans up widget content 
   before rendering or saving, mainly to ensure content security and integrity. 
   It’s not tied to any user-configurable settings in Elementor’s UI — it’s a backend
   safeguard, particularly for dynamic content inserted via widgets.
 * The PHP warning you’re seeing: Warning: Undefined array key “widgetType” means
   that Elementor’s code is attempting to access an array key widgetType that hasn’t
   been set (or is missing) in some instances. Under PHP 8.2, this now throws a 
   warning rather than silently returning null, which is why you’re seeing such 
   a massive increase recently — likely exacerbated by the latest WordPress or Elementor
   update triggering more frequent sanitization.
 * So the short version is: this file is safe to keep as-is, but the warning is 
   a result of missing input — not broken functionality.
 * So why doesn’t Elementor account for this? Normally, well-defended code uses 
   isset() or ?? to guard against this. However, because Elementor operates in a
   performance-sensitive context, some non-critical guard clauses may have been 
   missed or removed historically for speed — even if that’s questionable.
 * To resolve this, please try following the steps below: To rule out the possibility
   of a plugin or theme conflict, please deactivate all your plugins (besides Elementor).
 *  If this solves the issue, reactivate them one by one to find the culprit. If
   it doesn’t help, switch your theme (temporarily) to a default WP theme such as
   Twenty Nineteen and see if it makes any difference.
 * I am looking forward to hearing back from you soon.
 * Kind regards,
 *  Plugin Support [Rica](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ricav/)
 * (@ricav)
 * [8 months, 3 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-warning-undefined-array-key-widgettype/#post-18598276)
 * Due to inactivity, this ticket has been closed.
 *  [freshpromo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/freshpromo/)
 * (@freshpromo)
 * [8 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-warning-undefined-array-key-widgettype/#post-18607232)
 * [@bjf2000](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bjf2000/) Did you ever find the
   source of this error? A website I manage started throwing these warnings out 
   in the log today right after the site experienced a 500 internal server error,
   in tandem with another warning:
 * Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, string given in /home/
   websitename/wp-content/plugins/elementor/includes/db.php on line 268
 *  Thread Starter [bjf2000](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bjf2000/)
 * (@bjf2000)
 * [8 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-warning-undefined-array-key-widgettype/#post-18607296)
 * [@freshpromo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/freshpromo/) No, but yours 
   appears to be another kind of warning. As long as it doesn’t start doing it in
   heavy volume, it may just be a one-off or occasional thing.

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

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