Title: String operator errors after 5.3.4 update?
Last modified: April 3, 2025

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# String operator errors after 5.3.4 update?

 *  Resolved [smartyp404](https://wordpress.org/support/users/smartyp404/)
 * (@smartyp404)
 * [1 year, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/string-operator-errors-after-5-3-4-update/)
 * Our site started throwing the following errors today:
 * `operator not supported for strings in /nas/content/live/REDACTED/wp-content/
   plugins/wp-security-audit-log/classes/Migration/class-migration.php`
 * As best we can tell, this happened after an automatic plugin update. To fix the
   issue we had to temporarily rename the folder on disk so that the plugin wouldn’t
   load, and then we disabled the plugin – and now the site is fine.
 * Did an update roll out that requires a specific PHP string operator that doesn’t
   exist in 8.2, or some other sort of regression?
    - WordPress version: 6.7.1
    - Activity Log plugin version: 5.3.4
    - PHP version: 8.2.28
 * Thank you for your help!

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

 *  Plugin Support [Lucian Padureanu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/lucianwpwhite/)
 * (@lucianwpwhite)
 * [1 year, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/string-operator-errors-after-5-3-4-update/#post-18399009)
 * Hello [@smartyp404](https://wordpress.org/support/users/smartyp404/),
 * I’m really sorry to hear about this experience!
 * To help us investigate further, could you share the version of the plugin you
   were using **before** updating to 5.3.4? Also, is this a **single site** or a**
   multisite network**? If it’s a multisite, could you confirm whether it’s a **
   subdomain** (site.example.com) or **subfolder** (example.com/site) setup?
 * Additionally, could you provide more details on how the error impacted your site?
   Was it just a PHP warning, or did it cause any critical failures? If there are**
   additional error logs or a more complete stack trace**, that would help us pinpoint
   the issue faster.
 * Looking forward to your response so we can get this sorted out as soon as possible!
 *  Thread Starter [smartyp404](https://wordpress.org/support/users/smartyp404/)
 * (@smartyp404)
 * [1 year, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/string-operator-errors-after-5-3-4-update/#post-18399837)
 * Hi Lucian, thanks for your quick reply! Unfortunately I don’t know what version
   it was on previously. The plugins page had automatic updates enabled, but i’m
   not sure how often that happens. I would guess it was on the previous release
   assuming the auto-updates happens frequently. Let me know if there’s a way I 
   can check better on this – the site is on WPEngine.
 * The site is a single site. For some users they were still able to reach the site
   and pages, but for other users they were seeing critical WordPress errors failure
   page. Anyone who tried to reach the admin page would get the critical WordPress
   error page, and were unable to do anything. We brought the site back online by
   seeing the logs and then renaming the plugin folder on disk so it would stop 
   loading. We then disabled it from there as a short-term fix.
 * Here is the full error log with the website name removed:
 *     ```wp-block-code
       operator not supported for strings in /nas/content/live/REDACTEDSITENAME/wp-content/plugins/wp-security-audit-log/classes/Migration/class-migration.php:1112#012Stack trace:#012#0 /nas/content/live/REDACTEDSITENAME/wp-content/plugins/wp-security-audit-log/classes/Migration/class-abstract-migration.php(189): WSAL\Utils\Migration::migrate_up_to_5340()#012#1 /nas/content/live/REDACTEDSITENAME/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php(324): WSAL\Utils\Abstract_Migration::migrate('')#012#2 /nas/content/live/REDACTEDSITENAME/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php(348): WP_Hook->apply_filters(NULL, Array)#012#3 /nas/content/live/REDACTEDSITENAME/wp-includes/plugin.php(517): WP_Hook->do_action(Array)#012#4 /nas/content/live/REDACTEDSITENAME/wp-settings.php(704): do_action('init')#012#5 /nas/content/live/REDACTEDSITENAME/wp-config.php(129): require_once('/nas/content/li...')#012#6 /nas/content/live/REDACTEDSITENAME/wp-load.php(50): require_once('/nas/content/li...')#012#7 /nas/content/live/REDACTEDSITENAME/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php(22): require_once('/nas/content/li...')#012#8 {main}#012 thrown in /nas/content/live/REDACTEDSITENAME/wp-content/plugins/wp-security-audit-log/classes/Migration/class-migration.php on line 1112
       ```
   
 * Thanks again for your help!
 *  Plugin Support [Lucian Padureanu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/lucianwpwhite/)
 * (@lucianwpwhite)
 * [1 year, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/string-operator-errors-after-5-3-4-update/#post-18399908)
 * Hello [@smartyp404](https://wordpress.org/support/users/smartyp404/)
 * Thanks for the details! This is the first time we’ve encountered this specific
   issue, and without knowing the exact version you migrated from, it’s possible
   that some possible old/corrupted database entries might have been causing this,
   during migration.
 * To try and resolve this, I recommend **removing and reconfiguring the plugin 
   from scratch** to ensure a clean setup. Here’s how you can do that safely:
   **
   Step 1: Remove Old Plugin Data**
    1. Deactivate and delete the WP Activity Log plugin from your WordPress admin panel.
    2. Access your database (via phpMyAdmin or a similar tool).
    3. Locate the `wp_options` table.
    4. Search for and **remove all entries prefixed with `WSAL_`**—this will reset 
       the plugin settings but **will not delete any stored logs or activity records**.
 * **Step 2: Reinstall the Plugin**
    1. Download and install the latest version of WP Activity Log from the plugin repository
       5.3.4.1.
    2. Activate the plugin and go through the initial setup to ensure all configurations
       are applied correctly.
 * Once you’ve reinstalled the plugin, monitor the site and let us know if the issue
   persists. If you encounter any further problems, feel free to share updated logs
   and steps on how to reproduce, and we’ll be happy to assist further!
 * Looking forward to your update.
 *  Plugin Support [Lucian Padureanu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/lucianwpwhite/)
 * (@lucianwpwhite)
 * [1 year, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/string-operator-errors-after-5-3-4-update/#post-18403336)
 * Hello [@smartyp404](https://wordpress.org/support/users/smartyp404/),
 * Thank you again for your patience while we investigated this issue.
 * Although we had some difficulty reproducing the exact errors you reported, we’ve
   introduced a few code tweaks in a patched version that we’re confident should
   resolve the problems.
 * We’d really appreciate it if you could give this version a try and let us know
   how it goes — I am confident the errors are now gone! 
   🔧 How to install the 
   patched build:
    1. [Download the patched v5.3.4.1 from ](https://melapress.com/support/plugins-patches/)
       the link attached _(you will see it listed under WP Activity Log)_
    2. From your site’s **Plugins** page, upload the ZIP.
    3. Replace the previous installation.
    4. Activate the plugin and test.
 * 🧼 Optional clean install (recommended if issues persist):
 * Since the issue seems related to a faulty migration, we recommend a clean reinstall
   to ensure no legacy or corrupted data is affecting the plugin. To do that:
    1. Deactivate **WP Activity Log**.
    2. Access your site’s database (via cPanel, phpMyAdmin, or your hosting platform).
    3. Search for and delete all `WSAL_` entries in the `wp_options` table.
    4. Upload and install the patched build.
    5. Activate the plugin and reconfigure your settings.
 * > _Note:_ This will **not remove any previously stored logs or records**. It 
   > will only reset the plugin settings, which you’ll need to reconfigure afterward.
 * Please let us know how it goes — we’re standing by in case anything else comes
   up!
 *  Plugin Support [Lucian Padureanu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/lucianwpwhite/)
 * (@lucianwpwhite)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/string-operator-errors-after-5-3-4-update/#post-18494054)
 * Hello [@smartyp404](https://wordpress.org/support/users/smartyp404/) !
   We have
   just released update 5.4.0 which includes a fix for this. You can safely update
   your plugin to the latest version now and check how things are going this time
   in case you haven’t already tried our previous patched build. Please let us know
   if there are any further issues!
 * I do appreciate your patience while we were working on this, and also for bringing
   this into our attention!

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

The topic ‘String operator errors after 5.3.4 update?’ is closed to new replies.

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 * 10 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [Lucian Padureanu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/lucianwpwhite/)
 * Last activity: [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/string-operator-errors-after-5-3-4-update/#post-18494054)
 * Status: resolved