[PHP 8] Too few arguments to function WP_Widget::__construct()

[ai5gw]

When upgrading from PHP 7.X to PHP 8.X, there might be a Fatal error: Uncaught ArgumentCountError: Too few arguments to function WP_Widget::__construct() error. This will prevent access to the entire website, including the admin area. The fix is, however, quite simple:

In /wp-includes/class-wp-widget-factory.php change line 62 from

<?php
$this->widgets[ $widget ] = new $widget();

to

<?php
$this->widgets[ $widget ] = new $widget( $widget, $widget );

Discovered and tested in WordPress version 6.5.4 when upgrading from PHP 7.4 to 8.2.

Fixing a persistent Error that occurs when upgrading to PHP 8.X from a PHP 7.X version. If this fix is not deployed, the error message "Fatal error: Uncaught ArgumentCountError: Too few arguments to function WP_Widget::construct()" will appear and the entire WordPress site, including the admin area, is not accessible.

Trac ticket: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61415

Fixing a persistent Error that occurs when upgrading to PHP 8.X from a PHP 7.X version. If this fix is not deployed, the error message "Fatal error: Uncaught ArgumentCountError: Too few arguments to function WP_Widget::construct()" will appear and the entire WordPress site, including the admin area, is not accessible.

[sabernhardt]

Hi, and welcome to WordPress Core Trac!

Thanks for the report. We're already tracking this issue in #56127.

[sabernhardt]

Duplicate of #56127.