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@natechadwick-intsof natechadwick-intsof released this 12 Aug 16:45
· 39 commits to main since this release
v8.1.7
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Canonical Java 8 / 8.1.x download home: this repository (percussioncms-java8).

Binaries for the 8.1.x line are published here. The main percussioncms repo tracks Java 21 / 8.2 development.

Percussion CMS v8.1.7 Release Notes

Release Date: June 25, 2026
Build: 1

Percussion CMS v8.1.7 delivers platform modernization, security hardening, and accessibility compliance - so your team can operate with confidence. This release adds Google GA4 support, includes significant WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility improvements, critical security patches, and dozens of quality-of-life fixes across the CMS editor, publishing system, and REST APIs.

Upgrading is strongly recommended - this release addresses critical security vulnerabilities.

Quick Summary

Key Changes:

  • Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA navigation improvements, ARIA attribute fixes, and tooltip refinements across the UI
  • Automatic Directory Index Touch configuration on workflow approvals
  • REST API validation now returns proper 400 status codes
  • Folder creation displays correct success/error status
  • Deleted pages properly removed from bookmarks and search results
  • GA4 support for Google Analytics integrations, Google Setup, Traffic, and What's Working gadgets
  • Deprecations: Registration Widget, Secure Login Widget, Redirect Management Gadget, EMS Event List Widget

Accessibility Improvements

Built for compliance: Percussion CMS v8.1.7 includes significant accessibility enhancements to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards - ideal for government, education, healthcare, and public sector deployments.

This release addresses:

  • Navigation Widgets: Added proper ARIA landmarks and labels to Nav and Breadcrumb widgets for improved screen reader navigation
  • Form Widget: Email form fields now have configurable autocomplete attributes for better form completion support
  • HTML Cleaner: Added missing roles and HTML attributes to improve semantic structure
  • Dashboard Tables: Added missing scope="col" and scope="row" attributes to table headers in Dashboard screens
  • Tab Navigation: Fixed sequential Tab key navigation on the Home screen
  • Home Dashboard Tooltips: Removed global jQuery UI tooltip configuration that caused tooltips to persist incorrectly

New Features & Enhancements

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Migration

  • Updated for GA4: The Traffic Gadget, Google Setup, and What's Working gadgets are now updated to GA4

Need help configuring GA4? Intersoft Data Labs offers configuration assistance as part of standard support: percussionsupport@intsof.com

Important: If you previously configured Google Analytics and saw no data, please verify your GA4 credentials in the Google Setup Gadget after upgrading.

Workflow Automation

  • Automatic Directory Index Refresh: Pages with Directory Widgets are now automatically touched when Person or Department assets are updated. Pages containing Directory Widgets will automatically be added to the Incremental publishing queue.

REST API Improvements

  • Page by Path REST Resource: Added support for leading Sites/ prefix in the Page by Path REST resource, improving consistency with other API endpoints.
  • Improved Validation Error Responses: Validation errors now return proper 400 BAD_REQUEST status codes instead of 500 INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, making API error handling more consistent and easier to handle in custom integrations.
  • DELETE Page by Path API: Fixed an issue where the API would fail to delete existing pages and return HTTP 500 PageNotFoundException.

Bug Fixes

CMS Editor & UI

  • Footer Alignment: Default Percussion theme: Fixed footer text/value not properly aligned on the Page editor. The editor now maintains proper layout positioning regardless of theme CSS rules by using !important height rules in the decoration CSS.
  • Admin Console Page: Fixed JavaScript error ("Cannot read properties of null (reading 'scrollHeight')") on the Admin Console page by ensuring DOM elements exist before referencing them.
  • Site Import: Added safeguards to prevent JavaScript errors during site import operations when page data is incomplete.

Folder & Path Management

  • Folder Creation Fixed: Content authors no longer see misleading "Path not found" errors when folders are successfully created - eliminating confusion and unnecessary retry attempts.
  • Path Validation Improved: System now handles complex site structures more reliably.

Search & Directory

  • Search Reliability: Path-based searches now work correctly without server errors - users get results instead of HTTP 500 failures.
  • Directory Widget Filters: Fixed filter behavior so content authors can narrow and expand directory searches without losing their current selections.
  • Deleted Content Handling: Search results gracefully handle deleted pages instead of showing confusing error messages.

Gadgets & Dashboards

  • My Bookmarks: Deleted pages are automatically removed from user bookmarks - no more broken links or error messages.
  • Traffic Gadget: Google Analytics data displays correctly again.
  • Style Tab: Theme selection now loads properly without JavaScript errors.
  • Theme Thumbnails: Layout stays clean and consistent regardless of image sizes.

Publishing

  • New Site Publishing Fixed: Publishing now works correctly for newly created sites without requiring manual DTS Server configuration.
  • High-Traffic Publishing: System handles concurrent publish operations reliably - no more failures or timeouts during busy periods.
  • Publishing Console Fixed: Admin, Publishing, and Design tabs now load correctly without errors.

Workflow

  • Workflow Name Validation: Fixed regex pattern issues with workflow and step names containing hyphens, resolving checkValidity errors.
  • Page Saves: Optimized page save operations to avoid Derby lock timeouts during high-concurrency scenarios.

Content Security

  • Duplicate Metadata Tags: Fixed duplicate Facebook Open Graph tags and Twitter/X metadata being rendered on pages.

Security Updates

This release includes critical security patches to keep your CMS infrastructure robust:

  • Apache Shiro 2.1.0 Upgrade: Major security upgrade for Dashboard dependency - addresses CVE-2023-46749 (authentication bypass) and CVE-2023-46750 (open redirect)
  • Tomcat 9.0.115: Latest security patches from Apache Tomcat including CVE-2026-32990, CVE-2026-29146, CVE-2026-24880, and others
  • Content Security Policy: Updated CSP settings to support modern image URIs and improved DTS security configuration

Enterprise Support Customers: Critical security patches are available as part of your support contract. Contact us for priority upgrade assistance.

Dependency Updates

This release includes numerous dependency updates for improved security, compatibility, and stability.

Security-Critical Updates

Component Old Version New Version CVE Links
Apache Shiro 1.13.0 2.1.0 CVE-2023-46749, CVE-2023-46750
Apache Tomcat 9.0.113 9.0.115 CVE-2026-32990, CVE-2026-29146, CVE-2026-24880

Server & Build Updates

Component Old Version New Version Notes
Jetty Maven Plugin 9.4.11-SNAPSHOT 9.4.58.v20250814 Build improvements
Apache XBean Spring 4.29 4.30 Compatibility
Maven Resolver API 2.0.14 2.0.16 Build improvements
Maven Compiler Plugin - Updated Build improvements
Maven Dependency Plugin - Updated Build improvements
Maven JDeps Plugin 3.1.2 3.2.0 Build improvements
KeyTool Maven Plugin 1.7 -> 2.0.2 (progressive) Build improvements
Versions Maven Plugin 2.20.1 2.21.0 Build improvements
Properties Maven Plugin 1.2.1 1.3.0 Build improvements

Library Updates

Component Old Version New Version Notes
PDFBox 2.0.30 -> 3.0.6 2.0.36 3.x reverted for Java 8 compatibility
Google HTTP Client 2.0.3 2.1.0 REST client improvements
Google API Client 2.8.1 2.9.0 API compatibility
Swagger UI 5.31.0 5.31.2 API documentation
Swagger 2.2.41 -> 2.2.43 (progressive) API documentation
Netty 4.2.9.Final 4.2.10.Final Network performance
Commons JEXL3 3.6.1 3.6.2 Expression language
JUEL 2.2.2 2.2.7 Expression language
TwelveMonkeys 3.13.0 3.13.1 Image processing
ClassMate 1.7.1 -> 1.7.3 (progressive) JSON processing
JUnit Jupiter 5.14.1 5.14.3 Testing
AWS SDK 1.12.796 1.12.797 AWS integration

Platform Modernization

Keeping Percussion CMS current with modern standards. The following components have been deprecated or are pending removal. We encourage users to plan migrations accordingly.

Need help with deprecation migrations? Intersoft Data Labs offers migration assistance for all deprecated components as part of standard support and professional services. Contact Us

Widget/Gadget Status Notes
Registration Widget Deprecated Use alternative user registration methods
Secure Login Widget Deprecated Use alternative authentication methods
Redirect Management Gadget Deprecated Use built-in redirect capabilities
Share This Widget Deprecated Use third-party social sharing solutions
EMS Event List Widget Deprecated Consider alternative event management integrations

Note: Associated DTS security configurations for the Secure Login widget have also been deprecated.

Quality Assurance

Percussion CMS v8.1.7 has been quality-assured and validated across supported Java 8 and JDK 1.8.0 environments. No new issues were introduced in this release.

Professional Services

Intersoft Data Labs offers dedicated Percussion CMS support and professional services:

  • GA4 Configuration - Get your analytics back up and running with expert assistance
  • Upgrade Planning & Execution - Minimize downtime with guided transitions from earlier Percussion CMS versions
  • Deprecation Migrations - We handle the migration work so your team doesn't have to
  • Custom Integrations - Tailored solutions for your specific requirements
  • Training & Onboarding - Get your team productive faster

Enterprise Support Customers: Contact your support representative for assisted upgrades and priority scheduling.

Contact The Intersoft Percussion Support Team or visit Percussion CMS Services for details.

Need Enterprise support & maintenance service: Contact Us for details.

Installation & Upgrade

Prerequisites

  • Percussion CMS v8.1.0 or higher
  • Java 8 (JDK 1.8.0)

Upgrade Notes

This is a standard maintenance release. Customers running v8.1.x can upgrade by following the normal upgrade procedure. As always, back up your database and content repository before upgrading.

Upgrade downtime: Plan for 15-30 minutes of downtime. Should issues arise, rollback requires a restore from backup. Contact support if assistance is needed.

Download Verification

SHA256 checksums are published on this release page for artifact verification.

Checksum correction (2026-08-07)

The published SHA-256 sidecar for perc-distribution-tree.jar was corrected on 2026-08-07. Only the .sha256 sidecar files changed; the installer JAR itself is unchanged.

Asset SHA-256 (of final release JAR)
perc-distribution-tree.jar 72838223b2f327b8c6243dc7c4341ef3d6b995fc499875a97da3eb51a707479f
delivery-tier-distribution.jar 96f5ed22b44cf167f6b5f0d9c2afea4410a3f38b9d4cff268280a8bdd50f91a0 (unchanged; already matched)

Sidecar files on this release:

  • perc-distribution-tree-8.1.7.jar.sha256 (versioned name; historical)
  • perc-distribution-tree.jar.sha256 (aligned with JAR asset name)
  • delivery-tier-distribution.jar.sha256

If you previously cached the wrong checksum (a7c49dee...), re-download the .sha256 file only. See issue #2212.

Additional Resources

Commercial Support

Percussion CMS is maintained and supported by Intersoft Data Labs. For commercial support, professional services, or to discuss upgrade options, contact us at:

Thank you to everyone who reported issues and provided feedback that helped improve this release!

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