Release process
This page describes the process followed for "core" releases (the modules included by silverstripe/recipe-core and silverstripe/recipe-cms).
Release planning
The Silverstripe CMS core team uses an Agile methodology. We aim to keep the latest development branches of each module in a "potentially releasable" state. Releases are planned around an issue backlog according to our roadmap. We re-revaluate our priorities every few weeks.
Silverstripe CMS is split up into many modules listed on github.com/silverstripe.
Each may have a different release line (e.g. 2.x vs. 5.x).
There are high-level "recipe" milestones on the framework repository
to combine individual module milestones into a larger release that's eventually available to install with
composer.
New features and API changes are discussed as GitHub issues), as well as the forum. They are prioritised by the core team as tickets on GitHub. In addition, we collect community feedback as feature ideas on the forum. Any feature ideas we're planning to implement will be flagged there.
Keeping track
Release dates are usually not published prior to the release, but you can get a good idea of the release status by
reviewing the release milestone on GitHub. Releases will be
announced on the "releases" forum category.
Significant releases will also be published via the silverstripe.org blog.
You can also keep track of new releases through the CMS UI by installing the maintenance module, or using the composer outdated command in your project.
Additionally, you can keep track of issues (both open and closed) across all modules involved in a recipe release.
Release numbering
Silverstripe CMS follows Semantic Versioning.
All Silverstripe CMS modules (including silverstripe/framework) may have patch releases created at any time, and will
not necessarily match other core module patch release numbers. For example, your project may be using
silverstripe/cms 5.3.1 with silverstripe/versioned 5.3.9.
All Silverstripe CMS recipes are released in lock step with each other. For example, silverstripe/installer 5.3.1 will
contain silverstripe/recipe-cms 5.3.1 and silverstripe/recipe-core 5.3.1. These recipes may contain various patch
versions of its modules within the same minor release line (5.3 in this example).
Regular minor releases
Regular minor releases are preceded by pre-stable releases to help lay the groundwork for the stable release.
See our minor release policy for details about our release cadence.
Beta phase
At the start of the Beta phase:
- new minor branches for core modules are forked from the major branches
- a feature freeze is instituted on the minor branches
- a
beta1release is tagged for recipes and related modules.
The length of the beta phase period will be communicated at the time it is tagged via the Silverstripe Forum. While the beta phase lasts additional betas may be released to address critical issues holding back testers.
"Beta release" definition
The purpose of a beta release is to initiate a "Feature Freeze" to stabilise the Silverstripe CMS codebase for an upcoming stable release and showcase new features. A beta release is likely to contain regressions and new bugs. A beta release is primarily aimed at testers who want to help identify bugs and regressions.
"Feature freeze" definition
A "Feature freeze" is a pre-release minor branch state. This state allows the core team to stabilise the upcoming release and reach production quality.
The following type of changes can be merged in a branch in feature freeze:
- bug fixes, regardless of severity
- API changes if they fix a bug and are compliant with our existing semver commitments
- merge-ups from older minor branches (introducing bug fixes).
The following changes cannot be merged in a branch in feature freeze:
- anything that introduces new features
- API changes not targeted to fixing a bug, or that alter an existing API in a stable release.
Release candidate phase
All critical or high priority issues in the beta release should have been identified and fixed by the start of the Release Candidate phase.
At the start of the Release Candidate phase:
- a publicly visible
rc1release is tagged for recipes and related modules - a private Release Candidate is created containing fixes for undisclosed vulnerabilities on top of the
rc1release - the private Release Candidate is delivered to independent auditors for a security review.
The Release Candidate phase lasts approximately two weeks. Additional patches may be added to the final release only if:
- vulnerabilities are discovered by the security audit
- additional critical issues are identified.
"Release Candidate" definition
A release candidate will not introduce any new features compared to its preceding beta release. The Silverstripe CMS core team is confident a release candidate is production quality and does not introduce new regressions.
The purpose of a release candidate is to allow module maintainers and project owners to audit the upcoming release and confidently plan their upgrades.
Only critical bug fixes can be added to the upcoming stable release once the release candidate is released.
Stable phase
A new stable minor release is tagged for Silverstripe CMS core recipes. This marks the start of our official semver commitment for any new APIs introduced in that minor release.
Supported versions
At any point in time, the core development team will support a set of releases to varying levels. The current support status is outlined on the roadmap.
See the minor release policy and major release policy for more information.
Security releases
A security release is a Silverstripe CMS Core Release with patches for one or more security issues.
Reporting an issue
Report security issues in our commercially supported modules to security@silverstripe.org. Please don't file security issues in our bugtracker.
Silverstripe CMS does not operate a bug bounty program.
Acknowledgment and disclosure
In the event of a confirmed vulnerability in our supported modules, we will take the following actions:
- Acknowledge to the reporter that we've received the report and that a fix is forthcoming. We'll give a rough timeline and ask the reporter to keep the issue confidential until we announce it.
- Assign a CVE identifier to the issue.
- For "high" and "critical" issues (CVSS of >=7.0): Pre-announce the upcoming security release to a private pre-announcement mailing list of important stakeholders (see below).
- We will inform you about resolution and announce a new release publicly.
You can help us determine the problem and speed up responses by providing us with more information on how to reproduce the issue:
- Silverstripe CMS version (incl. any installed modules)
- PHP/webserver version and configuration
- anonymised webserver access logs (if a hack is suspected)
- any other services and web packages running on the same server.
Severity rating
Each security release includes an overall severity rating and one for each vulnerability. The rating indicates how important an update is. It follows the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). This rating determines which release lines are targeted with security fixes.
| Severity | CVSS | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 9.0 to 10.0 | Critical releases require immediate action. Such vulnerabilities allow attackers to take control of your site and you should upgrade on the day of release. Example: Directory traversal, privilege escalation |
| High | 7.0 to 8.9 | Important releases should be evaluated immediately. These issues allow an attacker to compromise a site's data and should be fixed within days. Example: SQL injection. |
| Medium | 4.0 to 6.9 | Releases of moderate severity should be applied as soon as possible. They allow the unauthorized editing or creation of content. Examples: Cross Site Scripting (XSS) in template helpers. |
| Low | 0.1 to 3.9 | Low risk releases fix information disclosure and read-only privilege escalation vulnerabilities. These updates should also be applied as soon as possible, but with an impact-dependent priority. Example: Exposure of the core version number, Cross Site Scripting (XSS) limited to the admin interface. |
| None | 0.0 | These releases won't affect a large majority of projects, and may not require any action. They only impact projects with extremely complex or unlikely customisations. They do not impact projects which only implement common customisations or use common features. |
Internal security process
See Silverstripe CMS Core Release Process.
Pre-announcement mailing list
In addition to our public disclosure process, we maintain a private mailing list where upcoming "high" and "critical" security releases are pre-announced. Members of this list will receive a security pre-announcement, as soon as it has been sufficiently researched, with a timeline for the upcoming release. This will happen a few days before the announcement goes public alongside a new release, and most likely before a patch has been developed.
Since we'll distribute sensitive information on unpatched vulnerabilities in this list, the selection criteria for joining naturally has to be strict. Applicants should provide references within the community, as well as a demonstrated need for this level of information (e.g. involvement with a large website with sensitive customer data). You don’t need to be a client of Silverstripe Ltd to get on board, but we will need to perform some low-touch background checks to verify your identity. Please contact security@silverstripe.org for details.
Only "high" and "critical" issues are pre-announced via the mailing list. If you want to know about all the minor security mitigations, keep an eye on the "releases" forum category, changelogs and the website section Security Releases.
Quality assurance and testing
The quality of our software is important to us, and we continuously test it for regressions
through a broad suite of unit and integration tests. These run on
GitHub Actions, and results are publicly available.
Check the badges on the various modules available on github.com/silverstripe.