WriteFreely v0.17.0 release notes

WriteFreely v0.17 is here, includes some critical security fixes, along with a ton of quality-of-life improvements and fixes for users.

Security

Fix config.ini defaults to world-readable (by @thebaer, CVE-2025-24337)
Fix Cross-User IDOR: Subscriber List Disclosure (by @thebaer, GHSA-cfcq-76gr-62x8)
Prevent signups via /auth/signup with closed registrations by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1686

User-Facing Changes

Title fixes for ActivityPub by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1491
Fix collection Customize page header nav on single-user instances by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1505
Fix single-user blog URL on Customize page by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1508
Add support for alternative smallweb URL schemes by @smazmi in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1565
Fix font toggle in classic editor #876 by @vtyeh in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1135
Display stat numbers as monospace by @lolbinarycat in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1142
Support changing published post font on web by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1609
Fix character set for post signature column on MySQL / MariaDB instances by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1608
Redirect /read/feed to correct /read/feed/ URL by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1522
Fix ProseMirror HTML handling by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1644
Use datetime picker on Post Metadata page and fix API inconsistency by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1492
Markdown preview by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1647
Sort list of Fediverse followers by subscription date, descending by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1630
Limit password to max characters supported by bcrypt by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1664
Improve and fix up data exports by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1623
Fix missing user nav on blog Customize page by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1687

Admin-Facing Changes

Document MariaDB support in README by @robertsilen in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1665
Ignore missing socket file on shutdown by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1503
ActivityPub robustness and monitoring by @blacklight in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1437

Developer-Facing Changes

Don’t add blank strings to mentioned users array in Activity object by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1575
Refactor: Email Subscription shortcode and form by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1646
Run goimports on project by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1559

Dependencies and minor fixes

Add missing hostName assignment in viewEditCollection by @thebaer in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1504
Bump github.com/stretchr/testify from 1.9.0 to 1.10.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1151
Bump docker/metadata-action from 4.6.0 to 5.8.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1462
Bump docker/login-action from 3.0.0 to 3.5.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1463
Bump docker/build-push-action from 5.0.0 to 6.18.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1464
Bump docker/setup-buildx-action from 3.0.0 to 3.11.1 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1465
Bump golang.org/x/net from 0.43.0 to 0.44.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1500
Bump docker/login-action from 3.5.0 to 3.6.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1497
Bump golang.org/x/crypto from 0.41.0 to 0.42.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1499
Bump golang.org/x/net from 0.45.0 to 0.46.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1509
Bump golang.org/x/crypto from 0.43.0 to 0.45.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1528
Bump golang.org/x/net from 0.47.0 to 0.48.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1548
Bump golang.org/x/crypto from 0.45.0 to 0.46.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1546
Bump github.com/fatih/color from 1.17.0 to 1.18.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1140
Bump github.com/gosimple/slug from 1.14.0 to 1.15.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1232
Bump golang.org/x/net from 0.48.0 to 0.49.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1571
Bump docker/login-action from 3.6.0 to 3.7.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1567
Bump docker/setup-buildx-action from 3.11.1 to 3.12.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1541
Bump docker/metadata-action from 5.8.0 to 5.10.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1525
Bump docker/setup-qemu-action from 3.0.0 to 3.7.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1515
Bump docker/build-push-action from 6.18.0 to 6.19.2 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1602
Bump golang.org/x/net from 0.49.0 to 0.51.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1627
Bump docker/login-action from 3.7.0 to 4.0.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1631
Bump docker/setup-qemu-action from 3.7.0 to 4.0.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1632
Bump docker/metadata-action from 5.10.0 to 6.0.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1633
Bump docker/build-push-action from 6.19.2 to 7.0.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1634
Bump golang.org/x/net from 0.51.0 to 0.53.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1657
Bump github.com/fatih/color from 1.18.0 to 1.19.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1641
Bump golang.org/x/crypto from 0.50.0 to 0.51.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1653
Bump golang.org/x/net from 0.53.0 to 0.55.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1673
Bump golang.org/x/crypto from 0.51.0 to 0.53.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1674
Bump docker/setup-buildx-action from 3.12.0 to 4.1.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1669
Bump actions/checkout from 4 to 7 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1684
Bump docker/build-push-action from 7.0.0 to 7.2.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1666
Bump docker/metadata-action from 6.0.0 to 6.1.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1667
Bump docker/login-action from 4.0.0 to 4.2.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1668
Bump github.com/gorilla/csrf from 1.7.2 to 1.7.3 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1361
Bump golang.org/x/net from 0.55.0 to 0.56.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1693
Bump docker/login-action from 4.2.0 to 4.3.0 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1695

Upgrading from v0.16.x or earlier

Download the latest release for your operating system and architecture
Stop running your writefreely server
Replace all files in your installation (except for the keys directory) with the ones in the archive
Update your database by running:
```
writefreely db migrate
```
Start your writefreely server again

If you’re upgrading from a much earlier version, follow the instructions in each previous release.

New Contributors

Thank you to all who contributed to this release!

@smazmi made their first contribution in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1565
@blacklight made their first contribution in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1437
@lolbinarycat made their first contribution in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1142
@robertsilen made their first contribution in https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/pull/1665

Full Changelog: https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/compare/v0.16.0…v0.17.0