Major Issue with theme update from v9.5.5 to v9.5.6: missing files in package

[monospace]

Long story short, a client website basically crashed because the auto-update to v9.5.6 installed a faulty theme package which is missing crucial files such as the style.css or other functional php files.

I assume this issue is not unknown to the developer team.

I didn’t read anything about this in the (outdated!) change log on the website (https://laytheme.com/version-history.html).

In terms of vulnerability concerns I kindly ask to give full transparency regarding this issue.
Did someone just sleep and publish a wrong release or is this a security issue which needs further attention?

LOG
---
[15:17:11] Start comparing "/Lay Theme Versions/lay 9.5.5" ↔ "/Lay Theme Versions/lay 9.5.6"
[15:17:11] Scanning "/Lay Theme Versions/lay 9.5.5"
[15:17:11] Found 763 entries
[15:17:11] Scanning "/Lay Theme Versions/lay 9.5.6"
[15:17:11] Found 628 entries
[15:17:11] Creating stats for diff result
[15:17:11] Compared 1391 entries

SETTINGS
---
Abort on Error: true
Excludes: "**/.DS_Store", "**/.git", "**/.hg", "**/.svn", "**/CVS", "**/node_modules"
Ignore Contents: false
Ignore End of Line: true
Ignore Byte Order Mark: true
Ignore Leading/Trailing Whitespace: false
Max File Size: 0
Use Case Sensitive: false



INFO
---
Compared:    "/Lay Theme Versions/lay 9.5.5" ↔ "/Users/admin/Downloads/Lay Theme Versions/lay 9.5.6"
Entries:     1391 (1124 files, 267 folders)
Size:        18.84 MB (19753611 Bytes)

Left Path:   "/Lay Theme Versions/lay 9.5.5"
Entries:     763 (615 files, 148 folders)
Size:        9.84 MB (10322053 Bytes)

Right Path:  "/Lay Theme Versions/lay 9.5.6"
Entries:     628 (509 files, 119 folders)
Size:        8.99 MB (9431558 Bytes)

RESULT
---
Comparisons: 763
Diffs:       159
Conflicts:   0
Created:     0
Deleted:     135 (106 files, 29 folders)
Modified:    24 (48 files)
Unchanged:   604 (970 files, 238 folders)
Ignored:     0

I fixed the client website by manually installing v9.5.5 and disabling auto-updates.

[Liefko]

I have exactly the same issues.

[Liefko]

Looks like a problem with the update service. Manually installing v9.5.5 and disabling auto-updates is it.

http://laythemeforum.com:4567/topic/10242/the-theme-is-missing-the-style-css-stylesheet

[pufuleti]

same problem here, fucked up 3 websites with laytheme

[MickeyOne]

Same problem :/

[MickeyOne]

Luckily, a backup came in handy.

[arminunruh]

hey there seems like there was some issue with the updating service i'm using.
i released another update now and that one works

[MickeyOne]

Thank you! Yes, it worked.

[Remco van Dun]

Does this update automatically? I'm not able to update the theme anymore

[arminunruh]

https://kernl-file-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/14-08-2025/05-42-39/lay.zip

heres the link to the latest theme zip you can use that

[samuel.t]

It broke 6 (!) client websites on my end - and not all of them had auto-updates enabled. They all paid a significant amount for the theme. This isn’t the first time it has happened. The release notes are outdated. This forum still runs on HTTP. I’m sorry to say it, but I don’t understand how such a well-known theme can get it this wrong - even though I do appreciate the maintainer’s responsiveness.

[arminunruh]

hey there! yea thats really bad! im sorry about it!
i reacted as fast as i could but i was not able to be on my pc for a while.

it was just unfortunate that the updating service i use https://kernl.us/ didnt include all files in the latest theme package. even though all files were present in my repository.

i would suggest that you turn off autoupdate for your clients websites and turn off updates for lay theme in "lay options"

• and not all of them had auto-updates enabled

then they must have updated the theme by themselves, if autoupdate is disabled, the theme wont update by itself.

im just releasing small new features for lay theme with updates mostly.
but updating of a website can bring new bugs, so its best to just turn it off on client websites.
cause most of the time when a client website is finished, it doesn't need any new features added to it anyways.

[arminunruh]

i will think about a solution to this.
probably i can somehow turn off autoupdate via code
cause its enabled by default by wordpress

ah yea and probably i can switch the forum to https and keep the version history more up to date.

[clnstz]

Hello! Thanks for fast fixing. 3 out of 7 client websites crashed as they were on Auto update. But it affected it in different ways (2 fully down, 1 just the admin panel access).

How can I install the corrected issues version without access to the Admin Panel? I no longer have access to the panel because of the error. Quite urgent, people are panicking as their business rely on it. Thanks!

[arminunruh]

basically you would access their FTP
go to wp-content / themes

and rename the folder "lay" to a different foldername

then you will be able to access wp-admin again.
in wp-admin go to appearance - themes and delete the faulty theme
and install the one that works
https://kernl-file-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/14-08-2025/05-42-39/lay.zip

if you dont have FTP access, you can get the FTP credentials through their webhost control panel

often webhost control panels also provide webftp, where you can just click through their FTP without having to get the credentials

[arminunruh]

basically this
https://laytheme.com/troubleshooting.html#critical-error

[clnstz]

Ok Thanks — Can I just check this will keep all existing Theme settings, Page Layouts, Content and CSS? No changes. Eg. The 'old' or existing site will be as was.

[arminunruh]

yea it will keep everything as it was.
if you want i can also do it for you, you can send the infos i need to info@laytheme.com

[samuel.t]

Yes, everything will stay there. I solved the problem through database:

1. Switch to an old theme:
   UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'twentytwentyfive' where option_name = 'template';
   UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'twentytwentyfive' where option_name = 'stylesheet';
2. Login to Admin, delete the faulty theme
3. Re-install Lay, activate theme

[clnstz]

Ok great thanks, no it's fine we will do (some clients did a reset in panic.... need to get the back up up again). If I need any help, I'll write here.