Bug report — Broken Link Checker 2.4.7
Summary: Site-wide fatal error (front end + wp-admin) when the scheduled scan time is stored in 24-hour format. build_daily_schedule_timestamp() dereferences the return value of date_create_from_format() without checking for false.
Error:
Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to a member function getTimestamp() on bool
in .../broken-link-checker/app/scheduled-events/scan/class-controller.php:282
Call chain:
Options\Settings\Controller->initialise() → activation_actions() (line 130) → Scan\Controller->set_scan_schedule() → get_timestamp() (line 185) → build_daily_schedule_timestamp() (line 223).
Because this runs on plugin init, the crash occurs on every request — the site is fully unreachable and the plugin cannot be deactivated through wp-admin. Recovery requires SSH/FTP.
Root cause: at line ~277 the method parses with the 12-hour format 'g:i a':
php
$schedule_time = date_create_from_format( 'g:i a', $time, wp_timezone() );
if ( $current_time > $schedule_time->getTimestamp() ) {
The stored value in blc_settings → schedule.time was "00:00", which cannot match 'g:i a', so parsing returns false and line 282 fatals. The method’s own docblock contradicts the implementation — it documents @param string $time The time of the day in HH:MM format while the parser expects g:i a. Note that Utilities::str_to_time() in the two branches immediately below handles "00:00" correctly, so only this one comparison is format-sensitive.
Repro: set blc_settings → schedule.time to "00:00" with schedule.active = "1" and frequency = "daily", then load any page.
Suggested fix:
- Guard the return value — fall back to
Utilities::str_to_time( "today {$time}" ) (or skip the comparison) when parsing yields false.
- Accept both formats, or normalise
schedule.time on read/write so the stored value and the parser agree.
- Correct the docblock to match whichever format becomes canonical.
Worth checking on their side: how the settings UI serialises the time field. If the save handler writes 24-hour values while the reader expects 12-hour, any user selecting midnight bricks their site — and re-bricks it after each save.
Environment: BLC 2.4.7, multilingual WordPress site (DE/EN/IT), installation_timestamp: null in blc_settings (unrelated to this crash, but possibly also unset by their installer).
