Fatal Error in 3.5.1 with PHP 8.3: ImageUrlConstraint::$message type mismatch

[cyprus-karma]

Describe the bug:
A critical fatal error occurs when running Google for WooCommerce v3.5.1 on PHP 8.3.25. The issue is caused by a type mismatch in the ImageUrlConstraint class. The $message property overrides the parent property from the Symfony Validator component but lacks the required string type declaration, which causes a fatal error in strict PHP 8.3 environments.

Steps to reproduce:
Set up a WordPress environment with PHP 8.3.25.
Install and activate Google for WooCommerce version 3.5.1.
Wait for the background synchronization process to run or trigger a product validation action.
Check the debug.log or server error logs.

Expected behavior:
The plugin should validate product image URLs without causing a fatal error.

Actual behavior:
The application crashes with a fatal error, preventing synchronization and filling the logs with critical errors.

Additional details:
Error Log:

text
CRITICAL Type of Automattic\WooCommerce\GoogleListingsAndAds\Validator\ImageUrlConstraint::$message must be string (as in class Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints\Url)
CONTEXT: {"error":{"type":64,"file":"/wp-content/plugins/google-listings-and-ads/src/Validator/ImageUrlConstraint.php","line":15}}
System Info:

Plugin Version: 3.5.1
PHP Version: 8.3.25

Likely Cause: In PHP 8.3 (and newer Symfony versions), overridden properties must match the type definition of the parent class. The parent Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints\Url defines public string $message, while ImageUrlConstraint likely defines it dynamically or without a type hint.

Regards. Boris

[mukeshpanchal27]

Hi @cyprus-karma,

Thank you for reporting this and for your patience while we investigated.

We’ve been looking into the fatal error on PHP 8.3, but so far, we haven't been able to reliably reproduce it in our standard environments. Based on our investigation, here is what we’ve found:

• Version Mismatch: The plugin currently uses symfony/validator: ^5.2. The strict type checking that seems to be causing this error was primarily introduced in version 7.0 of that package.
• Upgrade Obstacles: We attempted to force an upgrade to version 7.0 to see if it resolved the issue, but this surfaced several other compatibility conflicts (such as signature mismatches in ImageUrlConstraintValidator) that would require a much larger architectural change to address.

We suspect there might be a specific context in your environment perhaps another plugin or package that is loading a newer version of the Symfony library, leading to this conflict.

How you can help:

1. Test the current PR: Could you try applying the changes in PR Set custom message #3190 to see if it resolves the issue in your specific environment?
2. Share environment details: Are you running any other plugins or custom code that might be loading Symfony components independently?

In the meantime, we’re going to keep this issue open to see if we get similar reports, but we’re pausing further development on the PR until we can confirm a reliable reproduction path.

Thanks again for your help in tracking this down!

[chris127IO]

Hi, I was able to build a reliable repro harness for this.

I’m attaching a small helper plugin here:
a-google-listings-and-ads-error-test.php

a-google-listings-and-ads-error-test.php.zip

How to reproduce:

1. Activate Google for WooCommerce (v3.5.1 on PHP 8.3 or higher).
2. Activate the attached helper plugin.
3. Go to Tools → GLA Fatal Error Test.
4. Click Trigger fatal in real plugin class.

What the helper does:

• Prepares the request with a typed Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints\Url::$message parent (the conflicting environment condition).
• Then autoloads the real Automattic\WooCommerce\GoogleListingsAndAds\Validator\ImageUrlConstraint class.

Observed fatal (same signature as reported):
Type of Automattic\WooCommerce\GoogleListingsAndAds\Validator\ImageUrlConstraint::$message must be string (as in class Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints\Url)
at wp-content/plugins/google-listings-and-ads/src/Validator/ImageUrlConstraint.php:15

So this confirms the mismatch is reproducible when a typed Symfony Url class is present in runtime before ImageUrlConstraint is loaded, which is not uncommon in WordPress environments where Composer autoloads are not fully isolated between plugins.