AJAX error due to in hidden field – Solution

I recently encountered a JavaScript error when submitting cforms forms with AJAX enabled:

javascript

Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'value')

As a result, AJAX stopped working and the page reloaded after submission.

In the HTML source, the hidden field cf_working was rendered incorrectly:

<input type="hidden" id="cf_workingXX" value="<span>Please wait...</span>„/>

Cause:
In the lib_render.php file, cforms incorrectly adds a <span> inside the value attribute of hidden fields.

Solution:
In lib_render.php, adjust the following line:

Before:

value="<span>' . TEXT . '</span>"

After:

value="' . TEXT . '"

Remove the <span> from both cf_working and cf_failure fields.

After this fix, AJAX works properly again.

Note:
This change will be overwritten by future plugin updates.

Hope this helps others facing the same issue!

Tested with WordPress 6.x, PHP 8.x, cforms 15.0.7