What Is New in Keycloak 4.7
Keycloak 4.7 delivers a focused set of enhancements, primarily upgrading its core dependencies and refining the admin experience. The main effort was on modernization rather than introducing a large number of new features.
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Dependency Upgrades | Major updates to WildFly 14, Infinispan 9.4, and a switch to Hibernate 5.3. |
| Admin Console | Added a direct link to the server environment page and a client scope helper. |
| Bug Fixes | Numerous fixes across themes, authentication flows, and social identity providers. |
Why did Keycloak upgrade WildFly and Infinispan?
The core infrastructure received significant updates to keep the platform stable and secure. This is a standard maintenance procedure for a project like Keycloak that relies on these underlying technologies.
Key Upgrades
- WildFly application server was updated to version 14.
- Infinispan data grid was upgraded to version 9.4.
- The persistence layer now uses Hibernate ORM version 5.3.
In practice, these upgrades provide bug fixes, performance improvements, and security patches from the respective upstream projects. You get a more robust foundation without changing how you work with Keycloak itself.
What admin console improvements were made?
The changes are small but practical, aimed at saving admins time during debugging and configuration.
A new link to the server environment page was added directly within the admin console. This matters because it provides quick access to system info and JVM settings that are crucial for troubleshooting.
For client scopes, a helper was added to the mappers section. It clarifies the difference between a full scope and a scope with only limited mappers, making client configuration more intuitive.
Which areas received the most bug fixes?
The bug fix effort was broad, but themes and social identity providers saw notable attention. This reflects the common pain points developers encounter when customizing Keycloak.
Fixed Issues
- Theme properties files now work correctly when using the hostname provider.
- An issue with the "user is already logged in" behavior during authentication flows was resolved.
- Social login fixes were applied for Google, Microsoft, and Facebook providers.
- Problems with the example themes and the new account console were addressed.
FAQ
Is the Hibernate upgrade from 5.2 to 5.3 a breaking change?
While any dependency upgrade can have edge cases, this Hibernate update is a minor version change focused on bug fixes and improvements. You should review the Hibernate 5.3 changelog if you use custom JPA queries or extensions, but for most standard deployments, it should be a transparent upgrade.
Where exactly is the new environment page link in the admin console?
The link is located on the main server info page within the admin console. It provides a direct view into the JVM environment variables and system properties that Keycloak is running with, which is useful for debugging configuration issues.
I use Facebook social login; what was fixed?
The fix addressed an issue where the Facebook identity provider would not correctly fetch a user's last name. This ensures that the full user profile is properly retrieved during the authentication process.
Does the WildFly 14 upgrade change how I deploy custom providers?
No, the upgrade to the underlying WildFly application server should not affect the standard way you package and deploy custom SPI providers. The deployment mechanisms and APIs remain consistent.
Were there any changes to the required Java version?
Keycloak 4.7 continues to require Java 8. The major dependency upgrades, like WildFly 14, are still compatible with this Java version, so no change to your runtime environment is needed.