[Bug]: On upgraded site (10.2.3 -> 10.3.2), new HTML modules remain Draft/Unpublished and do not render, while existing HTML modules still work

[JoshVink]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

What happened?

On one legacy DNN site that was recently upgraded from 10.2.3 to 10.3.2, newly created HTML modules are not rendering in normal/view mode or for anonymous users.

The key finding is that Version History shows the content as Draft / Unpublished only after saving, and no Published version is created.

At the same time:

• existing HTML modules on the site still render correctly
• OpenContent modules render correctly
• the problem reproduces on a new page as well as on existing pages
• workflow-related settings appear to be off

This makes it look like a site-specific issue affecting the HTML module publish/versioning state after upgrade.

Steps to reproduce?

Unfortunately, I have only reproduced this so far on one upgraded legacy site (other upgraded sites don't have the same issue), but the behavior is:

1. Upgrade an older site from 10.2.3 to 10.3.2
2. Create a new page (or use an existing page)
3. Add a new HTML module
4. Enter simple test content and click Save
5. Exit edit mode / view page normally

Current Behavior

• The newly created HTML module content is visible in edit mode
• The module does not render in normal/view mode
• The module does not render for anonymous/public users
• In Version History, the content shows only as Draft / Unpublished
• No Published version appears to be created

Expected Behavior

Saving content in a new HTML module should result in a Published version (when workflow is not enabled), and the content should render in normal/view mode and for anonymous users according to page/module permissions.

Relevant log output

Anything else?

Here is what we tested:

• Existing HTML modules on the site still display correctly
• New HTML modules do not display
• If edit mode is turned off, the new HTML modules disappear even while still logged in
• OpenContent modules on the same test page do display correctly for anonymous users
• Changing page containers/layouts did not change the behavior
• Copying an existing HTML module to another page did not make it render there
• Adding a new HTML module to the homepage also did not make it render
• On another recently upgraded DNN 10.3.2 site, creating a new HTML module works normally and Version History shows it as Published
• The Workflow setting "Enable Versioning" is turned off

Affected Versions

10.3.2 (latest release)

What browsers are you seeing the problem on?

Microsoft Edge, Chrome

Code of Conduct

• I agree to follow this project's Code of Conduct

[JoshVink]

A user in the DNN discord (Paul Calderon) said this is a bug that has happened to him as well and a fix is to change the value of DefaultTabWorkflowKey to 1 in the PortalSettings table. I tried this and it did not fix the issue though.