[OJS 3.4.0-7] Review discussion emails reveal the author's surname

Software Support
1

Describe the issue or problem
This seems to be the same issue as [OJS 3.4.0.5] Starting a discussion with a reviewer reveals the author's name . When we use the Review Discussions, emails to the reviewer include the text ‘Reply to this comment at #[SUBMISSION_ID] [AUTHOR_SURNAME]…’ which reveals the author’s surname even in cases where we’ve set up double-blind peer review.

The above closed topic refers to a bug which is different from what we’re experiencing. Is there any way to configure OJS to not reveal the author surname in these emails?

Steps I took leading up to the issue

  • Start a new submission and get to the review stage.
  • Assign a test reviewer using my email address.
  • ‘Add discussion’ in Review Discussions between myself and the test reviewer.
  • Receive email with author details in the footer.

What application are you using?
OJS 3.4.0-7

Additional information

Screenshot 2026-07-07 at 09.53.07
Screenshot 2026-07-07 at 09.53.07933×295 24.4 KB

2

An issue filed at [Email Footer] | Reviewer Workflow discussions - Email, part of the email footer discussion exposes author information · Issue #12879 · pkp/pkp-lib · GitHub and fix will be available in next release .

4

Thanks for this. That led me to this commit which applies to OJS 3.4 and which I was able to apply as a patch. Works well!

5

Hi all,

Rather than applying patches, I strongly recommend keeping your OJS/OMP/OPS installation up to date with the latest build. While major upgrades may take significant effort, minor upgrades are low risk and will help keep your installation secure.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

6

Understood. I’m currently in the process of upgrading the OJS and OMP instances I look after but this specific instance won’t be in a position for an upgrade for a while so I wanted to apply a fix quickly to resolve this issue.