Description

In #74653, the openSubmenusOnClick key was removed from the usesContext array in packages/block-library/src/navigation-submenu/block.json.

While internal rendering (via inner_blocks) appears to handle context propagation, this removal breaks plugins that instantiate the block programmatically using new WP_Block( $attributes, $context ), this is commonly used for custom blocks.

The issue

When a WP_Block is instantiated, the __construct method calls refresh_context_dependents(). This method performs sanitization of the context based on the block's usesContext definition.

Because openSubmenusOnClick is now missing from usesContext, it is filtered out during this process. Consequently, the backward compatibility function block_core_navigation_submenu_get_submenu_visibility() receives null, and the block defaults to 'hover' behavior.

Step-by-step reproduction instructions

Example code

$context = array( 'openSubmenusOnClick' => true );

$child = new WP_Block( 
    array( 
        'blockName' => 'core/navigation-link', 
        'attrs'     => array( 'label' => 'Link', 'url' => '#' ) 
    ) 
);

// Instantiate Submenu with Context.
$block = new WP_Block(
    array(
        'blockName'   => 'core/navigation-submenu',
        'attrs'       => array( 'label' => 'Submenu', 'type' => 'custom' ),
        'innerBlocks' => array( $child ),
    ),
    $context
);

// Render.
$html = $block->render();

// Check for class.
var_dump( strpos( $html, 'open-on-click' ) !== false );

Actual result

The class is missing because the context was stripped.

Expected behavior

The open-on-click class should be present in the HTML output, ensuring backward compatibility for programmatic usage.

Screenshots, screen recording, code snippet

No response

Environment info

No response

Please confirm that you have searched existing issues in the repo.

• Yes

Please confirm that you have tested with all plugins deactivated except Gutenberg.

• Yes

Please confirm which theme type you used for testing.

• Block
• Classic
• Hybrid (e.g. classic with theme.json)
• Not sure