🐞 Issue Report: Channel Form Clears site_pages Data in EE 7.5

Affected Version:

ExpressionEngine 7.5

Severity:

High – Data Loss / Critical Functionality Broken

Summary:

When using {exp:channel:form} to edit an existing entry, the system unexpectedly clears the site_pages column in the exp_sites table. This field contains critical data for the Pages module (URL routing and page structure), and clearing it results in a complete loss of page routing information.

This behavior occurs even with minimal forms and does not appear to be caused by custom code or template logic.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Set up a channel linked to the Pages module.
2. Create one or more pages using the control panel.
3. Build a front-end editing form using {exp:channel:form}.
4. Submit the form after making changes (even no-op edits like saving without changes).
5. Check the exp_sites table — the site_pages field has been emptied.

Example template:

{exp:channel:form channel="your_channel" entry_id="{segment_3}"}
    <input type="text" name="title" value="{title}" />
    <textarea name="body">{body}</textarea>
    <input type="submit" value="Save" />
{/exp:channel:form}

Expected Behavior:

Editing an entry via Channel Form should not alter the site_pages field unless explicitly triggered by a Pages-related action.

Actual Behavior:

After submitting the form, the site_pages column in the exp_sites table is cleared, causing all page routing and structure data to be lost.

Additional Information:

• No third-party add-ons were active during testing.
• System message logs did not show relevant errors or warnings.
• SQL query profiler confirms that an unexpected UPDATE is made to exp_sites, setting site_pages = ''.

Suggested Investigation:

• Review any hooks or routines triggered during channel:form submission that may interact with the Pages module.
• Investigate whether cache or routing rebuild logic is unintentionally resetting site_pages.
• Ensure that site_pages is not being overwritten unnecessarily during entry updates.

Let me know if you'd like this formatted as a GitHub issue template or need help attaching sample database output.