I know this topic comes up from time to time, but I could not find anything recent.

I created a shortcode that displays an unordered list enclosed within div tags. This shortcode works as expected (i.e., just displays the div and its content) if I add it via the shortcode block to a page or post.

However, if I add the same shortcode via the shortcode block to a widget, my div is enclosed within paragraph tags.

This is an issue with WP 5.8 specifically. This same shortcode worked as expected in the text widget in WP 5.7.2, and it also works as expected in that same text widget (now a “legacy widget”) in 5.8. The issue is only occurring when I add the shortcode block to a widget in WP 5.8.

I’m sorry I do not have a link as this is a temporary test site that will be going away soon. My test site is running the Pressbook theme (was also being used in WP 5.7.2 where this issue did not occur) and it has no plugins besides the small plugin that adds the shortcode in question.