Hidden elements can still receive keyboard focus
Automated check aria-hidden-focus, run with axe-core
- WCAG
- 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
- Severity
- Serious: completable, but painful
- Typical effort
- Moderate, 1 to 4 hours
- Category
- Keyboard
Who this affects
Keyboard-only and screen reader users.
Why it matters
Focus disappears into content marked aria-hidden="true" — commonly a closed menu or modal — and the user is stranded with no visible cursor. One of the most disorienting failures there is.
How to fix it
When hiding content, also remove it from the tab order (display:none, the hidden attribute, or inert). Never combine aria-hidden="true" with focusable children.
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Related checks: Keyboard
- Duplicate access keys
- Elements with role="text" contain focusable content
- No way to skip repeated navigation
- Focusable elements have no suitable role
- Frames with interactive content cannot be reached by keyboard
- Scrollable areas cannot be reached by keyboard
- Skip links point to nothing
- Positive tabindex values disrupt focus order