Accessibility browser extension "axe DevTools" doesn't like <body aria-hidden="true"> #1079

romehu2 · 2026-03-13T18:49:52Z

romehu2
Mar 13, 2026

When a Modal window is open the <body> element has the "aria-hidden" attribute added with value "true", and axe DevTools flags this as a critical issue and points to https://dequeuniversity.com/rules/axe/4.10/aria-hidden-body for more information. Can this behavior be changed? Or is the following axeDevTools/dequeuniversity.com statement totally wrong?

When <body aria-hidden="true", content is not accessible to assistive technology.

Here is what the extension displays:

aniruddhaadak80 · 2026-03-14T09:56:29Z

aniruddhaadak80
Mar 14, 2026

Hi there! Taking a look at your issue regarding Accessibility browser extension "axe DevTools" doesn't like <body aria-hidden="true"> in the context of reactjs/react-modal...

For react-modal integration specifically, this typically happens due to how the modal mounts into the portal DOM node vs standard React tree flow.

App Element: Ensure you've called Modal.setAppElement('#root') early in your app lifecycle so accessibility features (like aria-hidden) perform correctly without throwing errors.
React 18/19 compatibility: If encountering strict mode double mounts or findDOMNode warnings, verify that you are leveraging modern standard refs (useRef) and check your test environment (e.g. jsdom) where Portal mounting behaves slightly differently than standard browsers.
Z-index and stacking: Always check the stacking context of the ReactModal__Overlay class if the modal is hidden behind other components.

Best of luck, and hope this guides you to the fix!

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Accessibility browser extension "axe DevTools" doesn't like <body aria-hidden="true"> #1079

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aniruddhaadak80 Mar 14, 2026

romehu2
Mar 13, 2026

aniruddhaadak80
Mar 14, 2026