An empty short description leaves the product card blank.
WooCommerce still publishes the SKU. Category grids, emails, and many themes then show no copy. Catalog Audit Pro lists empty short descriptions. Existing text is never overwritten.
Free on WordPress.org covers missing image, SKU, and price only. Empty short description is Pro, on the shop zip from shopgaps.com. Scans stay on your site. This is not a theme layout bug.