Lightroom Desktop 9.6 randomly changes or loses the crop/aspect ratio after switching images or exporting.

Application: Adobe Lightroom Desktop — not Lightroom Classic
Lightroom version: 9.6 x64 [20260923-1659-a32d844] (Sep 23 2026)
Internal Camera Raw version: 18.7 [2743]
Operating system: Windows 11 Pro, 64-bit
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7430U with Radeon Graphics
RAM: 32 GB
GPU: AMD Radeon (TM) Graphics
GPU driver / DirectX information: 31.0.12027.9001
Display: 2560 × 1440

Problem description:
Lightroom Desktop intermittently changes or loses a crop that I have already set on an image.

I manually set the crop and aspect ratio, continue editing the image, and everything appears correct.

After I either switch to another image or export the edited image, I sometimes return to the previously edited image and find that Lightroom has changed the crop/aspect ratio automatically.

For example, the image may unexpectedly appear with an aspect ratio such as 2:3 or 16:9, although I did not change or reset the crop.

The issue occurs with both Sony ARW files and JPEG files.

Important additional observation:
When the problem occurs, the previously selected crop/aspect ratio is also no longer present in the corresponding XMP data. This suggests that the issue is not only a visual display problem in Lightroom, but that the previously stored crop information itself is being lost or overwritten.

Once this has happened, I have not been able to restore the original crop using Ctrl+Z (Undo) or by using other troubleshooting methods and solutions suggested by Adobe Support.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open an ARW or JPEG image in Lightroom Desktop.
2. Open the Crop tool.
3. Set the desired crop and aspect ratio manually.
4. Continue editing the image normally.
5. Switch to another image or export the edited image.
6. Continue working with other images.
7. Return to the previously edited image.
8. In some cases, the previously selected crop/composition has changed automatically.
9. The original crop cannot be restored with Ctrl+Z, and the previously selected crop information is no longer present in the XMP data.

Expected result:
Once a crop has been set and confirmed, Lightroom should retain the selected crop and composition unless I manually change or reset it.

The crop information should also remain stored in the image metadata/XMP data and should not be removed or overwritten without user action.

Actual result:
Lightroom intermittently changes or removes the crop/aspect ratio of an already edited image without any action from me.

The previously selected crop cannot be recovered afterwards using Ctrl+Z or other troubleshooting methods.

The issue is intermittent and does not occur every single time, but it has occurred repeatedly during normal editing sessions.

I have already contacted Adobe Support via chat, but the issue could not be resolved.

Please investigate this as a possible Lightroom Desktop crop/aspect-ratio persistence or metadata bug, rather than as a question about how to use the Crop tool.