CSS Color-Changing Issue for Disabled HTML Controls in IE8

In HTML, the disabled attribute disables input controls, but it also affects the appearance of those controls. Most browsers honor custom styles applied to disabled controls using CSS. However, Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) presents a unique challenge when it comes to changing the color of disabled controls.

Despite applying a custom color style to disabled input controls, IE8 will revert the text color to gray. This behavior occurs regardless of the CSS rule used. For instance, the following code will not modify the text color:

input[disabled='disabled']{
  color: #666;     
}

This issue arises solely with the color property. All other style properties, such as background-color, border-color, etc., can be successfully modified. The reason for this exclusive behavior remains unknown.

Conclusion

While it is possible to customize the appearance of disabled input controls in most browsers using CSS, IE8 presents a limitation when it comes to changing the text color. This limitation is inherent to IE8 and is not easily overcome.