RegExp numeric interval <n-m> accepts a leading '+' on a bound and counts it as a digit, so <+1-+9> matches 01..09 instead of 1..9 and <+100-999> loses its fixed width

Finding LFV-813Area: util / automatonPriority: lowImpact: minorNovelty: new

AI-assisted finding, confirmed by automated checks, not yet triaged by a human Lucene committer. This site files nothing upstream.

What it shows

You run a RegexpQuery, or a classic QueryParser query /<+1-+9>/, on a field with the terms 5 and 05. The RegExp javadoc says interval bounds are non-negative decimal integers and that bounds with the same number of digits fix the length of the matching strings, so you expect either an 'interval syntax error' (as for '-1', ' 1' or an overflowing bound) or the meaning of <1-9>, which matches 5. Instead the parser accepts the '+' and counts it as a digit, so <+1-+9> matches only 01 to 09 and returns 05; <+1-9> and <+100-999> lose their fixed width and accept any number of leading zeros, and <+100-+999> means 0100 to 0999.

RegExp accepts a leading '+' on a numeric-interval bound and counts it as a digit, so <+1-+9> means <01-09>.

Expected vs actual

Expected rejection or the meaning of <1-9> (matches "5"), actual: "5" is not matched and "05" is.

Files

src/org/apache/lucene/util/automaton/TestRegExpIntervalPlusSign.java (JUnit test)

Run it

Tested on Lucene main e1faeba08bde (2026-11-02): still reproduces.
Tested on Lucene main 645d4fe14a20 (2026-10-28): reproduced.
Recorded outcome of run 1 on Lucene main 645d4fe14a20: 1 test(s) run, 1 failed.
How to read the outcome: a failing test is the finding reproducing (the failure message states expected against actual).
Seeds: a rerun with the same seed replays the same random choices. Assertions off (-da -dsa -Dtests.asserts=false) is the production-like setting.

# Lucene checkout at the tested commit, built with: ./gradlew --no-daemon assemble   (JDK 25)
LUCENE=/path/to/lucene; V=12.0.0-SNAPSHOT
CP=$LUCENE/lucene/core/build/libs/lucene-core-$V.jar
CP=$CP:$LUCENE/lucene/codecs/build/libs/lucene-codecs-$V.jar
CP=$CP:$LUCENE/lucene/test-framework/build/libs/lucene-test-framework-$V.jar
CP=$CP:randomizedtesting-runner-2.9.2.jar:junit-4.13.2.jar:hamcrest-3.0.jar   # test-framework dependencies (Maven Central)
CP=$CP:junit-platform-console-standalone-6.1.3.jar   # JUnit Platform console launcher (Maven Central)

javac -d classes -cp "$CP" $(find src -name '*.java')

# run 1: assertions on, seed DEADBEEF
java -ea -esa --add-modules jdk.incubator.vector --enable-native-access=ALL-UNNAMED -Dtests.seed=DEADBEEF \
     -cp "classes:$CP" org.junit.platform.console.ConsoleLauncher \
     execute --select-class org.apache.lucene.util.automaton.TestRegExpIntervalPlusSign

Gradle alternative: copy the test into the matching module's src/test/ tree of the checkout and run ./gradlew -p lucene/<module> test --tests <class> -Ptests.seed=<seed> (add -Ptests.asserts=false for a run without assertions).

Feedback

Open an issue in lucene-ai-bug-hunt. Please do not open issues or pull requests in apache/lucene about this finding unless a Lucene committer agrees it should be filed.

Snapshot of 2026-11-04. AI-assisted; not yet triaged by a human Lucene committer. Feedback: open an issue in lucene-ai-bug-hunt.