plistlib inherits expat's newline-normalizing behavior, which can corrupt data in XML plists
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Description
Bug report
Bug description:
This is just a special case of #84561 but it came up in the specific circumstance of XML plists in MOPUp, here: https://github.com/glyph/MOPUp/pull/448/files#r2280646662
I also discovered that it is possible to get the unmodified data, by changing plistlib._PlistParser.handle_data to look like this:
def handle_data(self, data):
ctx = self.parser.GetInputContext()
if data == '\n' and ctx[0:1] != b'\n':
data = ctx[0:1].decode("utf-8")
self.data.append(data)
so we are not totally bound by the whims of Expat here; these types of bug could be fixed.
CPython versions tested on:
3.12, 3.13, 3.11
Operating systems tested on:
macOS
Linked PRs
- gh-148305
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with plistlib._PlistParser.handle_data and the input-context behavior described in the report. Verify how XML plist data is currently normalized and ensure unmodified data is preserved; check linked PR gh-148305 before starting because this work may already be underway.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- backend
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 30/100