imaplib.Time2Internaldate raises IndexError instead of ValueError on an empty string
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Description
Bug report
Bug description:
imaplib.Time2Internaldate is documented to raise ValueError for input that is not of a known type, and its own final branch is raise ValueError("date_time not of a known type"). However, the string branch subscripts the value before that check:
elif isinstance(date_time, str) and (date_time[0],date_time[-1]) == ('"','"'):
so an empty string escapes as a bare IndexError instead:
>>> import imaplib
>>> imaplib.Time2Internaldate('')
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
IndexError: string index out of range
>>> imaplib.Time2Internaldate('x') # non-empty unquoted string is fine
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
ValueError: date_time not of a known type
The fix is to use slices so the comparison is simply false for an empty string and control falls through to the intended ValueError:
elif isinstance(date_time, str) and (date_time[:1], date_time[-1:]) == ('"', '"'):
Behavior for all other inputs is unchanged. Related: gh-86165 recently fixed a different crash in this same function. I have a PR ready with the fix, a regression test, and a NEWS entry.
CPython versions tested on:
3.12, CPython main branch
Operating systems tested on:
No response
Linked PRs
- gh-153874
- gh-153929
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 at the imaplib.Time2Internaldate entry point and review the reported empty-string path. Check the regression test and NEWS entry mentioned in the issue; done means empty input raises ValueError while other inputs retain their behavior.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- networking
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 1/5
- Estimated time
- Under an hour
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 20/100