[Bug]: pgjsonb get_fun raises SQL syntax error on PostgreSQL due to MySQL-style backtick quoting
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- Dominant language
- Python
- Stars
- 15.7k
- Forks
- 5.6k
- Avg merge
- 2d 44m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 80
Description
What happened?
Description
salt/returners/pgjsonb.py:get_fun issues a query that uses MySQL-style backtick identifier quoting:
sql = """SELECT s.id,s.jid, s.full_ret
FROM salt_returns s
JOIN ( SELECT MAX(`jid`) as jid
from salt_returns GROUP BY fun, id) max
ON s.jid = max.jid
WHERE s.fun = %s
"""
PostgreSQL — the only server pgjsonb talks to — rejects backticks at parse time:
ERROR: syntax error at or near "`"
LINE 3: JOIN ( SELECT MAX(`jid`) as jid
^
The query is a near-verbatim copy-paste from salt/returners/mysql.py where the syntax is valid; the identifier quoting was overlooked when the file was adapted for PostgreSQL.
The bug is dormant in typical deployments. Stock master_job_cache: pgjsonb operation routes through get_load, get_jid, get_jids, get_minions, prep_jid, save_load, returner and event_return — none of those reach get_fun. The function surfaces only when an operator or an extension calls pgjsonb.get_fun explicitly, e.g. via a custom runner, or sets master_job_cache.get_fun to it from external tooling.
Setup
- on-prem machine
- classic packaging
- onedir packaging
Any deployment that uses master_job_cache: pgjsonb and either calls pgjsonb.get_fun directly or has tooling that does.
Steps to Reproduce the behavior
- Configure
master_job_cache: pgjsonb. - From a runner or REPL:
salt-run salt.cmd pgjsonb.get_fun test.ping. - The call raises
psycopg2.errors.SyntaxError: syntax error at or near "\"`.
Expected behavior
get_fun returns a {minion_id: full_ret} dict for the last execution of the given function across all minions.
Additional context
The accompanying PR drops the backticks (PostgreSQL does not require quoting around jid since it is not a reserved word) and adds a behavioural unit test that asserts the per-minion mapping is built correctly and guards against backticks creeping back into the SQL through future copy-paste from the mysql returner.
A separate, more interesting issue with this function — the MAX(jid) algorithm for "last execution" works only because the default Salt jid format (YYYYMMDDHHMMSSffffff) happens to be lexicographically sortable as a timestamp. Operators who override master_job_cache.gen_jid with a non-sortable id format (UUID, snowflake, random) get a silently-wrong answer here. That is a deeper bug and will be tracked as its own follow-up.
Type of salt install
Official deb
Major version
3006.x, 3007.x
What supported OS are you seeing the problem on? Can select multiple. (If bug appears on an unsupported OS, please open a GitHub Discussion instead)
debian-11, debian-12
salt --versions-report output
salt --versions-report
Salt Version:
Salt: 3007.13
Python Version:
Python: 3.10.19 (main, Feb 5 2026, 07:05:38) [GCC 11.2.0]
Dependency Versions:
cffi: 2.0.0
cherrypy: unknown
cryptography: 42.0.5
dateutil: 2.8.2
docker-py: Not Installed
gitdb: Not Installed
gitpython: Not Installed
Jinja2: 3.1.6
libgit2: 1.9.1
looseversion: 1.3.0
M2Crypto: Not Installed
Mako: Not Installed
msgpack: 1.0.7
msgpack-pure: Not Installed
mysql-python: Not Installed
packaging: 24.0
pycparser: 2.21
pycrypto: Not Installed
pycryptodome: 3.19.1
pygit2: 1.18.2
python-gnupg: 0.5.2
PyYAML: 6.0.1
PyZMQ: 25.1.2
relenv: 0.22.3
smmap: Not Installed
timelib: 0.3.0
Tornado: 6.5.4
ZMQ: 4.3.4
Salt Extensions:
saltext.vault: 1.5.0
Salt Package Information:
Package Type: onedir
System Versions:
dist: debian 12.13 bookworm
locale: utf-8
machine: x86_64
release: 6.12.73+deb12-amd64
system: Linux
version: Debian GNU/Linux 12.13 bookworm
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 salt/returners/pgjsonb.py:get_fun and reproduce the PostgreSQL syntax error through the pgjsonb.get_fun entry point. Verify the behavioral unit test covers the per-minion mapping and ensures the generated SQL contains no backticks; done means get_fun returns the expected mapping on PostgreSQL.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- postgresql, python
- Domain
- databases
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 2/5
- Estimated time
- 1-3 hours
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 82/100