bug(date): some valid dates like "@253402300739" and MEST prefix if before not after are rejected however the gnu one accepts them
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Description
Hi, uutils mainteners
that is a FP with the date command as confirmed in the test
relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$ ./date -d "@253402300739"
date: invalid date '@253402300739'
relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$ gnudate -d "@253402300739"
Fri Dec 31 06:58:59 PM EST 9999
relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$
that is a valid date and accepted perfectly by gnu but uu one errors out
then also the MEST prefix not accepted by uu date while the gnu date does, if before, note after it accepted
relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$ ./date -d "MEST 2026-06-15"
date: invalid date 'MEST 2026-06-15'
relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$ gnudate -d "MEST 2026-06-15"
Sun Jun 14 06:00:00 PM EDT 2026
relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$
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Research direction
Start with the date command's parsing and validation path, then reproduce both reported inputs with the uutils date command and GNU date for comparison. Done means the valid timestamp "@253402300739" and the "MEST 2026-06-15" prefix are accepted with behavior matching GNU date; add or update focused tests for both cases.
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Assessment
- Tech stack
- rust
- Domain
- cli
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 64/100