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Bug #62646 Impossible to escape/match delimiters within \Q \E
Submitted: 2012-07-24 00:33 UTC Modified: 2012-07-24 01:55 UTC
From: Andreas dot Klauer at metamorpher dot de Assigned:
Status: Not a bug Package: PCRE related
PHP Version: 5.3.15 OS:
Private report: No CVE-ID: None
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 [2012-07-24 00:33 UTC] Andreas dot Klauer at metamorpher dot de 
Description:
------------
PCRE allows literal matches of strings between \Q and \E. This is also documented, \Q.$.\E will match literal .$.

However, if that literal string contains the regexp delimiter (/ or # or ~ or () or whichever you choose), the regexp compile either fails, or the match fails because it tries to match the escape char used to escape the delimiter.

The problem is php_pcre::pcre_get_compiled_regex_cache() which parses the delimiter, not taking \Q \E in account. Delimiters between \Q \E should be treated as literal characters, not delimiters (that's what Perl does); or alternatively if delimiters have to be escaped, the escape char should be removed from the pattern.

Workaround: Use preg_quote() instead of \Q \E if there's a chance the delimiter may appear within \Q \E

Test script:
---------------
preg_replace("/\Q/#~\E/", ...);
=> Warning: preg_replace(): Unknown modifier '#' in php shell code on line 1

preg_replace("/\Q\/#~\E/", "OK", "/#~");
=> "/#~" (expected "OK")

preg_replace("/\Q\/#~\E/", "FAIL", "\/#~")
=> "FAIL" (expected "\/#~");

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 [2012-07-24 01:55 UTC] felipe@php.net
-Status: Open +Status: Not a bug
 [2012-07-24 01:55 UTC] felipe@php.net 
Thank you for taking the time to write to us, but this is not
a bug. Please double-check the documentation available at
http://www.php.net/manual/ and the instructions on how to report
a bug at http://bugs.php.net/how-to-report.php

Hi, the pcretest tool doesn't even handle the \Q..\E stuff as you mentioned. It works just like the [..] one. And using Perl I did to escape the delimiter inside \Q..\E.
 [2012-07-24 08:30 UTC] Andreas dot Klauer at metamorpher dot de 
But even if you escape the delimiter, it's not possible to match literal /#~ if one of those is the delimiter; you have to escape it, but if you do escape it, it matches literal \/#~ instead of just /#~.

Perl:
$subject = "foo/#~bar";
$subject =~ s/\Q\/#~\E/baz/;
print $subject;
=> "foobazbar"

PHP:
$subject = "foo/#~bar";
$subject = preg_replace("/\Q\/#~\E/", "baz", $subject);
echo $subject;
=> "foo/#~bar"

PHP tries to match literal \/#~ here.
 
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