From 34f46246046337b05cfe3224e514e8dea4d9432d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2026 08:07:52 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Require the found key to equal the looked-up key when
 comparing objects

For an object type whose comparator treats unequal keys as equivalent
(for example a std::map with a case-insensitive comparator),
compare_iteratively() looked up a mismatched left key in the right
object with find(), which uses the object's own comparator, and
accepted whatever entry it found without checking that the keys are
actually equal. A case-insensitive comparator then found "KEY" for
"key", so two objects nested past the recursion bound (or at every
depth with JSON_NO_THREAD_LOCAL) could compare equal even though the
object type's own operator== - and basic_json itself, below the bound
- consider them different.

Accept the found entry only if its key equals (not just compares
equivalent to) the looked-up key.

Fixes #5655.

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
---
 include/nlohmann/json.hpp        |  4 ++-
 single_include/nlohmann/json.hpp |  4 ++-
 tests/src/unit-comparison.cpp    | 46 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 52 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/include/nlohmann/json.hpp b/include/nlohmann/json.hpp
index 500fcddf2..ecf599ec2 100644
--- a/include/nlohmann/json.hpp
+++ b/include/nlohmann/json.hpp
@@ -1507,7 +1507,9 @@ class basic_json // NOLINT(cppcoreguidelines-special-member-functions,hicpp-spec
                         const auto found = (!Ordered && !detail::is_ordered_map<object_t>::value)
                                            ? rhs_object->find(current.lhs_object_it->first)
                                            : rhs_object->cend();
-                        if (found == rhs_object->cend())
+                        // the object's comparator may find an entry whose
+                        // key is only equivalent, not equal, to this one
+                        if (found == rhs_object->cend() || !(found->first == current.lhs_object_it->first))
                         {
                             return key_result;
                         }
diff --git a/single_include/nlohmann/json.hpp b/single_include/nlohmann/json.hpp
index 576498738..c14f84111 100644
--- a/single_include/nlohmann/json.hpp
+++ b/single_include/nlohmann/json.hpp
@@ -27588,7 +27588,9 @@ class basic_json // NOLINT(cppcoreguidelines-special-member-functions,hicpp-spec
                         const auto found = (!Ordered && !detail::is_ordered_map<object_t>::value)
                                            ? rhs_object->find(current.lhs_object_it->first)
                                            : rhs_object->cend();
-                        if (found == rhs_object->cend())
+                        // the object's comparator may find an entry whose
+                        // key is only equivalent, not equal, to this one
+                        if (found == rhs_object->cend() || !(found->first == current.lhs_object_it->first))
                         {
                             return key_result;
                         }
diff --git a/tests/src/unit-comparison.cpp b/tests/src/unit-comparison.cpp
index 69c0103c9..6dcec8390 100644
--- a/tests/src/unit-comparison.cpp
+++ b/tests/src/unit-comparison.cpp
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 
 #include <algorithm>
 
+#include <cctype>
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <map>
 #include <string>
@@ -825,6 +826,24 @@ Json nest(Json j, const std::size_t depth)
     }
     return j;
 }
+
+// orders keys case-insensitively, so "key" and "KEY" compare equivalent
+// (neither less than the other) although they are not equal
+struct case_insensitive_less
+{
+    bool operator()(const std::string& a, const std::string& b) const
+    {
+        return std::lexicographical_compare(a.begin(), a.end(), b.begin(), b.end(),
+                                            [](unsigned char x, unsigned char y)
+        {
+            return std::tolower(x) < std::tolower(y);
+        });
+    }
+};
+
+template<class Key, class Value, class /*Compare*/, class Allocator>
+using case_insensitive_map = std::map<Key, Value, case_insensitive_less, Allocator>;
+using ci_json = nlohmann::basic_json<case_insensitive_map>;
 } // namespace
 
 TEST_CASE("equality of objects whose entries have no fixed order")
@@ -872,6 +891,33 @@ TEST_CASE("equality of objects whose entries have no fixed order")
     }
 }
 
+TEST_CASE("equality of an object whose comparator treats different keys as equivalent")
+{
+    // https://github.com/nlohmann/json/issues/5655: past the nesting bound,
+    // the entries are compared without the call stack, and a key that finds
+    // no counterpart at the same position is looked up with find(), which
+    // uses the object's own comparator. A case-insensitive comparator then
+    // finds "KEY" for "key" and must not accept that pair as a match - the
+    // object type's own operator==, like std::map's, compares keys with ==.
+    ci_json a = ci_json::object();
+    a["key"] = 1;
+    ci_json b = ci_json::object();
+    b["KEY"] = 1;
+
+    // sanity check: the object type's own comparison already disagrees
+    CHECK_FALSE(a.get_ref<const ci_json::object_t&>() == b.get_ref<const ci_json::object_t&>());
+
+    for (const std::size_t depth : std::vector<std::size_t> {0, 127, 128, 200})
+    {
+        CAPTURE(depth);
+
+        const ci_json x = nest(a, depth);
+        const ci_json y = nest(b, depth);
+        CHECK_FALSE(x == y);
+        CHECK(x != y);
+    }
+}
+
 TEST_CASE("containers are compared element by element")
 {
     // Containers nested deeper than a bound are compared without the call