---
id: "bug-1470"
status: "fixed"
status_updated: "2026-09-24"
status_note: "later full controller suites pass"
component: "controller"
severity: "unknown"
timestamp: "2026-07-25T14:25:00Z"
last_seen: "2026-09-19T09:00:00Z"
occurrences: 4
files: ["src/controller/testsuite/test_config_repl.c"]
tags: ["testsuite", "controller", "config-upgrade-snapshot", "bug-1469", "commit-engine", "test-config-repl", "needs-diagnosis", "possible-regression"]
related: ["bug-1407", "bug-1466", "bug-1469"]
legacy: true
---

# bug-1470: controller_unit_test: test_commit_advance_retry_clears_push_before_commit_fence…

## Description
controller_unit_test: test_commit_advance_retry_clears_push_before_commit_fence (test_config_repl.c:1854) FAILS ("Expected TRUE Was FALSE") DETERMINISTICALLY (4/4 runs: 1x via full xce-build.sh controller clean build + meson test, 3x direct re-invocation of the built controller_unit_test binary with no rebuild) on the bug-1469 fix commit (persist.c +91/test_config_repl.c +144, uncommitted worktree diff at time of this build). controller_unit_test overall: 1025 Tests 1 Failures 0 Ignored / meson summary Ok:2 Fail:1.

## Environment
_Not recorded (migrated from buglog.json)._

## Reproduction
_Not recorded (migrated from buglog.json)._

## Root cause
NOT YET DIAGNOSED. Distinguishing context vs the two prior entries for this same test name: bug-1407 (closed 2026-07-03) root-caused an earlier failure of this exact test to a STALE INCREMENTAL ninja build artifact in this worktree, conclusively fixed by a fresh  cycle -- but this run WAS already a fresh clean build (xce-build.sh always does rm -rf + meson setup, confirmed src/tools/xce-build.sh:59-60), so bug-1407s explanation does not apply here. bug-1466 (2026-07-24) found a genuine CAS timing race between the commit-thread and persist_start()s fsync_worker thread that could affect this same test family after task 5s WAL_CONFIG_MARKER-triggers-real-checkpoint change, and claimed to fix it via t42_wait_applied() polling -- but the failure seen here ("Expected TRUE Was FALSE", a plain boolean assertion) is 100% reproducible across reruns of the same binary, which argues AGAINST a timing race (races are not usually 4/4 deterministic within one build) and FOR either (a) a residual gap in bug-1466s fix, or (b) a genuine regression introduced by the just-made bug-1469 persist.c change (adding an unconditional config_activate_committed() call inside apply_committed_entrys WAL_CONFIG_MARKER case, immediately before upgrade_materialization_verify()) altering ordering/state that this specific test asserts on. bug-1469s own buglog entry claims a prior direct-ninja verification run saw 1024/1024 PASS 0 failures on the same source -- so either that verification predates a subsequent edit, or ran under different build state; this needs reconciling before task 8.6 soak work continues.

## Fix
NOT FIXED -- reported to the requesting task/session for triage; out of scope for the build-verification task that discovered it (was asked only to get a clean component build + report status, not to debug). Repro is cheap: nix develop ./src --command bash src/tools/xce-build.sh controller (full clean rebuild) or, faster, just rerun the already-built binary: ASAN_OPTIONS=detect_leaks=0 ./src/xce.build/controller/controller_unit_test 2>&1 | grep -A2 test_commit_advance_retry_clears_push_before_commit_fence. Full logs preserved this session at src/xce.build/meson-logs/testlog.txt (search test_config_repl.c:1854).

## Verification
_Not recorded (migrated from buglog.json)._

## References
- Related: bug-1407, bug-1466, bug-1469