Cache::get() returns null for cached false values using phpredis + igbinary serializer

[vitalymalashevsky-pixieset]

Laravel Version

11.x - 12.x

PHP Version

8.x

Database Driver & Version

Redis Support => enabled
Redis Version => 6.3.0
Redis Sentinel Version => 1.0
Available serializers => php, json, igbinary
Available compression => lzf, zstd, lz4

Description

When using phpredis with serializers (SERIALIZER_PHP, SERIALIZER_IGBINARY, SERIALIZER_JSON, etc) in Laravel's Cache layer, storing boolean false values results in null being returned when retrieved. This only affects phpredis with certain serializers, not Predis.

Root Cause (potential)

The bug is in Illuminate\Redis\Connections\PhpRedisConnection::get() method. The original code:

public function get($key)
{
    $result = $this->command('get', [$key]);
    return $result !== false ? $result : null;  // ← BUG: Can't distinguish false value from missing key
}

The problem: When phpredis with a serializer retrieves a stored false boolean value, it correctly deserializes and returns the boolean false. However, the code treats false (whether it means "key not found" or "value is false") the same way - both return null.

Steps To Reproduce

Prerequisites

// config/database.php
'redis' => [
    'client' => 'phpredis',
    'options' => [
        'prefix' => 'igb:', // optional
        'serializer' => Redis::SERIALIZER_IGBINARY, // any except Redis::SERIALIZER_NONE
        'compression' => Redis::COMPRESSION_LZ4, // optional
    ],
],

Reproduction Steps

1. Store false value: Redis::connection()->setex('key_false', 300, false) or Cache::put('key_false', false, 300)
2. Retrieve via Cache: Cache::get('key_false')
3. Result: null (incorrect - should be false)
4. Direct Redis retrieval: Redis::get('key_false') returns false (correct)

Expected Behavior

Cache::get('key') should return the cached false value, not null.