From a5d2cd1e53403083471d799d3f3e95e582058ced Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Benjamin Turner <ben.turner@wpengine.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 12:17:04 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 01/15] Tests: Cover the zero `max_num_pages` fallback in
 `paginate_links()`.

Add a test that `paginate_links()` returns null when the global query
reports zero total pages, matching its behavior for a single total page.

See #65817.
---
 tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php | 15 +++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+)

diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php
index a0f91de60c1c4..c907296d99b68 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php
@@ -563,4 +563,19 @@ public static function data_query_strings(): array {
 			'multi query vars' => array( 'foo=bar&pen=pencil' ),
 		);
 	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Ensures `paginate_links()` returns null when the global query reports
+	 * zero total pages, matching its behavior for a single total page.
+	 *
+	 * @ticket 65817
+	 */
+	public function test_paginate_links_falls_back_to_global_query_with_zero_max_num_pages() {
+		global $wp_query;
+
+		// `WP_Query::$max_num_pages` defaults to, and can be left at, `0` -- never `null`.
+		$wp_query->max_num_pages = 0;
+
+		$this->assertNull( paginate_links() );
+	}
 }

From 07322e2fd5e30ff51e3621e4767c67e1807241da Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Benjamin Turner <ben.turner@wpengine.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 12:19:59 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 02/15] Code Quality: Fix the `nullCoalesce.property` PHPStan
 error and remove the baseline.

`WP_Query::$max_num_pages` defaults to `0` and is never `null`, so the
`?? 1` fallback in `paginate_links()` never ran. Use `?:` instead, which
also falls back for `0`, and retire the now-empty baseline.

See #65817.
---
 phpstan.neon.dist                             |  1 -
 src/wp-includes/general-template.php          |  2 +-
 .../baselines/nullCoalesce.property.neon      | 25 -------------------
 3 files changed, 1 insertion(+), 27 deletions(-)
 delete mode 100644 tests/phpstan/baselines/nullCoalesce.property.neon

diff --git a/phpstan.neon.dist b/phpstan.neon.dist
index 655bb9bbc807c..6f109ebfb6451 100644
--- a/phpstan.neon.dist
+++ b/phpstan.neon.dist
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ includes:
 	- tests/phpstan/baselines/method.childParameterType.neon
 	- tests/phpstan/baselines/method.unused.neon
 	- tests/phpstan/baselines/notIdentical.alwaysTrue.neon
-	- tests/phpstan/baselines/nullCoalesce.property.neon
 	- tests/phpstan/baselines/offsetAccess.nonOffsetAccessible.neon
 	- tests/phpstan/baselines/offsetAccess.notFound.neon
 	- tests/phpstan/baselines/offsetAssign.valueType.neon
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/general-template.php b/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
index eb6e185f5b49d..92a79ab16f706 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
@@ -4983,7 +4983,7 @@ function paginate_links( $args = '' ) {
 	$url_parts    = explode( '?', $pagenum_link );
 
 	// Get max pages and current page out of the current query, if available.
-	$total   = $wp_query->max_num_pages ?? 1;
+	$total   = $wp_query->max_num_pages ?: 1;
 	$current = get_query_var( 'paged' ) ? (int) get_query_var( 'paged' ) : 1;
 
 	/*
diff --git a/tests/phpstan/baselines/nullCoalesce.property.neon b/tests/phpstan/baselines/nullCoalesce.property.neon
deleted file mode 100644
index 0085e07d9614f..0000000000000
--- a/tests/phpstan/baselines/nullCoalesce.property.neon
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,25 +0,0 @@
-# PHPStan baseline for the `nullCoalesce.property` errors in WordPress core.
-#
-# https://phpstan.org/error-identifiers/nullCoalesce.property
-#
-# Each entry is scoped to a single file and carries an exact occurrence count,
-# so that a new instance is reported as a new error rather than being absorbed
-# silently. Fixing an occurrence therefore means decrementing or removing its
-# entry here as part of the same change.
-#
-# The goal is to empty this file and delete it, along with the `includes` entry
-# for it in phpstan.neon.dist.
-#
-# Generated by `composer phpstan:baselines`. Do not edit by hand; regenerate with
-#
-#     composer phpstan:baselines -- --identifier=nullCoalesce.property
-#
-# which reruns the analysis with this file suppressed so the errors surface again.
-
-parameters:
-	ignoreErrors:
-		-
-			message: '#^Property WP_Query\:\:\$max_num_pages \(int\) on left side of \?\? is not nullable\.$#'
-			identifier: nullCoalesce.property
-			count: 1
-			path: ../../../src/wp-includes/general-template.php

From 6014bc4fb8d0eefa38ecd0aec3ed51f49d2519e4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Benjamin Turner <ben.turner@wpengine.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 14:02:43 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 03/15] Fix coding standards: use a full ternary instead of the
 disallowed short ternary.

WordPress Coding Standards disallows `?:` (Universal.Operators.DisallowShortTernary).
Use the `$x ? $x : $y` form already used elsewhere in core for a falsy fallback.

See #65817.
---
 src/wp-includes/general-template.php | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/wp-includes/general-template.php b/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
index 92a79ab16f706..bd0ccb87b0a33 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
@@ -4983,7 +4983,7 @@ function paginate_links( $args = '' ) {
 	$url_parts    = explode( '?', $pagenum_link );
 
 	// Get max pages and current page out of the current query, if available.
-	$total   = $wp_query->max_num_pages ?: 1;
+	$total   = $wp_query->max_num_pages ? $wp_query->max_num_pages : 1;
 	$current = get_query_var( 'paged' ) ? (int) get_query_var( 'paged' ) : 1;
 
 	/*

From da9ea557addd1d400c4909237f2ffce4150f2a7c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Weston Ruter <weston@ruter.net>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 15:01:33 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 04/15] Narrow type for max_num_pages

---
 src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

diff --git a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php
index 88981421ff937..9ab8aef960c4f 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php
@@ -186,6 +186,7 @@ class WP_Query {
 	 *
 	 * @since 2.1.0
 	 * @var int
+	 * @phpstan-var int<0, max>
 	 */
 	public $max_num_pages = 0;
 

From e79fca3044bfe2560c33fea738a71f850646516c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Weston Ruter <weston@ruter.net>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 15:02:10 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 05/15] Add missing global type

---
 tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php | 2 ++
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)

diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php
index c907296d99b68..131b560e8fd7a 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php
@@ -569,6 +569,8 @@ public static function data_query_strings(): array {
 	 * zero total pages, matching its behavior for a single total page.
 	 *
 	 * @ticket 65817
+	 *
+	 * @global WP_Query $wp_query Global query.
 	 */
 	public function test_paginate_links_falls_back_to_global_query_with_zero_max_num_pages() {
 		global $wp_query;

From 10384aade4d84960ed7b0b9f37e94c520fd99823 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Weston Ruter <weston@ruter.net>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 15:14:50 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 06/15] Guard global query before reading max_num_pages

Replacing `?? 1` with a plain ternary dropped the null-safe read of
`$wp_query`, so `paginate_links()` would warn when the global query is
not set (e.g. before `wp()` runs, or after a plugin unsets it). Check
`$wp_query instanceof WP_Query` instead, which keeps the fallback to 1
and still satisfies PHPStan.

Also cast to int and clamp to at least 1. Many plugins assign
`ceil(...)` to `max_num_pages` without a cast, which yields a float, and
a `found_posts` filter can drive the computed value negative.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (medium effort) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Code-Session-Id: 92a8904b-c6d4-4ac3-8ba5-7d8209aed336
---
 src/wp-includes/general-template.php | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/wp-includes/general-template.php b/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
index bd0ccb87b0a33..f3f3f96e29f88 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
@@ -4983,7 +4983,7 @@ function paginate_links( $args = '' ) {
 	$url_parts    = explode( '?', $pagenum_link );
 
 	// Get max pages and current page out of the current query, if available.
-	$total   = $wp_query->max_num_pages ? $wp_query->max_num_pages : 1;
+	$total   = $wp_query instanceof WP_Query ? max( 1, (int) $wp_query->max_num_pages ) : 1;
 	$current = get_query_var( 'paged' ) ? (int) get_query_var( 'paged' ) : 1;
 
 	/*

From 17abb1f816843a1202ba6aeb385b91d6603a71d5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Weston Ruter <weston@ruter.net>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 15:25:40 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 07/15] Clamp computed max_num_pages to a non-negative int
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

The `int<0, max>` type on `WP_Query::$max_num_pages` exposed that the
computed value can go negative: a `found_posts` filter may return a
negative count, and a filter-injected `LIMIT` on a `posts_per_page = -1`
query divides by -1. Clamp the result with `max( 0, … )` so the property
holds the type it declares.

Also cast `posts_per_page` to int in the division. It is already an int
by this point, so behavior is unchanged, but the query vars array is
otherwise typed as mixed.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (medium effort) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Code-Session-Id: 92a8904b-c6d4-4ac3-8ba5-7d8209aed336
---
 src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php
index 9ab8aef960c4f..2b593c0addd6b 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php
@@ -3733,7 +3733,7 @@ private function set_found_posts( $query_vars, $limits ) {
 		$this->found_posts = (int) apply_filters_ref_array( 'found_posts', array( $this->found_posts, &$this ) );
 
 		if ( ! empty( $limits ) ) {
-			$this->max_num_pages = (int) ceil( $this->found_posts / $query_vars['posts_per_page'] );
+			$this->max_num_pages = max( 0, (int) ceil( $this->found_posts / (int) $query_vars['posts_per_page'] ) );
 		}
 	}
 

From ce5bf98acaa9489ac3d2595aa4c53279aa4683c5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Weston Ruter <weston@ruter.net>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 15:29:02 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 08/15] Drop the instanceof guard from paginate_links()

The guard did not make `paginate_links()` tolerate a missing global
query: the next line calls `get_query_var()`, which dereferences
`$wp_query` unconditionally, so a null global fatals there either way.
Keep only the int cast and the clamp to at least 1.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (medium effort) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Code-Session-Id: 92a8904b-c6d4-4ac3-8ba5-7d8209aed336
---
 src/wp-includes/general-template.php | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/wp-includes/general-template.php b/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
index f3f3f96e29f88..9d526952030e1 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
@@ -4983,7 +4983,7 @@ function paginate_links( $args = '' ) {
 	$url_parts    = explode( '?', $pagenum_link );
 
 	// Get max pages and current page out of the current query, if available.
-	$total   = $wp_query instanceof WP_Query ? max( 1, (int) $wp_query->max_num_pages ) : 1;
+	$total   = max( 1, (int) $wp_query->max_num_pages );
 	$current = get_query_var( 'paged' ) ? (int) get_query_var( 'paged' ) : 1;
 
 	/*

From 3ce207a649dd3dfbbd2dde8164630ab00e9758f3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Weston Ruter <weston@ruter.net>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 15:29:32 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 09/15] Test that max_num_pages is clamped for a negative
 found_posts

A `found_posts` filter returning -5 with `posts_per_page` of 2 used to
yield a `max_num_pages` of -2. Assert it is now clamped to 0, while the
filtered `found_posts` value itself is kept.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (medium effort) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Code-Session-Id: 92a8904b-c6d4-4ac3-8ba5-7d8209aed336
---
 tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php | 27 +++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 27 insertions(+)

diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php
index 7b4f66a416030..3877762ef5b6d 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php
@@ -102,4 +102,31 @@ public function test_no_found_rows_default_with_postsperpage_minus1() {
 		$this->assertStringNotContainsString( 'SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS', $q->request );
 		$this->assertSame( 1, $q->found_posts );
 	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Ensures {@see WP_Query::$max_num_pages} is not negative when the
+	 * {@see 'found_posts'} filter returns a negative count.
+	 *
+	 * @ticket 65817
+	 */
+	public function test_max_num_pages_is_not_negative_when_found_posts_is_filtered_negative() {
+		self::factory()->post->create_many( 3 );
+
+		add_filter(
+			'found_posts',
+			static function (): int {
+				return -5;
+			}
+		);
+
+		$q = new WP_Query(
+			array(
+				'post_type'      => 'post',
+				'posts_per_page' => 2,
+			)
+		);
+
+		$this->assertSame( -5, $q->found_posts, 'Expected the filtered found_posts value to be kept.' );
+		$this->assertSame( 0, $q->max_num_pages, 'Expected max_num_pages to be clamped to zero.' );
+	}
 }

From d4dc8e51214eed69ef09d137e760978a39af8e06 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Weston Ruter <weston@ruter.net>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 15:48:27 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 10/15] Update baseline ]

---
 tests/phpstan/baselines/isset.property.neon | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/tests/phpstan/baselines/isset.property.neon b/tests/phpstan/baselines/isset.property.neon
index 063b443d92227..6252f11549364 100644
--- a/tests/phpstan/baselines/isset.property.neon
+++ b/tests/phpstan/baselines/isset.property.neon
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ parameters:
 			count: 1
 			path: ../../../src/wp-includes/rest-api/endpoints/class-wp-rest-font-families-controller.php
 		-
-			message: '#^Property WP_Query\:\:\$max_num_pages \(int\) in isset\(\) is not nullable\.$#'
+			message: '#^Property WP_Query\:\:\$max_num_pages \(int\<0, max\>\) in isset\(\) is not nullable\.$#'
 			identifier: isset.property
 			count: 1
 			path: ../../../src/wp-includes/sitemaps/providers/class-wp-sitemaps-posts.php

From b429cda25db0d3b048e09da1c55f8935eb1391bd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Benjamin Turner <ben.turner@wpengine.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 15:55:21 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 11/15] Drop the pointless isset() check in
 WP_Sitemaps_Posts::get_max_num_pages().

`$query` is always a fresh `WP_Query` instance, so `max_num_pages` is
always set -- the `isset()` branch was dead code, and the fallback to
`1` could never run. Remove it and retire the now-unmatched baseline
entry, rather than just patching the baseline regex to match the
narrower `int<0, max>` type.

See #65817.
---
 .../sitemaps/providers/class-wp-sitemaps-posts.php           | 2 +-
 tests/phpstan/baselines/isset.property.neon                  | 5 -----
 2 files changed, 1 insertion(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/wp-includes/sitemaps/providers/class-wp-sitemaps-posts.php b/src/wp-includes/sitemaps/providers/class-wp-sitemaps-posts.php
index c96b12c7e25f6..c1545c26b9105 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/sitemaps/providers/class-wp-sitemaps-posts.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/sitemaps/providers/class-wp-sitemaps-posts.php
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ public function get_max_num_pages( $object_subtype = '' ) {
 		$query = new WP_Query( $args );
 
 		$min_num_pages = ( 'page' === $post_type && 'posts' === get_option( 'show_on_front' ) ) ? 1 : 0;
-		return isset( $query->max_num_pages ) ? max( $min_num_pages, $query->max_num_pages ) : 1;
+		return max( $min_num_pages, $query->max_num_pages );
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/tests/phpstan/baselines/isset.property.neon b/tests/phpstan/baselines/isset.property.neon
index 6252f11549364..5278005df2869 100644
--- a/tests/phpstan/baselines/isset.property.neon
+++ b/tests/phpstan/baselines/isset.property.neon
@@ -178,11 +178,6 @@ parameters:
 			identifier: isset.property
 			count: 1
 			path: ../../../src/wp-includes/rest-api/endpoints/class-wp-rest-font-families-controller.php
-		-
-			message: '#^Property WP_Query\:\:\$max_num_pages \(int\<0, max\>\) in isset\(\) is not nullable\.$#'
-			identifier: isset.property
-			count: 1
-			path: ../../../src/wp-includes/sitemaps/providers/class-wp-sitemaps-posts.php
 		-
 			message: '#^Property WP_Site\:\:\$domain \(string\) in isset\(\) is not nullable\.$#'
 			identifier: isset.property

From f4c4d575ca168b14f32126e3ba07ca7c5d82cbb1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Benjamin Turner <ben.turner@wpengine.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 16:10:52 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 12/15] Tests: Cover the filtered LIMIT on a posts_per_page =
 -1 query.

The PR description calls out a second path to a negative
max_num_pages: a `post_limits` filter injecting a non-empty LIMIT
clause on a `posts_per_page = -1` query, which otherwise sets
`nopaging` and never runs the found-rows calculation at all. Only
the negative-found_posts path had a regression test.

Verified this new test fails with -3 against the unclamped
`(int) ceil(...)` and passes with the max( 0, ... ) clamp.

See #65817.
---
 tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php | 30 +++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 30 insertions(+)

diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php
index 3877762ef5b6d..befc361067000 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php
@@ -129,4 +129,34 @@ static function (): int {
 		$this->assertSame( -5, $q->found_posts, 'Expected the filtered found_posts value to be kept.' );
 		$this->assertSame( 0, $q->max_num_pages, 'Expected max_num_pages to be clamped to zero.' );
 	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Ensures {@see WP_Query::$max_num_pages} is not negative when a
+	 * {@see 'post_limits'} filter injects a non-empty `LIMIT` clause on a
+	 * `posts_per_page = -1` query, which otherwise never runs the found-rows
+	 * calculation and skips the `max_num_pages` division entirely.
+	 *
+	 * @ticket 65817
+	 */
+	public function test_max_num_pages_is_not_negative_when_limits_are_filtered_with_postsperpage_minus1() {
+		self::factory()->post->create_many( 3 );
+
+		add_filter(
+			'post_limits',
+			static function (): string {
+				return 'LIMIT 0, 2';
+			}
+		);
+
+		$q = new WP_Query(
+			array(
+				'post_type'      => 'post',
+				'posts_per_page' => -1,
+			)
+		);
+
+		$this->assertStringContainsString( 'SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS', $q->request, 'Expected the filtered LIMIT to trigger the found-rows query.' );
+		$this->assertSame( 3, $q->found_posts, 'Expected found_posts to reflect all matching rows.' );
+		$this->assertSame( 0, $q->max_num_pages, 'Expected max_num_pages to be clamped to zero.' );
+	}
 }

From 3127bb326c9d4d4e3722d1336ee4a3ae636d9bc3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Weston Ruter <weston@ruter.net>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 17:21:58 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 13/15] Assert that request has been set

---
 tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php
index befc361067000..e9ffcd6581362 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/query/noFoundRows.php
@@ -155,6 +155,7 @@ static function (): string {
 			)
 		);
 
+		$this->assertIsString( $q->request );
 		$this->assertStringContainsString( 'SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS', $q->request, 'Expected the filtered LIMIT to trigger the found-rows query.' );
 		$this->assertSame( 3, $q->found_posts, 'Expected found_posts to reflect all matching rows.' );
 		$this->assertSame( 0, $q->max_num_pages, 'Expected max_num_pages to be clamped to zero.' );

From 49bc13fa1f83422bf9c5b52e4873eaf8134dc9b9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Weston Ruter <weston@ruter.net>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 17:34:08 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 14/15] Drop the zero max_num_pages test for paginate_links()
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

`paginate_links()` returns null for any total under 2, so the test passed
both with and without the `max( 1, … )` clamp and could not catch a
regression. The clamp's behavior is covered in `WP_Query` instead.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (medium effort) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Code-Session-Id: 92a8904b-c6d4-4ac3-8ba5-7d8209aed336
---
 tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php | 17 -----------------
 1 file changed, 17 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php
index 50535ba55f329..fb99e86e0f459 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/general/paginateLinks.php
@@ -565,21 +565,4 @@ public static function data_query_strings(): array {
 			'multi query vars' => array( 'foo=bar&pen=pencil' ),
 		);
 	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Ensures `paginate_links()` returns null when the global query reports
-	 * zero total pages, matching its behavior for a single total page.
-	 *
-	 * @ticket 65817
-	 *
-	 * @global WP_Query $wp_query Global query.
-	 */
-	public function test_paginate_links_falls_back_to_global_query_with_zero_max_num_pages() {
-		global $wp_query;
-
-		// `WP_Query::$max_num_pages` defaults to, and can be left at, `0` -- never `null`.
-		$wp_query->max_num_pages = 0;
-
-		$this->assertNull( paginate_links() );
-	}
 }

From 2a5189f627b3f2cff5d37d33725b035019698111 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Weston Ruter <weston@ruter.net>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2026 17:37:33 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 15/15] Read max_num_pages directly in paginate_links()

The `?? 1` fallback, and the `isset()` ternary it replaced, only ever
applied to an unset property, which never happens on `WP_Query`. So a
`max_num_pages` of 0 always passed through as 0, and clamping the
default to at least 1 changed nothing observable: the function returns
null for any total under 2. The cast is unnecessary as well, since
`$args['total']` is cast to int before it is used.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (medium effort) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Code-Session-Id: 92a8904b-c6d4-4ac3-8ba5-7d8209aed336
---
 src/wp-includes/general-template.php | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/wp-includes/general-template.php b/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
index 9d526952030e1..f91680a9ef44c 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/general-template.php
@@ -4983,7 +4983,7 @@ function paginate_links( $args = '' ) {
 	$url_parts    = explode( '?', $pagenum_link );
 
 	// Get max pages and current page out of the current query, if available.
-	$total   = max( 1, (int) $wp_query->max_num_pages );
+	$total   = $wp_query->max_num_pages;
 	$current = get_query_var( 'paged' ) ? (int) get_query_var( 'paged' ) : 1;
 
 	/*