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Handle empty lists in strict email.utils.parseaddr #159350
Description
The strict path in email.utils.parseaddr() handles list input by reading its first item without checking for an empty list. The non-strict path returns an empty address pair for the same input.
Reproducer, run with the interpreter built from the CPython checkout:
from email.utils import parseaddr
print(parseaddr([], strict=False))
print(parseaddr([]))Expected: Both calls return ('', '').
Observed: The default strict call raises IndexError.
Environment: CPython main, Windows debug build.
Activity
merwok commentedon Oct 20, 2026
Is this incorrect given the documentation of this function?
What is strict mode used for?
Should the function really handle this, or should the calling site check its data and not call the function on empty lists?