diff --git a/whups/lib/Driver.php b/whups/lib/Driver.php
index 5c3597622c6..c663085be61 100644
--- a/whups/lib/Driver.php
+++ b/whups/lib/Driver.php
@@ -145,17 +145,7 @@ public function getHistory($ticket_id, Horde_Form $form = null)
 
             default:
                 if (strpos($type, 'attribute_') === 0) {
-                    if (is_string($value) && defined('JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING')) {
-                        $value = json_decode(
-                            $value, true, 512, constant('JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING')
-                        );
-                    } else {
-                        try {
-                            $value = Horde_Serialize::unserialize(
-                                $value, Horde_Serialize::JSON);
-                        } catch (Horde_Serialize_Exception $e) {
-                        }
-                    }
+                    $value = $this->_json_decode($value);
                     $attribute = substr($type, 10);
                     if (isset($attributes[$attribute])) {
                         $label = $attributes[$attribute];
@@ -200,6 +190,44 @@ public function getHistory($ticket_id, Horde_Form $form = null)
         return $history;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Helper to decode attribute value, which may be a bare scalar value, or
+     * a json encoded structure that may contain large numeric strings that
+     * should not be taken as integers.
+     *
+     * @param string  The value to decode.
+     *
+     * @return mixed  The decoded value.
+     */
+    protected function _json_decode($value)
+    {
+        if (is_string($value) && defined('JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING')) {
+            $result = json_decode(
+                $value, true, 512, constant('JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING')
+            );
+            // If we failed above, see if it was a bare scalar value. Note we
+            // need to encode it first to be sure we escape any characters that
+            // need escaping and we properly quote strings.
+            if (!isset($result)) {
+                $result = json_decode(
+                    json_encode($value),
+                    true,
+                    512,
+                    constant('JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING')
+                );
+            }
+        } else {
+            try {
+                $result = Horde_Serialize::unserialize(
+                    $value, Horde_Serialize::JSON);
+            } catch (Horde_Serialize_Exception $e) {
+                $result = $value;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return $result;
+    }
+
     /**
      */
     public function getQueue($queueId)
diff --git a/whups/lib/Driver/Sql.php b/whups/lib/Driver/Sql.php
index 038d11d50ff..5d4f7fec16e 100644
--- a/whups/lib/Driver/Sql.php
+++ b/whups/lib/Driver/Sql.php
@@ -1129,19 +1129,7 @@ public function getTicketsByProperties(
         $attributes = $this->getTicketAttributesWithNames(array_keys($tickets));
         foreach ($attributes as $row) {
             $attribute_id = 'attribute_' . $row['attribute_id'];
-            if (is_string($row['attribute_value']) && defined('JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING')) {
-                $tickets[$row['id']][$attribute_id] = json_decode(
-                    $row['attribute_value'], true, 512, constant('JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING')
-                );
-            } else {
-                try {
-                    $tickets[$row['id']][$attribute_id] =
-                        Horde_Serialize::unserialize($row['attribute_value'],
-                                                     Horde_Serialize::JSON);
-                } catch (Horde_Serialize_Exception $e) {
-                    $tickets[$row['id']][$attribute_id] = $row['attribute_value'];
-                }
-            }
+            $tickets[$row['id']][$attribute_id] = $this->_json_decode($row['attribute_value']);
             $tickets[$row['id']][$attribute_id . '_name'] = $row['attribute_name'];
         }
 
@@ -3137,16 +3125,7 @@ public function getTicketAttributesWithNames($ticket_id)
             $attributes = $this->_fromBackend($attributes);
 
             foreach ($attributes as &$ticket) {
-                if (is_string($ticket['attribute_value']) && defined('JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING')) {
-                    $ticket['attribute_value'] = json_decode($ticket['attribute_value'], true, 512, constant('JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING'));
-                } else {
-                    try {
-                        $ticket['attribute_value'] = Horde_Serialize::unserialize(
-                            $ticket['attribute_value'],
-                            Horde_Serialize::JSON);
-                    } catch (Horde_Serialize_Exception $e) {
-                    }
-                }
+                $ticket['attribute_value'] = $this->_json_decode($ticket['attribute_value']);
             }
         } else {
             try {
@@ -3214,18 +3193,7 @@ protected function _getAllTicketAttributesWithNames($ticket_id)
                 $this->_fromBackend(@unserialize($attribute['attribute_params']));
             $attribute['attribute_required'] =
                 (bool)$attribute['attribute_required'];
-            if (is_string($attribute['attribute_value']) && defined('JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING')) {
-                $attribute['attribute_value'] = json_decode(
-                    $attribute['attribute_value'], true, 512, constant('JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING')
-                );
-            } else {
-                try {
-                    $attribute['attribute_value'] = Horde_Serialize::unserialize(
-                        $attribute['attribute_value'],
-                        Horde_Serialize::JSON);
-                } catch (Horde_Serialize_Exception $e) {
-                }
-            }
+            $attribute['attribute_value'] = $this->_json_decode($attribute['attribute_value']);
         }
 
         return $attributes;