fix(search): /api/es/search returns HTTP 500 "JSON does not allow non-finite numbers" on field-sorted and aggregation/filter queries

[dsilvam]

Problem Statement

Confirmed platform-wide regression. The /api/es/search and /api/es/raw REST endpoints return HTTP 500 with the error:

JSON does not allow non-finite numbers.

This affects any consumer whose search results carry a non-finite _score — most commonly:

• queries that sort by a field (Elasticsearch sets _score to NaN unless track_scores=true),
• filter / constant_score / aggregation-only contexts.

It is not content-specific (reproducible on Production, Staging, and UAT with unchanged content) and hits built-in features such as Site Search as well as custom /api/es/search calls.

Root cause

Introduced by PR #36398 (route /api/es/raw & /api/es/search through phase-aware SearchAPI), first released in v26.07.04-01.

The endpoints were rewritten to rebuild the legacy Elasticsearch-wire response via dotCMS's com.dotmarketing.util.json.JSONObject (ESContentResourcePortlet.toLegacyEsJson → hitsToLegacyJson). The per-hit score is added with a raw float:

// ESContentResourcePortlet.hitsToLegacyJson
.put("_score", hit.getScore())   // hit.getScore() can be Float.NaN

JSONObject.put(...) runs testValidity(), which throws on non-finite values:

// com.dotmarketing.util.json.JSONObject.testValidity
if (((Float) o).isInfinite() || ((Float) o).isNaN())
    throw new JSONException("JSON does not allow non-finite numbers.");

The previous implementation returned Elasticsearch's native JSON (SearchResponse.toString()), which serializes NaN as null — so the error did not occur before the cutover.

Steps to Reproduce

1. POST /api/es/search with a query that sorts by a field (e.g. a date field) and does not set track_scores: true — or a plain terms search combined with a content-type aggregation.
2. Observe the response.

Actual: HTTP 500 — JSON does not allow non-finite numbers.
Expected: valid JSON with "_score": null for non-scored hits, matching the pre-regression Elasticsearch-native wire format.

Acceptance Criteria

• /api/es/search and /api/es/raw return valid JSON (HTTP 200) for field-sorted queries that produce NaN scores.
• Non-finite (NaN/Infinity) _score values serialize as null, preserving the legacy Elasticsearch-wire shape.
• The same guard is applied to every raw float/double written into the response JSONObject (per-hit _score and the suggester score fields).
• No change to the response shape/contract for finite scores; no schema or index changes.
• A regression test maps a ContentSearchResponse whose hit carries Float.NaN through toLegacyEsJson and asserts valid JSON with "_score": null (instead of throwing).

dotCMS Version

• First affected: v26.07.04-01 (regression from PR feat(search): route /api/es/raw & /api/es/search through phase-aware SearchAPI (#36396) #36398).
• Also present in v26.07.06-01 / main.
• Fix targeted as a patch on release-26.07.06-01.

Severity

High - Major functionality broken (search endpoints and Site Search fail in production; not content-related).

Links

• Regression source: PR feat(search): route /api/es/raw & /api/es/search through phase-aware SearchAPI (#36396) #36398
• Freshdesk: #38278, #38274
• Workaround (client-controlled queries only): add "track_scores": true to sorted queries; does not cover built-in Site Search.

Affected file: dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/elasticsearch/ESContentResourcePortlet.java

[github-actions]

PRs linked to this issue

• fix(search): guard non-finite _score in /api/es/search response (#36478) by @dsilvam
• fix(search): guard non-finite _score in /api/es/search response (#36478) by @dsilvam
• test(search): /api/es IT coverage + docs for non-finite _score regression (#36478) by @fabrizzio-dotCMS