diff --git a/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/Fn_IF.pm b/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/Fn_IF.pm
index 4cd941b876..4659b913c2 100644
--- a/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/Fn_IF.pm
+++ b/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/Fn_IF.pm
@@ -1254,6 +1254,7 @@ PONG
 
     $meta =
       Foswiki::Meta->load( $this->{session}, $this->{test_web}, $topicName );
+    $meta->getRevisionInfo();
     my $ti = $meta->get('TOPICINFO');
 
     $this->assert_str_equals( $ti->{version}, '1.1' );
diff --git a/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/Fn_REVINFO.pm b/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/Fn_REVINFO.pm
index 6a72f85c78..3c593e50cc 100644
--- a/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/Fn_REVINFO.pm
+++ b/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/Fn_REVINFO.pm
@@ -173,16 +173,13 @@ sub test_compatibility1 {
     {
         return;
     }
-    $this->assert(
-        open(
-            F, '>', "$Foswiki::cfg{DataDir}/$this->{test_web}/CrikeyMoses.txt"
-        )
-    );
-    print F <<'HERE';
+    my $topicObject =
+      Foswiki::Meta->new(
+          $this->{session}, $this->{test_web}, 'CrikeyMoses', <<'HERE');
 %META:TOPICINFO{author="ScumBag" date="1120846368" format="1.1" version="$Rev$"}%
 HERE
-    close(F);
-    my $topicObject =
+    $topicObject->save();
+    $topicObject =
       Foswiki::Meta->load( $this->{session}, $this->{test_web}, 'CrikeyMoses' );
     my $ui =
       $topicObject->expandMacros('%REVINFO{format="$username $wikiname"}%');
@@ -201,16 +198,13 @@ sub test_compatibility2 {
     {
         return;
     }
-    $this->assert(
-        open(
-            F, '>', "$Foswiki::cfg{DataDir}/$this->{test_web}/CrikeyMoses.txt"
-        )
-    );
-    print F <<'HERE';
+    my $topicObject =
+      Foswiki::Meta->new(
+          $this->{session}, $this->{test_web}, 'CrikeyMoses', <<'HERE');
 %META:TOPICINFO{author="scum" date="1120846368" format="1.1" version="$Rev$"}%
 HERE
-    close(F);
-    my $topicObject =
+    $topicObject->save();
+    $topicObject =
       Foswiki::Meta->load( $this->{session}, $this->{test_web}, 'CrikeyMoses' );
     my $ui =
       $topicObject->expandMacros('%REVINFO{format="$username $wikiname"}%');
diff --git a/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/StoreSmokeTests.pm b/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/StoreSmokeTests.pm
index 415a7be6b6..f8053da531 100644
--- a/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/StoreSmokeTests.pm
+++ b/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/StoreSmokeTests.pm
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ sub verify_releaselocksonsave {
 
     # get the date
     my $m = Foswiki::Meta->load( $this->{session}, $this->{test_web}, $topic );
-    my $t1 = $m->get('TOPICINFO')->{date};
+    my $t1 = $m->getRevisionInfo()->{date};
 
     # create rev 2 as TestUser1
     $query = new Unit::Request(
diff --git a/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/StoreTests.pm b/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/StoreTests.pm
index 92e249e55d..edfe99d24d 100644
--- a/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/StoreTests.pm
+++ b/UnitTestContrib/test/unit/StoreTests.pm
@@ -298,6 +298,7 @@ sub test_beforeSaveHandlerChangeText {
 
     # remove topicinfo, useless for test
     $readMeta->remove('TOPICINFO');
+    $meta->remove('TOPICINFO');
 
     # set expected meta
     $meta->putKeyed( 'FIELD', { name => 'fieldname', value => 'text' } );
@@ -330,7 +331,6 @@ sub test_beforeSaveHandlerChangeMeta {
     $meta->putKeyed( "FIELD", $args );
     $meta->save( user => $this->{test_user_login} );
     $this->assert( $this->{session}->topicExists( $web, $topic ) );
-
     my $readMeta = Foswiki::Meta->load( $this->{session}, $web, $topic );
     my $readText = $readMeta->text;
 
@@ -341,8 +341,10 @@ sub test_beforeSaveHandlerChangeMeta {
 
     # set expected meta
     $meta->putKeyed( 'FIELD', { name => 'fieldname', value => 'meta' } );
-    delete $meta->get( 'TOPICINFO')->{rev};
-    delete $readMeta->get( 'TOPICINFO')->{rev};
+    foreach my $fld qw(rev version date) {
+        delete $meta->get( 'TOPICINFO')->{$fld};
+        delete $readMeta->get( 'TOPICINFO')->{$fld};
+    }
     $this->assert_str_equals( $meta->stringify(), $readMeta->stringify() );
     my $webObject = Foswiki::Meta->new( $this->{session}, $web );
     $webObject->removeFromStore();
@@ -383,8 +385,10 @@ sub test_beforeSaveHandlerChangeBoth {
 
     # set expected meta
     $meta->putKeyed( 'FIELD', { name => 'fieldname', value => 'meta' } );
-    delete $meta->get( 'TOPICINFO' )->{rev};
-    delete $readMeta->get( 'TOPICINFO')->{rev};
+    foreach my $fld qw(rev version date) {
+        delete $meta->get( 'TOPICINFO')->{$fld};
+        delete $readMeta->get( 'TOPICINFO')->{$fld};
+    }
     $this->assert_str_equals( $meta->stringify(), $readMeta->stringify() );
     my $webObject = Foswiki::Meta->new( $this->{session}, $web );
     $webObject->removeFromStore();
diff --git a/core/data/System/MetaData.txt b/core/data/System/MetaData.txt
index 8f8769815f..6dafdfd158 100644
--- a/core/data/System/MetaData.txt
+++ b/core/data/System/MetaData.txt
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ This macro caches some of the information that would normally be derived from th
 | format  | Format of this topic, will be used for automatic format conversion |
 | reprev  | Set when a revision is overwritten by the same author within the {ReplaceIfEditedAgainWithin} window (set in [[%SCRIPTURL{configure}%][ =configure= ]]). If =reprev= is the same as =version=, it prevents Foswiki from attempting to do a 3-way merge when merging overlapping edits by two different users. |
 
+Note that the *version and date fields are advisory only* and cannot be trusted. This is because processes outside of Foswiki's control may write topic files without maintaining these fields.
+
 ---+++ META:TOPICMOVED
 
 This only exists if the topic has been moved. If a topic is moved more than once, only the most recent META:TOPICMOVED meta datum exists in the topic. Older ones can to be found in the topic history.
diff --git a/core/lib/Foswiki/Meta.pm b/core/lib/Foswiki/Meta.pm
index 5cf0777aa6..74495bafa1 100644
--- a/core/lib/Foswiki/Meta.pm
+++ b/core/lib/Foswiki/Meta.pm
@@ -1062,25 +1062,27 @@ Set TOPICINFO information on the object, as specified by the parameters.
 sub setRevisionInfo {
     my ( $this, $data ) = @_;
 
+    my $ti = $this->get('TOPICINFO') || {};
+
+    foreach my $k (keys %$data) {
+        $ti->{$k} = $data->{$k};
+    }
+
     # compatibility; older versions of the code use
     # RCS rev numbers. Save with them so old code can
     # read these topics
     my %args = %$data;
-    $args{version} = 1 if $args{version} < 1;
-    $args{version} = '1.' . $args{version};
-    $args{format}  = $EMBEDDING_FORMAT_VERSION;
+    $ti->{version} = 1 if $ti->{version} < 1;
+    $ti->{rev} = $ti->{version};
+    $ti->{version} = '1.' . $ti->{version};
+    $ti->{format}  = $EMBEDDING_FORMAT_VERSION;
 
-    $this->put( 'TOPICINFO', \%args );
+    $this->put( 'TOPICINFO', $ti );
 }
 
 =begin TML
 
----++ ObjectMethod getRevisionInfo($fromrev) -> \%info
-
-   * =$fromrev= revision number. If 0, undef, or out-of-range, will get info about the most recent revision.
-
-Try and get revision info from the meta information, or, if it is not
-present, kick down to the Store module for the same information.
+---++ ObjectMethod getRevisionInfo() -> \%info
 
 Return %info with at least:
 | date | in epochSec |
@@ -1094,8 +1096,18 @@ sub getRevisionInfo {
     my $this = shift;
 
     my $info;
+
+    # This used to try and get revision info from the meta
+    # information and only kick down to the Store module for the
+    # same information if it was not present. However there have
+    # been several cases where the meta information in the cache
+    # is badly out of step with the store, and the conclusion is
+    # that it can't be trusted. For this reason, when meta is read
+    # TOPICINFO version field is automatically undefined, which
+    # forces this function to re-get it from the store.
     my $topicinfo = $this->get('TOPICINFO');
-    if ($topicinfo) {
+
+    if ($topicinfo && defined $topicinfo->{version}) {
         $info = {
             date    => $topicinfo->{date},
             author  => $topicinfo->{author},
@@ -1119,12 +1131,13 @@ sub getRevisionInfo {
     return $info;
 }
 
-# Determins, and caches, the topic revision info of the base version,
-#warning: this is a horrid little legacy of the InfoCache object, and should be done away with.
+# Determines, and caches, the topic revision info of the base version,
+# SMELL: this is a horrid little legacy of the InfoCache object, and
+# should be done away with.
 sub getRev1Info {
     my ( $this, $attr ) = @_;
 
-#my ( $web, $topic ) = Foswiki::Func::normalizeWebTopicName( $this->{_defaultWeb}, $webtopic );
+    #my ( $web, $topic ) = Foswiki::Func::normalizeWebTopicName( $this->{_defaultWeb}, $webtopic );
     my $web   = $this->web;
     my $topic = $this->topic;
 
@@ -1536,6 +1549,10 @@ sub save {
 
     my $plugins = $this->{_session}->{plugins};
 
+    # make sure version and date in TOPICINFO are up-to-date
+    # (side effect of getRevisionInfo)
+    $this->getRevisionInfo();
+
     # Semantics inherited from Cairo. See
     # Foswiki:Codev.BugBeforeSaveHandlerBroken
     if ( $plugins->haveHandlerFor('beforeSaveHandler') ) {
@@ -2958,18 +2975,15 @@ sub setEmbeddedStoreForm {
         # Make sure we update the topic format for when we save
         $ti->{format} = $EMBEDDING_FORMAT_VERSION;
 
-        # add the rev derived from version=''
-        if ( $ti->{version} ) {
-            if ( $ti->{version} =~ /(\d+\.)?(\d*)/ ) {
-                $ti->{rev} = $2;
-            }
-            else {
-                $ti->{rev} = 1;
-            }
-        }
-        else {
-            $ti->{version} = $ti->{rev} = 0;
-        }
+        # The version, date and rev cached in TOPICINFO *cannot be trusted*
+        # See Tasks.Item8848
+        # These fields will be populated from the store when
+        # getRevisionInfo() is called. Important: always do this
+        # before calling get('TOPICINFO') if you want to use the
+        # rev info!
+        delete $ti->{version};
+        delete $ti->{date};
+        delete $ti->{rev};
     }
 
     # Other meta-data
diff --git a/core/lib/Foswiki/Search/InfoCache.pm b/core/lib/Foswiki/Search/InfoCache.pm
index 151f167444..a11ada1fb5 100644
--- a/core/lib/Foswiki/Search/InfoCache.pm
+++ b/core/lib/Foswiki/Search/InfoCache.pm
@@ -396,6 +396,7 @@ sub _getListOfWebs {
                     }
                     else {
                         $web = Foswiki::Sandbox::untaint( $web,\&Foswiki::Sandbox::validateWebName );
+ASSERT($web);
                         push( @tmpWebs, $web );
                         $webObject = Foswiki::Meta->new( $session, $web );
                     }
@@ -406,6 +407,7 @@ sub _getListOfWebs {
                           unless $Foswiki::WebFilter::user_allowed->ok(
                             $session, $w );
                         $w = Foswiki::Sandbox::untaint( $w,\&Foswiki::Sandbox::validateWebName );
+ASSERT($web);
                         push( @tmpWebs, $w );
                     }
                 }
@@ -438,6 +440,7 @@ sub _getListOfWebs {
 
     my @webs;
     foreach my $web (@tmpWebs) {
+        next unless defined $web;
         push( @webs, $web ) unless $excludeWeb{$web};
         $excludeWeb{$web} = 1;    # eliminate duplicates
     }
diff --git a/core/lib/Foswiki/Store/QueryAlgorithms/BruteForce.pm b/core/lib/Foswiki/Store/QueryAlgorithms/BruteForce.pm
index b6cd05d086..cb01285031 100644
--- a/core/lib/Foswiki/Store/QueryAlgorithms/BruteForce.pm
+++ b/core/lib/Foswiki/Store/QueryAlgorithms/BruteForce.pm
@@ -164,6 +164,10 @@ sub getField {
         if ( $Foswiki::Query::Node::aliases{$field} ) {
             $realField = $Foswiki::Query::Node::aliases{$field};
         }
+        if ($realField eq 'META:TOPICINFO') {
+            # Ensure the revision info is populated from the store
+            $data->getRevisionInfo();
+        }
         if ( $realField =~ s/^META:// ) {
             if ( $Foswiki::Query::Node::isArrayType{$realField} ) {
 
diff --git a/core/lib/Foswiki/UI/Save.pm b/core/lib/Foswiki/UI/Save.pm
index 7b49d04f0e..2c24e7b2eb 100644
--- a/core/lib/Foswiki/UI/Save.pm
+++ b/core/lib/Foswiki/UI/Save.pm
@@ -262,6 +262,7 @@ sub buildNewTopic {
 
             require Foswiki::Merge;
 
+            $topicObject->getRevisionInfo();
             my $pti = $topicObject->get('TOPICINFO');
             if (   $pti->{reprev}
                 && $pti->{version}