Skip to content

[release/11.0] Lift mixed outer-reference aggregate arguments - #38925

Merged
AndriySvyryd merged 1 commit into
release/11.0from
copilot/servicing-pr-38855
Sep 14, 2026
Merged

[release/11.0] Lift mixed outer-reference aggregate arguments#38925
AndriySvyryd merged 1 commit into
release/11.0from
copilot/servicing-pr-38855

Conversation

Copilot AI commented Sep 5, 2026 •
edited by AndriySvyryd
Loading

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Fixes #38834
Port of #38855

Description
An optimization during query translation causes aggregate expressions combining an outer reference with a local column to not be lifted resulting in an error on SQL Server.

Customer impact
Affected LINQ queries fail with error 8124 when executed. There's no practical workaround.

How found
User reported on 11.0.0-rc1

Regression
Yes, from 11.0.0-preview.6. It was surfaced by PR #38502

Testing
Tests added.

Risk
Medium. While this is a relatively simple change, query changes always carry an inherent risk of affecting other scenarios.

Ben O'Donovan @AndriySvyryd
Lift aggregate arguments that mix an outer reference with a local column
8a8dc08 
- Track, per aggregate invocation, whether the argument references a column of
  the SELECT the aggregate is evaluated in (local) and whether it references a
  column from further out (outer), and lift the argument when both are present.
  The postprocessor only lifted arguments containing a subquery, so these
  expressions reached the server unmodified and failed with "Multiple columns
  are specified in an aggregated expression containing an outer reference"
- Rename SqlServerAggregateOverSubqueryPostprocessor to
  SqlServerAggregateArgumentPostprocessor, since a subquery in the argument is
  no longer the only thing that triggers a lift
- Compare against the aggregating SELECT's own table aliases rather than
  _tableAliasesInScope: that set deliberately excludes those tables, since a
  lifted subquery reaches them through APPLY rather than CROSS JOIN
- Leave an aggregate whose argument is purely an outer reference alone; SQL
  Server evaluates it in the outer query, which is how aggregates over an outer
  grouping are meant to translate
- Restore the parent visitor state before building the lifted subquery, and
  capture _isCorrelatedSubquery for the OUTER APPLY/CROSS JOIN choice, so the
  state saved by an enclosing aggregate is no longer clobbered
- Add specification tests for a Sum over an expression with an outer reference
  and for Sums over members of a single-result subquery, plus SQL Server
  baselines

Fixes #38834

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [release/11.0] Lift aggregate arguments that mix an outer reference with a local column [release/11.0] Lift mixed outer-reference aggregate arguments Sep 5, 2026
Copilot AI requested a review from AndriySvyryd September 5, 2026 01:10
@AndriySvyryd
AndriySvyryd requested a lite review from Copilot September 5, 2026 01:15
@AndriySvyryd
AndriySvyryd marked this pull request as ready for review September 5, 2026 01:15
@AndriySvyryd
AndriySvyryd requested a review from a team as a code owner September 5, 2026 01:15
Copilot AI reviewed Sep 5, 2026
View reviewed changes

Copilot AI left a comment

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

🟡 Changes recommended

The new relational spec test dereferences a nullable FirstOrDefault() result (d.OrderID) and will fail the build due to warnings-as-errors.

Once you've addressed the issues Copilot identified, you can request another Copilot review.

Pull request overview

This PR addresses a SQL Server limitation where aggregate arguments that mix an outer reference with a local column (SQL error 8124) produce invalid SQL, by detecting that pattern during postprocessing and lifting the aggregate argument via OUTER APPLY/CROSS JOIN. It also adds regression coverage for both the direct mixed-reference case and the single-result-subquery projection case.

Changes:

  • Extend/rename the SQL Server aggregate argument postprocessor to lift arguments that contain both local and outer references (in addition to the existing “contains subquery” trigger).
  • Fix visitor state handling for nested aggregates by restoring parent state before performing the lift while capturing correlation state.
  • Add relational spec tests and SQL Server baselines covering mixed outer/local aggregate arguments and the single-result-subquery member projection regression.
File summaries
File Description
test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/Query/NorthwindAggregateOperatorsQuerySqlServerTest.cs Adds SQL Server baselines asserting the lifted OUTER APPLY shape for the new regression tests.
test/EFCore.Relational.Specification.Tests/Query/NorthwindAggregateOperatorsQueryRelationalTestBase.cs Adds two new relational spec tests covering mixed outer-reference aggregate arguments (direct and via projected single-result subquery).
src/EFCore.SqlServer/Query/Internal/SqlServerQueryTranslationPostprocessor.cs Switches to the renamed/extended aggregate argument postprocessor.
src/EFCore.SqlServer/Query/Internal/SqlServerAggregateArgumentPostprocessor.cs Implements mixed local/outer reference detection and lifts aggregate arguments to avoid SQL Server error 8124.
Review details
  • Files reviewed: 4/4 changed files
  • Comments generated: 1
  • Review effort level: Lite

💡 Add a code-review agent skill for context-aware, tailored reviews. Learn more in the docs.

Comment thread ...e.Relational.Specification.Tests/Query/NorthwindAggregateOperatorsQueryRelationalTestBase.cs
@AndriySvyryd
AndriySvyryd requested a review from artl93 September 14, 2026 16:23
artl93
artl93 approved these changes Sep 14, 2026
View reviewed changes

@artl93 artl93 left a comment

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

regression. user reported. no workaround. approved.

@AndriySvyryd
AndriySvyryd merged commit e989d0e into release/11.0 Sep 14, 2026
20 checks passed
@AndriySvyryd
AndriySvyryd deleted the copilot/servicing-pr-38855 branch September 14, 2026 20:41
@dotnet-maestro dotnet-maestro Bot mentioned this pull request Sep 14, 2026
Merged
@dotnet-milestone-bot dotnet-milestone-bot Bot added this to the 11.0-rc2 milestone Sep 14, 2026
wtgodbe added a commit that referenced this pull request Sep 21, 2026
@wtgodbe Mirroring
@dotnet-bot @AndriySvyryd @dotnet-maestro @dependabot Ben O'Donovan
[automated] Merge branch 'release/11.0' => 'main' (#38992)
69da171 
* Update dependencies from https://dev.azure.com/dnceng/internal/_git/dotnet-runtime build 20260803.5
On relative base path root
Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources , Microsoft.NETCore.BrowserDebugHost.Transport From Version 8.0.30-servicing.26367.20 -> To Version 8.0.30-servicing.26403.5

* Update dependencies from https://dev.azure.com/dnceng/internal/_git/dotnet-runtime build 20260810.19
On relative base path root
Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory , Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration , Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Abstractions , Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.EnvironmentVariables , Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json , Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection , Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyModel , Microsoft.Extensions.Logging , Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref , Microsoft.NETCore.App.Runtime.win-x64 , System.Formats.Asn1 , System.Text.Encodings.Web , System.Text.Json From Version 9.0.19 -> To Version 9.0.20
Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources , Microsoft.NETCore.BrowserDebugHost.Transport From Version 9.0.19-servicing.26367.24 -> To Version 9.0.20-servicing.26410.19

* Update dependencies from https://dev.azure.com/dnceng/internal/_git/dotnet-runtime build 20260810.18
On relative base path root
Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources , Microsoft.NETCore.BrowserDebugHost.Transport From Version 8.0.30-servicing.26367.20 -> To Version 8.0.31-servicing.26410.18
Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref , Microsoft.NETCore.App.Runtime.win-x64 From Version 8.0.30 -> To Version 8.0.31

* Update dependencies from https://dev.azure.com/dnceng/internal/_git/dotnet-runtime build 20260812.28
On relative base path root
Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources , Microsoft.NETCore.BrowserDebugHost.Transport From Version 8.0.30-servicing.26367.20 -> To Version 8.0.31-servicing.26412.28
Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref , Microsoft.NETCore.App.Runtime.win-x64 From Version 8.0.30 -> To Version 8.0.31

* Update dependencies from https://dev.azure.com/dnceng/internal/_git/dotnet-runtime build 20260813.7
On relative base path root
Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources , Microsoft.NETCore.BrowserDebugHost.Transport From Version 8.0.30-servicing.26367.20 -> To Version 8.0.31-servicing.26413.7
Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref , Microsoft.NETCore.App.Runtime.win-x64 From Version 8.0.30 -> To Version 8.0.31

* Update dependencies from https://dev.azure.com/dnceng/internal/_git/dotnet-runtime build 20260813.15
On relative base path root
Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory , Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration , Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Abstractions , Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.EnvironmentVariables , Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json , Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection , Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyModel , Microsoft.Extensions.Logging , Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref , Microsoft.NETCore.App.Runtime.win-x64 , System.Formats.Asn1 , System.Text.Encodings.Web , System.Text.Json From Version 9.0.19 -> To Version 9.0.20
Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources , Microsoft.NETCore.BrowserDebugHost.Transport From Version 9.0.19-servicing.26367.24 -> To Version 9.0.20-servicing.26413.15

* Update dependencies from https://dev.azure.com/dnceng/internal/_git/dotnet-runtime build 20260820.15
On relative base path root
Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources , Microsoft.NETCore.BrowserDebugHost.Transport From Version 8.0.31-servicing.26413.7 -> To Version 8.0.31-servicing.26420.15
Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref , Microsoft.NETCore.App.Runtime.win-x64 From Version 8.0.31 -> To Version 8.0.31

* Update dependencies from https://github.com/dotnet/arcade build 20260831.8 (#38931)

[release/9.0] Update dependencies from dotnet/arcade

* [release/9.0]: Bump Microsoft.AspNetCore.Identity.EntityFrameworkCore from 8.0.30 to 8.0.31 (#38941)

---
updated-dependencies:
- dependency-name: Microsoft.AspNetCore.Identity.EntityFrameworkCore
  dependency-version: 8.0.31
  dependency-type: direct:production
  update-type: version-update:semver-patch
...

Signed-off-by: dependabot[bot] <support@github.com>
Co-authored-by: dependabot[bot] <49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* [release/9.0]: Bump Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos from 3.62.1 to 3.63.0 (#38942)

---
updated-dependencies:
- dependency-name: Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos
  dependency-version: 3.63.0
  dependency-type: direct:production
  update-type: version-update:semver-minor
...

Signed-off-by: dependabot[bot] <support@github.com>
Co-authored-by: dependabot[bot] <49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* Update dependencies from build 330600 (#38922)

Updated Dependencies:
Microsoft.DotNet.Arcade.Sdk, Microsoft.DotNet.Build.Tasks.Templating, Microsoft.DotNet.Helix.Sdk (Version 10.0.0-beta.26453.111 -> 10.0.0-beta.26454.107)
Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Abstractions, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.EnvironmentVariables, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyModel, Microsoft.Extensions.Logging, Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref, System.Formats.Asn1, System.Runtime.Caching, System.Text.Encodings.Web, System.Text.Json (Version 10.0.13 -> 10.0.13)
Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources, Microsoft.NETCore.Platforms (Version 10.0.13-servicing.26453.111 -> 10.0.13-servicing.26454.107)
[[ commit created by automation ]]

Co-authored-by: dotnet-maestro[bot] <dotnet-maestro[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* [release/10.0]: Bump Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos from 3.62.1 to 3.63.0 (#38954)

---
updated-dependencies:
- dependency-name: Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos
  dependency-version: 3.63.0
  dependency-type: direct:production
  update-type: version-update:semver-minor
...

Signed-off-by: dependabot[bot] <support@github.com>
Co-authored-by: dependabot[bot] <49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* Discard changes to Directory.Packages.props

* Discard changes to NuGet.config

* [release/11.0] Fix UPDATE ordering regression for unique-index reassignment (#38924)

Fixes #38917

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

* [release/11.0] Lift mixed outer-reference aggregate arguments (#38925)

Fixes #38834

Co-authored-by: Ben O'Donovan <ben@whiterock.systems>
Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

* [release/11.0] Fix projecting JSON complex collection together with collection navigation (#38948)

Fixes #38928
Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

* Update dependencies from build 331727 (#38975)

Updated Dependencies:
Microsoft.DotNet.Arcade.Sdk, Microsoft.DotNet.Build.Tasks.Templating, Microsoft.DotNet.Helix.Sdk (Version 11.0.0-beta.26458.109 -> 11.0.0-beta.26461.110)
Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.EnvironmentVariables, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyModel, Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources, Microsoft.Extensions.Logging, Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref, Microsoft.NETCore.Platforms, System.Formats.Asn1, System.Runtime.Caching, System.Text.Encodings.Web, System.Text.Json (Version 11.0.0-rc.2.26458.109 -> 11.0.0-rc.2.26461.110)
[[ commit created by automation ]]

Co-authored-by: dotnet-maestro[bot] <dotnet-maestro[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* [release/11.0]: Bump Microsoft.Data.SqlClient from 7.0.2 to 7.0.3 (#38968)

---
updated-dependencies:
- dependency-name: Microsoft.Data.SqlClient
  dependency-version: 7.0.3
  dependency-type: direct:production
  update-type: version-update:semver-patch
...

Signed-off-by: dependabot[bot] <support@github.com>
Co-authored-by: dependabot[bot] <49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* [release/11.0]: Bump Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.Extensions.Azure from 7.0.2 to 7.0.3 (#38969)

---
updated-dependencies:
- dependency-name: Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.Extensions.Azure
  dependency-version: 7.0.3
  dependency-type: direct:production
  update-type: version-update:semver-patch
...

Signed-off-by: dependabot[bot] <support@github.com>
Co-authored-by: dependabot[bot] <49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* [release/11.0]: Bump Microsoft.DotNet.XUnitV3Extensions from 11.0.0-beta.26454.1 to 11.0.0-beta.26461.3 (#38970)

---
updated-dependencies:
- dependency-name: Microsoft.DotNet.XUnitV3Extensions
  dependency-version: 11.0.0-beta.26461.3
  dependency-type: direct:production
  update-type: version-update:semver-patch
...

Signed-off-by: dependabot[bot] <support@github.com>
Co-authored-by: dependabot[bot] <49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* [release/11.0]: Bump Microsoft.AspNetCore.Identity.EntityFrameworkCore from 9.0.19 to 9.0.20 (#38966)

---
updated-dependencies:
- dependency-name: Microsoft.AspNetCore.Identity.EntityFrameworkCore
  dependency-version: 9.0.20
  dependency-type: direct:production
  update-type: version-update:semver-patch
...

Signed-off-by: dependabot[bot] <support@github.com>
Co-authored-by: dependabot[bot] <49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* Merge pull request #38997 from dotnet/darc-release/11.0-07246f3c-4116-4837-973c-9929578ae48f

[release/11.0] Source code updates from dotnet/dotnet

* [release/11.0] Source code updates from dotnet/dotnet (#39003)

* Update dependencies from build 332243
Updated Dependencies:
Microsoft.DotNet.Arcade.Sdk, Microsoft.DotNet.Build.Tasks.Templating, Microsoft.DotNet.Helix.Sdk (Version 11.0.0-beta.26464.119 -> 11.0.0-beta.26465.108)
Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.EnvironmentVariables, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyModel, Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources, Microsoft.Extensions.Logging, Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref, Microsoft.NETCore.Platforms, System.Formats.Asn1, System.Runtime.Caching, System.Text.Encodings.Web, System.Text.Json (Version 11.0.0-rc.2.26464.119 -> 11.0.0-rc.2.26465.108)
[[ commit created by automation ]]

* Update dependencies from build 332290
Updated Dependencies:
Microsoft.DotNet.Arcade.Sdk, Microsoft.DotNet.Build.Tasks.Templating, Microsoft.DotNet.Helix.Sdk (Version 11.0.0-beta.26465.108 -> 11.0.0-beta.26465.113)
Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.EnvironmentVariables, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyModel, Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources, Microsoft.Extensions.Logging, Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref, Microsoft.NETCore.Platforms, System.Formats.Asn1, System.Runtime.Caching, System.Text.Encodings.Web, System.Text.Json (Version 11.0.0-rc.2.26465.108 -> 11.0.0-rc.2.26465.113)
[[ commit created by automation ]]

---------

Co-authored-by: dotnet-maestro[bot] <dotnet-maestro[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* [release/11.0] Source code updates from dotnet/dotnet (#39007)

* Update dependencies from build 332487
Updated Dependencies:
Microsoft.DotNet.Arcade.Sdk, Microsoft.DotNet.Build.Tasks.Templating, Microsoft.DotNet.Helix.Sdk (Version 11.0.0-beta.26465.113 -> 11.0.0-beta.26466.122)
Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.EnvironmentVariables, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyModel, Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources, Microsoft.Extensions.Logging, Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref, Microsoft.NETCore.Platforms, System.Formats.Asn1, System.Runtime.Caching, System.Text.Encodings.Web, System.Text.Json (Version 11.0.0-rc.2.26465.113 -> 11.0.0-rc.2.26466.122)
[[ commit created by automation ]]

* Update dependencies from build 332554
Updated Dependencies:
Microsoft.DotNet.Arcade.Sdk, Microsoft.DotNet.Build.Tasks.Templating, Microsoft.DotNet.Helix.Sdk (Version 11.0.0-beta.26466.122 -> 11.0.0-beta.26467.104)
Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.EnvironmentVariables, Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection, Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyModel, Microsoft.Extensions.HostFactoryResolver.Sources, Microsoft.Extensions.Logging, Microsoft.NETCore.App.Ref, Microsoft.NETCore.Platforms, System.Formats.Asn1, System.Runtime.Caching, System.Text.Encodings.Web, System.Text.Json (Version 11.0.0-rc.2.26466.122 -> 11.0.0-rc.2.26467.104)
[[ commit created by automation ]]

---------

Co-authored-by: dotnet-maestro[bot] <dotnet-maestro[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

---------

Signed-off-by: dependabot[bot] <support@github.com>
Co-authored-by: Mirroring <dnceng-mirroring@microsoft.com>
Co-authored-by: DotNet-Bot <dn-bot@microsoft.com>
Co-authored-by: Andriy Svyryd <Andriy.Svyryd@microsoft.com>
Co-authored-by: ProductConstructionServiceProd <ProductConstructionServiceProd>
Co-authored-by: dotnet-maestro[bot] <42748379+dotnet-maestro[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: dotnet-bot <dotnet-bot@microsoft.com>
Co-authored-by: Andriy Svyryd <AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: dependabot[bot] <49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: dotnet-maestro[bot] <dotnet-maestro[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: William Godbe <wigodbe@microsoft.com>
Co-authored-by: Copilot <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Ben O'Donovan <ben@whiterock.systems>
@dotnet-maestro dotnet-maestro Bot mentioned this pull request Sep 22, 2026
Merged
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Reviewers

Copilot code review Copilot
Copilot review effort, defaults to Lite
Applies to this pull request for everyone.Learn more about Copilot code review.
Copilot left review comments
@cincuranet cincuranet cincuranet approved these changes
@artl93 artl93 artl93 approved these changes
@AndriySvyryd AndriySvyryd Awaiting requested review from AndriySvyryd

Assignees

No one assigned

Labels

Servicing-approved

Projects

None yet

Milestone

11.0-rc2

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

5 participants

@cincuranet @artl93 @AndriySvyryd