GeezerVison

Wrong commit pointed, str_repeat got optimized such that passing 1 returns the input string, that's the root cause not the ext/random changes.
Your alternative doesn't work because of SCCP.
Also, many tests rely on the old str_repeat+random_int trick. The simplest fix is likely to change the randomness bounds to 2,2

The simplest fix is likely to change the randomness bounds to 2,2

@ndossche That one fixes it. Do you add a new PR or shall I?

Your alternative doesn't work because of SCCP.

This alternative actually works to create non-interned strings:

$strInterned = "my valid";
$strNonInterned = $strInterned . " string";

Also see:
#25371

This made it into 8.6, so the target branch should be PHP-8.6. You may do the fixes in this PR.

Commit rebased on branch PHP-8.6 and PR changed to target branch PHP-8.6.