--- src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/HRegion.java (revision 1091313) +++ src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/HRegion.java (working copy) @@ -1712,11 +1712,12 @@ try { result = get(get, false); + boolean valueIsNull = comparator.getValue() == null || + comparator.getValue().length == 0; boolean matches = false; - if (result.size() == 0 && - (comparator.getValue() == null || comparator.getValue().length == 0)) { + if (result.size() == 0 && valueIsNull) { matches = true; - } else if (result.size() == 1) { + } else if (result.size() == 1 && !valueIsNull) { int compareResult = comparator.compareTo(result.get(0).getValue()); switch (compareOp) { case LESS: