2 files changed, 8 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 33658fc7..0a18a9e7 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ GNU grep NEWS                                    -*- outline -*-
   The confusing GREP_COLOR environment variable is now obsolescent.
   Instead of GREP_COLOR='xxx', use GREP_COLORS='mt=xxx'.  grep now
   warns if GREP_COLOR is used and is not overridden by GREP_COLORS.
+  Also, grep now treates GREP_COLOR like GREP_COLORS by silently
+  ignoring it if it attempts to inject ANSI terminal escapes.
 
   Regular expressions with stray backslashes now cause warnings, as
   their unspecified behavior can lead to unexpected results.
diff --git a/src/grep.c b/src/grep.c
index edefac6c..59d34310 100644
--- a/src/grep.c
+++ b/src/grep.c
@@ -2911,7 +2911,12 @@ main (int argc, char **argv)
       /* Legacy.  */
       char *userval = getenv ("GREP_COLOR");
       if (userval != NULL && *userval != '\0')
-        selected_match_color = context_match_color = userval;
+        for (char *q = userval; *q == ';' || c_isdigit (*q); q++)
+          if (!q[1])
+            {
+              selected_match_color = context_match_color = userval;
+              break;
+            }
 
       /* New GREP_COLORS has priority.  */
       parse_grep_colors ();