A 500 error was encountered when executing the POST /groups
### Summary
POST /groups Multiple 500 errors occurred in a series of test sequences.
When the query parameter is path=AJ, the POST /groups request return a 500 status code.
### Environment Info
The latest version of GitLab is deployed locally. The environment details are as follows：
GitLab version：
Installation method：
`docker run --detach \ --hostname localhost \ --publish 443:443 --publish 80:80 --publish 2222:22 \ --name gitlab-latest \ --restart always \ --volume $GITLAB_HOME/config:/etc/gitlab \ --volume $GITLAB_HOME/logs:/var/log/gitlab \ --volume $GITLAB_HOME/data:/var/opt/gitlab \ --shm-size 256m \ gitlab/gitlab-ee:latest`
operating system：windows 11
### Current bug behavior
The program crashed while processing a specific input, triggering an internal server error.
### Relevant logs and/or screenshots
> Operation1:
**Log File:**
=== Detailed Interaction Log ===\
Operation ID: POST\_/groups\
\
--- API Operation ---\
Endpoint: /groups\
Method: POST\
\
--- API Parameters ---\
Path Parameters:\
\<none\>\
Query Parameters:\\
- path = path=AJ (type: string)\
Request Body Parameters:\\
- emails_disabled = (type: boolean)\\
- subgroup_creation_level = (type: string)\\
- share_with_group_lock = share_with_group_lock=true (type: boolean)\\
- description = (type: string)\\
- request_access_enabled = (type: boolean)\\
- mentions_disabled = (type: boolean)\\
- require_two_factor_authentication = (type: boolean)\\
- project_creation_level = (type: string)\\
- default_branch_protection = (type: integer)\\
- parent_id = (type: integer)\\
- visibility = visibility=private (type: string)\\
- extra_shared_runners_minutes_limit = (type: integer)\\
- two_factor_grace_period = (type: integer)\\
- auto_devops_enabled = (type: boolean)\\
- name = name=C (type: string)\\
- shared_runners_minutes_limit = (type: integer)\\
- membership_lock = (type: boolean)\\
- avatar = (type: string)\\
- shared_runners_setting = shared_runners_setting=enabled (type: string)\\
- lfs_enabled = (type: boolean)\
\
--- API Request ---\
Headers: Accept: application/json\
Authorization: ██\
\
Body:\
"{\\"name\\": \\"C\\", \\"visibility\\": \\"private\\", \\"share_with_group_lock\\": true, \\"shared_runners_setting\\": \\"enabled\\"}"\
\
--- API Response ---\
Status Code: 500\
Headers: Server: nginx\
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2026 04:16:52 GMT\
Content-Type: application/json\
Content-Length: 39\
Connection: keep-alive\
Cache-Control: no-cache\
Nel: {"max_age": 0}\
Vary: Origin\
X-Gitlab-Meta: {"correlation_id":"01KFA7GKMJQ71GDEYJE3PRZAAX","version":"1"}\
X-Request-Id: 01KFA7GKMJQ71GDEYJE3PRZAAX\
X-Runtime: 0.049688\
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=63072000\
\
Body:\
{"message":"500 Internal Server Error"}
**JSON File:**
[api_responses.json](/uploads/2a82a5db37f557c063be1ca4afb104df/api_responses.json)
> Operation2:
**Log File:**
=== Detailed Interaction Log ===\
Operation ID: POST\_/groups\
\
--- API Operation ---\
Endpoint: /groups\
Method: POST\
\
--- API Parameters ---\
Path Parameters:\
\<none\>\
Query Parameters:\
- path = path=AJ (type: string)\
Request Body Parameters:\
- emails_disabled = (type: boolean)\
- subgroup_creation_level = (type: string)\
- share_with_group_lock = (type: boolean)\
- description = (type: string)\
- request_access_enabled = (type: boolean)\
- mentions_disabled = (type: boolean)\
- require_two_factor_authentication = require_two_factor_authentication=true (type: boolean)\
- project_creation_level = (type: string)\
- default_branch_protection = (type: integer)\
- parent_id = (type: integer)\
- visibility = (type: string)\
- extra_shared_runners_minutes_limit = extra_shared_runners_minutes_limit=1009378831 (type: integer)\
- two_factor_grace_period = two_factor_grace_period=48 (type: integer)\
- auto_devops_enabled = (type: boolean)\
- name = name=insaturable (type: string)\
- shared_runners_minutes_limit = (type: integer)\
- membership_lock = (type: boolean)\
- avatar = (type: string)\
- shared_runners_setting = shared_runners_setting=enabled (type: string)\
- lfs_enabled = (type: boolean)\
\
--- API Request ---\
Headers: Accept: application/json\
Authorization: ██\
\
Body:\
"{\\"name\\": \\"insaturable\\", \\"require_two_factor_authentication\\": true, \\"two_factor_grace_period\\": 48, \\"extra_shared_runners_minutes_limit\\": 1009378831, \\"shared_runners_setting\\": \\"enabled\\"}"\
\
--- API Response ---\
Status Code: 500\
Headers: Server: nginx\
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2026 04:18:33 GMT\
Content-Type: application/json\
Content-Length: 39\
Connection: keep-alive\
Cache-Control: no-cache\
Nel: {"max_age": 0}\
Vary: Origin\
X-Gitlab-Meta: {"correlation_id":"01KFA7KNPM9WNJKQ3FHTFHMH55","version":"1"}\
X-Request-Id: 01KFA7KNPM9WNJKQ3FHTFHMH55\
X-Runtime: 0.073018\
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=63072000\
\
Body:\
{"message":"500 Internal Server Error"}
**JSON File:**
[api_responses.json](/uploads/ec4ca25ac394d516562551c48bdca6d3/api_responses.json)
issue