From 872f497e4b08007af79def804a50aab89bd59fc1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "copilot-swe-agent[bot]" <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:25:58 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Initial plan


From 6a86c937f4cea04f83e754290f7f3b3b93281ce0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "copilot-swe-agent[bot]" <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:31:55 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Fix LeaderElector to acquire already-expired lease on
 initial observation

Co-authored-by: brendandburns <5751682+brendandburns@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 .../leaderelection/LeaderElector.java         | 11 +++++-
 .../leaderelection/LeaderElectorTest.java     | 35 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 45 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/extended/src/main/java/io/kubernetes/client/extended/leaderelection/LeaderElector.java b/extended/src/main/java/io/kubernetes/client/extended/leaderelection/LeaderElector.java
index ddf40dd547..6e986a59df 100644
--- a/extended/src/main/java/io/kubernetes/client/extended/leaderelection/LeaderElector.java
+++ b/extended/src/main/java/io/kubernetes/client/extended/leaderelection/LeaderElector.java
@@ -331,8 +331,17 @@ private boolean tryAcquireOrRenew() {
 
     // 2. Record obtained with LeaderElectionRecord, check the Identity & Time
     if (!oldLeaderElectionRecord.equals(this.observedRecord)) {
+      // If this is the very first time we observe a record (e.g. right after this
+      // LeaderElector started running), we have no prior local observation to compare
+      // against. In that case, use the record's own renewTime instead of the current
+      // wall-clock time, so that an already expired lease can be acquired immediately
+      // rather than requiring a full extra leaseDuration to elapse before takeover.
+      boolean firstObservation = this.observedRecord == null;
       this.observedRecord = oldLeaderElectionRecord;
-      this.observedTimeMilliSeconds = System.currentTimeMillis();
+      this.observedTimeMilliSeconds =
+          firstObservation
+              ? oldLeaderElectionRecord.getRenewTime().getTime()
+              : System.currentTimeMillis();
     }
 
     if (observedTimeMilliSeconds + config.getLeaseDuration().toMillis() > now.getTime()
diff --git a/extended/src/test/java/io/kubernetes/client/extended/leaderelection/LeaderElectorTest.java b/extended/src/test/java/io/kubernetes/client/extended/leaderelection/LeaderElectorTest.java
index 13e1c7ff5c..91b596325c 100644
--- a/extended/src/test/java/io/kubernetes/client/extended/leaderelection/LeaderElectorTest.java
+++ b/extended/src/test/java/io/kubernetes/client/extended/leaderelection/LeaderElectorTest.java
@@ -12,7 +12,10 @@
 */
 package io.kubernetes.client.extended.leaderelection;
 
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
 import java.time.Duration;
+import java.util.Date;
 import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.function.Consumer;
@@ -100,6 +103,38 @@ void leaderTransitionHook() throws InterruptedException {
     startBeingLeader2.await();
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Tests that on the very first run, a LeaderElector immediately acquires an existing lock whose
+   * lease has already expired, rather than waiting an extra leaseDuration before taking over.
+   */
+  @Test
+  @Timeout(value = 20000L, unit = TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS)
+  void acquiresAlreadyExpiredLeaseImmediately() throws Exception {
+    LockSmith lockSmith = new LockSmith();
+
+    Duration leaseDuration = Duration.ofMillis(TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(10));
+
+    // Simulate a lock that was last renewed well beyond the lease duration in the past, as if
+    // its previous holder had crashed a long time ago and this is the first time any candidate
+    // observes the (already expired) record.
+    Date longAgo = new Date(System.currentTimeMillis() - leaseDuration.toMillis() * 3);
+    Lock lock = lockSmith.makeLock("previous-holder");
+    lock.create(
+        new LeaderElectionRecord(
+            "previous-holder", (int) leaseDuration.getSeconds(), longAgo, longAgo, 0));
+
+    CountDownLatch startBeingLeader = new CountDownLatch(1);
+    CountDownLatch stopBeingLeader = new CountDownLatch(1);
+
+    makeAndRunLeaderElectorAsync(lockSmith, "candidate1", startBeingLeader, stopBeingLeader);
+
+    // With the fix, the new candidate should become leader almost immediately, well before the
+    // full lease duration elapses, since the observed record is already expired.
+    assertTrue(
+        startBeingLeader.await(leaseDuration.toMillis() / 2, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS),
+        "expected candidate to acquire the already-expired lease promptly");
+  }
+
   private LeaderElector makeAndRunLeaderElectorAsync(
       LockSmith lockSmith,
       String lockIdentity,