diff --git a/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/db/compaction/differential/DifferentialCompactionTester.java b/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/db/compaction/differential/DifferentialCompactionTester.java
index d30278d013..c08cf5fff8 100644
--- a/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/db/compaction/differential/DifferentialCompactionTester.java
+++ b/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/db/compaction/differential/DifferentialCompactionTester.java
@@ -380,7 +380,14 @@ public abstract class DifferentialCompactionTester extends CQLTester
             JsonTransformer.toJsonLines(scanner, Util.iterToStream(scanner), true, false,
                                         sstable.metadata(), DUMP_NOW_SEC, baos);
         }
-        String json = baos.toString(StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+        // JsonTransformer's "expired" fields are computed from WALL CLOCK
+        // (currentTimeMillis), ignoring the fixed nowInSec passed above — so byte-identical
+        // outputs can render differently when a localExpirationTime falls between the two
+        // paths' captures, which run seconds apart (materialized-view expired-liveness rows
+        // sit permanently on that boundary: their expiration IS the write second). The flag
+        // is derived from expires_at, which is still compared, so normalize it out.
+        String json = baos.toString(StandardCharsets.UTF_8)
+                          .replaceAll("\"expired\"\\s*:\\s*(true|false)", "\"expired\":\"normalized\"");
 
         // 3. stats spot-check summary
         StatsMetadata stats = sstable.getSSTableMetadata();
diff --git a/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/db/compaction/differential/EdgeCaseDifferentialCompactionTest.java b/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/db/compaction/differential/EdgeCaseDifferentialCompactionTest.java
index 2834226ea8..2b08cad562 100644
--- a/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/db/compaction/differential/EdgeCaseDifferentialCompactionTest.java
+++ b/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/db/compaction/differential/EdgeCaseDifferentialCompactionTest.java
@@ -613,6 +613,67 @@ public class EdgeCaseDifferentialCompactionTest extends DifferentialCompactionTe
         assertCursorMatchesIteratorAcrossGenerations(cfs, ALLOWLIST);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * OPEN-ENDED (single-sided) range tombstones: DELETE with only a lower or upper
+     * clustering bound produces markers whose other side is the unbounded partition edge —
+     * zero-component TOP/BOTTOM bounds, the same empty-prefix region bound-kind comparisons
+     * and covered-clustering stats exercise. Open RTs nest with each other, overlap bounded
+     * RTs and rows across sstables, and one partition is open-RT-only.
+     * Previously covered only probabilistically by the widened soak.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void openEndedRangeTombstones() throws Exception
+    {
+        createTable("CREATE TABLE %s (pk bigint, ck bigint, v text, PRIMARY KEY (pk, ck)) " +
+                    "WITH gc_grace_seconds = 864000");
+        ColumnFamilyStore cfs = getCurrentColumnFamilyStore();
+        cfs.disableAutoCompaction();
+
+        for (long pk = 1; pk <= 2; pk++)
+            for (long ck = 0; ck < 30; ck++)
+                execute("INSERT INTO %s (pk, ck, v) VALUES (?, ?, ?)", pk, ck, "v" + ck);
+        execute("DELETE FROM %s WHERE pk = ? AND ck >= ? AND ck < ?", 1L, 10L, 20L); // bounded, for interleave
+        flush();
+
+        // open-ended deletes: up to TOP, down from BOTTOM, nested opens, and an RT-only partition
+        execute("DELETE FROM %s WHERE pk = ? AND ck >= ?", 1L, 25L);
+        execute("DELETE FROM %s WHERE pk = ? AND ck > ?", 1L, 27L);  // nests inside the >= 25 open range
+        execute("DELETE FROM %s WHERE pk = ? AND ck <= ?", 2L, 4L);
+        execute("DELETE FROM %s WHERE pk = ? AND ck >= ?", 3L, 0L);  // partition with ONLY an open RT
+        flush();
+
+        // resurrection inside open-deleted ranges with newer timestamps
+        execute("INSERT INTO %s (pk, ck, v) VALUES (?, ?, ?)", 1L, 26L, "resurrected");
+        execute("INSERT INTO %s (pk, ck, v) VALUES (?, ?, ?)", 2L, 2L, "resurrected");
+        flush();
+
+        assertCursorMatchesIteratorAcrossGenerations(cfs, ALLOWLIST);
+    }
+
+    /** DESC counterpart: single-sided bounds invert in on-disk clustering order, so the
+     *  open edge swaps between TOP and BOTTOM relative to the CQL bound direction. */
+    @Test
+    public void openEndedRangeTombstonesDescending() throws Exception
+    {
+        createTable("CREATE TABLE %s (pk bigint, ck bigint, v text, PRIMARY KEY (pk, ck)) " +
+                    "WITH CLUSTERING ORDER BY (ck DESC) AND gc_grace_seconds = 864000");
+        ColumnFamilyStore cfs = getCurrentColumnFamilyStore();
+        cfs.disableAutoCompaction();
+
+        for (long ck = 0; ck < 30; ck++)
+            execute("INSERT INTO %s (pk, ck, v) VALUES (?, ?, ?)", 1L, ck, "v" + ck);
+        flush();
+
+        execute("DELETE FROM %s WHERE pk = ? AND ck >= ?", 1L, 25L);
+        execute("DELETE FROM %s WHERE pk = ? AND ck <= ?", 1L, 4L);
+        flush();
+
+        execute("INSERT INTO %s (pk, ck, v) VALUES (?, ?, ?)", 1L, 27L, "resurrected");
+        flush();
+
+        assertCursorMatchesIteratorAcrossGenerations(cfs, ALLOWLIST);
+    }
+
     /**
      * ODD superset size at the subset-encoding mode boundary: with 71 columns, the encoder
      * and decoder must agree on present-index vs missing-index