diff --git a/change_log.txt b/change_log.txt
index 71d78516..dc1bf275 100644
--- a/change_log.txt
+++ b/change_log.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
 ===== trunk  =====
+24.06.2012
+- bugfix escape modifier support for PHP < 5.2.3 (Forum Topic 21176)
+
+11.06.2012
 - bugfix the patch for Topic 21856 did break tabs between tag attributes (Forum Topic 22124)
 
 ===== Smarty-3.1.10  =====
diff --git a/libs/plugins/modifier.escape.php b/libs/plugins/modifier.escape.php
index 523d0653..32d185fc 100644
--- a/libs/plugins/modifier.escape.php
+++ b/libs/plugins/modifier.escape.php
@@ -23,24 +23,69 @@
  */
 function smarty_modifier_escape($string, $esc_type = 'html', $char_set = null, $double_encode = true)
 {
+    static $_double_encode = null;
+    if ($_double_encode === null) {
+        $_double_encode = version_compare(PHP_VERSION, '5.2.3', '>=');
+    }
+    
     if (!$char_set) {
         $char_set = Smarty::$_CHARSET;
     }
 
     switch ($esc_type) {
         case 'html':
-            return htmlspecialchars($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set, $double_encode);
+            if ($_double_encode) {
+                // php >=5.3.2 - go native
+                return htmlspecialchars($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set, $double_encode);
+            } else {
+                if ($double_encode) {
+                    // php <5.3.2 - only handle double encoding
+                    return htmlspecialchars($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set);
+                } else {
+                    // php <5.3.2 - prevent double encoding
+                    $string = preg_replace('!&(#?\w+);!', '%%%SMARTY_START%%%\\1%%%SMARTY_END%%%', $string);
+                    $string = htmlspecialchars($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set);
+                    $string = str_replace(array('%%%SMARTY_START%%%', '%%%SMARTY_END%%%'), array('&', ';'), $string);
+                    return $string;
+                }
+            }
 
         case 'htmlall':
             if (Smarty::$_MBSTRING) {
                 // mb_convert_encoding ignores htmlspecialchars()
-                $string = htmlspecialchars($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set, $double_encode);
+                if ($_double_encode) {
+                    // php >=5.3.2 - go native
+                    $string = htmlspecialchars($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set, $double_encode);
+                } else {
+                    if ($double_encode) {
+                        // php <5.3.2 - only handle double encoding
+                        $string = htmlspecialchars($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set);
+                    } else {
+                        // php <5.3.2 - prevent double encoding
+                        $string = preg_replace('!&(#?\w+);!', '%%%SMARTY_START%%%\\1%%%SMARTY_END%%%', $string);
+                        $string = htmlspecialchars($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set);
+                        $string = str_replace(array('%%%SMARTY_START%%%', '%%%SMARTY_END%%%'), array('&', ';'), $string);
+                        return $string;
+                    }
+                }
+                
                 // htmlentities() won't convert everything, so use mb_convert_encoding
                 return mb_convert_encoding($string, 'HTML-ENTITIES', $char_set);
             }
 
             // no MBString fallback
-            return htmlentities($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set, $double_encode);
+            if ($_double_encode) {
+                return htmlentities($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set, $double_encode);
+            } else {
+                if ($double_encode) {
+                    return htmlentities($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set);
+                } else {
+                    $string = preg_replace('!&(#?\w+);!', '%%%SMARTY_START%%%\\1%%%SMARTY_END%%%', $string);
+                    $string = htmlentities($string, ENT_QUOTES, $char_set);
+                    $string = str_replace(array('%%%SMARTY_START%%%', '%%%SMARTY_END%%%'), array('&', ';'), $string);
+                    return $string;
+                }
+            }
 
         case 'url':
             return rawurlencode($string);
diff --git a/libs/plugins/modifiercompiler.escape.php b/libs/plugins/modifiercompiler.escape.php
index b4cd3c88..48b74d14 100644
--- a/libs/plugins/modifiercompiler.escape.php
+++ b/libs/plugins/modifiercompiler.escape.php
@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ require_once( SMARTY_PLUGINS_DIR .'shared.literal_compiler_param.php' );
  */
 function smarty_modifiercompiler_escape($params, $compiler)
 {
+    static $_double_encode = null;
+    if ($_double_encode === null) {
+        $_double_encode = version_compare(PHP_VERSION, '5.2.3', '>=');
+    }
+    
     try {
         $esc_type = smarty_literal_compiler_param($params, 1, 'html');
         $char_set = smarty_literal_compiler_param($params, 2, Smarty::$_CHARSET);
@@ -36,26 +41,56 @@ function smarty_modifiercompiler_escape($params, $compiler)
 
         switch ($esc_type) {
             case 'html':
-                return 'htmlspecialchars('
-                    . $params[0] .', ENT_QUOTES, '
-                    . var_export($char_set, true) . ', '
-                    . var_export($double_encode, true) . ')';
+                if ($_double_encode) {
+                    return 'htmlspecialchars('
+                        . $params[0] .', ENT_QUOTES, '
+                        . var_export($char_set, true) . ', '
+                        . var_export($double_encode, true) . ')';
+                } else if ($double_encode) {
+                    return 'htmlspecialchars('
+                        . $params[0] .', ENT_QUOTES, '
+                        . var_export($char_set, true) . ')';
+                } else {
+                    // fall back to modifier.escape.php
+                }
 
             case 'htmlall':
                 if (Smarty::$_MBSTRING) {
-                    return 'mb_convert_encoding(htmlspecialchars('
-                        . $params[0] .', ENT_QUOTES, '
-                        . var_export($char_set, true) . ', '
-                        . var_export($double_encode, true)
-                        . '), "HTML-ENTITIES", '
-                        . var_export($char_set, true) . ')';
+                    if ($_double_encode) {
+                        // php >=5.3.2 - go native
+                        return 'mb_convert_encoding(htmlspecialchars('
+                            . $params[0] .', ENT_QUOTES, '
+                            . var_export($char_set, true) . ', '
+                            . var_export($double_encode, true)
+                            . '), "HTML-ENTITIES", '
+                            . var_export($char_set, true) . ')';
+                    } else if ($double_encode) {
+                        // php <5.3.2 - only handle double encoding
+                        return 'mb_convert_encoding(htmlspecialchars('
+                            . $params[0] .', ENT_QUOTES, '
+                            . var_export($char_set, true)
+                            . '), "HTML-ENTITIES", '
+                            . var_export($char_set, true) . ')';
+                    } else {
+                        // fall back to modifier.escape.php
+                    }
                 }
 
                 // no MBString fallback
-                return 'htmlentities('
-                    . $params[0] .', ENT_QUOTES, '
-                    . var_export($char_set, true) . ', '
-                    . var_export($double_encode, true) . ')';
+                if ($_double_encode) {
+                    // php >=5.3.2 - go native
+                    return 'htmlentities('
+                        . $params[0] .', ENT_QUOTES, '
+                        . var_export($char_set, true) . ', '
+                        . var_export($double_encode, true) . ')';
+                } else if ($double_encode) {
+                    // php <5.3.2 - only handle double encoding
+                    return 'htmlentities('
+                        . $params[0] .', ENT_QUOTES, '
+                        . var_export($char_set, true) . ')';
+                } else {
+                    // fall back to modifier.escape.php
+                }
 
             case 'url':
                 return 'rawurlencode(' . $params[0] . ')';