diff --git a/crates/core/src/io/mod.rs b/crates/core/src/io/mod.rs
index 77c88bd..1ddbcc4 100644
--- a/crates/core/src/io/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/core/src/io/mod.rs
@@ -18,4 +18,5 @@ pub mod cache_util;
 pub mod index_cache;
 pub mod line_sampler;
 pub mod progressive_reader;
+pub mod read_cache;
 pub mod wrap;
diff --git a/crates/core/src/io/read_cache.rs b/crates/core/src/io/read_cache.rs
index 2df7c01..e3ae08a 100644
--- a/crates/core/src/io/read_cache.rs
+++ b/crates/core/src/io/read_cache.rs
@@ -56,9 +56,15 @@ impl LruReadCache {
     /// on a hit, or fills a cache slot on a miss. Cross-block reads go through
     /// the spill buffer and are not cached.
     pub fn get(&mut self, file: &File, offset: u64, len: usize) -> io::Result<&[u8]> {
+        if len == 0 {
+            return Ok(&[]);
+        }
+
         let aligned_key = offset & !(BLOCK_ALIGN as u64 - 1);
-        let request_end = offset.saturating_add(len as u64);
-        let block_end = aligned_key + BLOCK_ALIGN as u64;
+        let request_end = offset.checked_add(len as u64).ok_or_else(|| {
+            io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::InvalidInput, "read range overflows u64")
+        })?;
+        let block_end = aligned_key.saturating_add(BLOCK_ALIGN as u64);
 
         if request_end > block_end {
             self.spill_buf.resize(len, 0);
@@ -74,7 +80,8 @@ impl LruReadCache {
         }
 
         let hit_idx = self.slots.iter().position(|slot| {
-            slot.block_offset == aligned_key && request_end <= slot.block_offset + slot.len as u64
+            let slot_end = slot.block_offset.saturating_add(slot.len as u64);
+            slot.len > 0 && slot.block_offset == aligned_key && request_end <= slot_end
         });
 
         if let Some(idx) = hit_idx {
@@ -96,8 +103,8 @@ impl LruReadCache {
         let slot = &mut self.slots[evict_idx];
         let bytes_read = file.read_at(&mut slot.buf, aligned_key)?;
 
-        // Note: get(file, 0, 0) on an empty file now returns Err (old code returned Ok(&[])).
-        // No callers pass len == 0, so this is a safe semantic change.
+        // Non-empty reads that return 0 are EOF. Zero-length reads are handled above
+        // as a successful no-op.
         if bytes_read == 0 {
             return Err(io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::UnexpectedEof, "read 0 bytes"));
         }
@@ -107,7 +114,8 @@ impl LruReadCache {
         slot.last_access = self.tick;
         self.tick += 1;
 
-        if request_end > aligned_key + bytes_read as u64 {
+        let bytes_end = aligned_key.saturating_add(bytes_read as u64);
+        if request_end > bytes_end {
             return Err(io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::UnexpectedEof, "short read"));
         }
 
@@ -118,7 +126,9 @@ impl LruReadCache {
     /// Invalidate all cache slots and the spill buffer.
     pub fn clear(&mut self) {
         for slot in &mut self.slots {
+            slot.block_offset = 0;
             slot.len = 0;
+            slot.last_access = 0;
         }
         self.spill_len = 0;
     }
@@ -314,9 +324,11 @@ mod tests {
 
         cache.clear();
 
-        // All slots should have len == 0.
+        // All slots should be fully reset.
         for slot in &cache.slots {
+            assert_eq!(slot.block_offset, 0);
             assert_eq!(slot.len, 0);
+            assert_eq!(slot.last_access, 0);
         }
         assert_eq!(cache.spill_len, 0);
 
@@ -432,4 +444,52 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(&line2[..4090], &[b'B'; 4090]);
         assert_eq!(line2[4090], b'\n');
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn zero_len_read_is_noop_on_fresh_cache() {
+        let f = make_file(b"");
+        let file = File::open(f.path()).unwrap();
+        let mut cache = ReadCache::new();
+
+        let result = cache.get(&file, 0, 0).unwrap();
+        assert!(result.is_empty());
+        assert_eq!(cache.tick, 0);
+        assert!(cache.slots.iter().all(|s| s.len == 0));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn zero_len_read_is_noop_on_populated_cache() {
+        let f = make_file(b"abc");
+        let file = File::open(f.path()).unwrap();
+        let mut cache = ReadCache::new();
+
+        cache.get(&file, 0, 1).unwrap();
+        let tick_before = cache.tick;
+
+        let result = cache.get(&file, 0, 0).unwrap();
+        assert!(result.is_empty());
+        assert_eq!(cache.tick, tick_before);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn zero_len_read_at_max_offset_is_ok() {
+        let f = make_file(b"");
+        let file = File::open(f.path()).unwrap();
+        let mut cache = ReadCache::new();
+
+        let result = cache.get(&file, u64::MAX, 0).unwrap();
+        assert!(result.is_empty());
+        assert_eq!(cache.tick, 0);
+        assert!(cache.slots.iter().all(|s| s.len == 0));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn nonzero_read_range_overflow_returns_invalid_input() {
+        let f = make_file(b"abc");
+        let file = File::open(f.path()).unwrap();
+        let mut cache = ReadCache::new();
+
+        let err = cache.get(&file, u64::MAX, 1).unwrap_err();
+        assert_eq!(err.kind(), io::ErrorKind::InvalidInput);
+    }
 }
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