Go version

go version go1.21.4 linux/amd64

What operating system and processor architecture are you using (go env)?

GO111MODULE=''
GOARCH='amd64'
GOBIN=''
GOCACHE='/home/branden/.cache/go-build'
GOENV='/home/branden/.config/go/env'
GOEXE=''
GOEXPERIMENT=''
GOFLAGS=''
GOHOSTARCH='amd64'
GOHOSTOS='linux'
GOINSECURE=''
GOMODCACHE='/home/branden/go/pkg/mod'
GONOPROXY='*.redacted.net'
GONOSUMDB='*.redacted.net'
GOOS='linux'
GOPATH='/home/branden/go'
GOPRIVATE='*.redacted.net'
GOPROXY='https://proxy.golang.org,direct'
GOROOT='/usr/local/go'
GOSUMDB='sum.golang.org'
GOTMPDIR=''
GOTOOLCHAIN='auto'
GOTOOLDIR='/usr/local/go/pkg/tool/linux_amd64'
GOVCS=''
GOVERSION='go1.21.4'
GCCGO='gccgo'
GOAMD64='v1'
AR='ar'
CC='gcc'
CXX='g++'
CGO_ENABLED='1'
GOMOD='/dev/null'
GOWORK=''
CGO_CFLAGS='-O2 -g'
CGO_CPPFLAGS=''
CGO_CXXFLAGS='-O2 -g'
CGO_FFLAGS='-O2 -g'
CGO_LDFLAGS='-O2 -g'
PKG_CONFIG='pkg-config'
GOGCCFLAGS='-fPIC -m64 -pthread -Wl,--no-gc-sections -fmessage-length=0 -ffile-prefix-map=/tmp/go-build2911026133=/tmp/go-build -gno-record-gcc-switches'

What did you do?

https://go.dev/play/p/bNXLi9KmwHA

type (
	Bocchi struct {
		Bocchi string `json:"bocchi"`
	}
	Ryou struct {
		Ryou string `json:"ryou"`
	}
	Kessoku struct {
		Bocchi
		Ryou
	}
)

func (b *Bocchi) UnmarshalJSON(p []byte) error { return errors.New("kita") }
func (r *Ryou) UnmarshalJSON(p []byte) error   { return errors.New("nijika") }

func main() {
	var k Kessoku
	err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(`{"bocchi":"bocchi","ryou":"ryou"}`), &k)
	fmt.Printf("%#v\n", k)
	fmt.Println(err)
}

I.e., define a type embedding two other types that each implement json.Unmarshaler, then unmarshal into the containing type, which does not implement json.Unmarshaler.

What did you expect to see?

Empty fields in k and a non-nil error. The decoder unmarshals each field according to its respective rules.

I would also accept empty fields and a nil error as if the decoder unmarshals each embedded field as if it had its type as its field name, such that {"Bocchi":{"bocchi":"kita"}} would unmarshal to an object equal to Kessoku{Bocchi: Bocchi{"kita"}}. (Unmarshalling that document instead results in an error mentioning "Go struct field Kessoku.bocchi", which doesn't actually exist, but I'm not certain I'd call that a bug.)

What did you see instead?

Filled fields and a nil error. The decoder unmarshals the containing type as if it has exactly the list of promoted fields on the type, without regard to any json.Unmarshaler.

#39175 is related, but there the report was that the behavior between one and two embedded fields was inconsistent (which is due to Go's language rules) rather than that the behavior with two is surprising per se. In my case, the containing type not implementing UnmarshalJSON by promotion is the point, but I want the embedded fields which are unmarshalers to have their logic respected.

The practical goal in my project is to have the equivalents of Bocchi and Ryou unmarshal according to default rules and then each perform validation before returning from their respective UnmarshalJSON. I sometimes need to handle a Bocchi explicitly without a Ryou, hence using separate types. It's straightforward to get the behavior I want by defining an UnmarshalJSON on Kessoku which unmarshals each field explicitly; I'm reporting as an issue because I got what I consider the most surprising behavior when I tried without.

The most flexible solution for my problem is probably #6213, which is addressed by #63397, so there might not be anything to do here.