diff --git a/i18n/en.json b/i18n/en.json
index a6ae35495..142b1d223 100644
--- a/i18n/en.json
+++ b/i18n/en.json
@@ -159,6 +159,7 @@
 	"abusefilter-list-options-search-like": "Plain query",
 	"abusefilter-list-options-search-rlike": "Regular expression",
 	"abusefilter-list-options-search-irlike": "Case-insensitive regular expression",
+	"abusefilter-list-invalid-searchmode": "The specified search mode is not valid.",
 	"abusefilter-list-regexerror": "An error has occurred while searching: Regular expression syntax error.",
 	"abusefilter-list-options-submit": "Update",
 	"abusefilter-tools-text": "Here are some tools which may be useful in formulating and debugging abuse filters.",
diff --git a/i18n/qqq.json b/i18n/qqq.json
index b029c94d0..2f02e47be 100644
--- a/i18n/qqq.json
+++ b/i18n/qqq.json
@@ -193,6 +193,7 @@
 	"abusefilter-list-options-search-like": "Radio button label in filter form.",
 	"abusefilter-list-options-search-rlike": "Radio button label in filter form. See [[w:en:regular expression]]",
 	"abusefilter-list-options-search-irlike": "Radio button label in filter form. See [[w:en:regular expression]]",
+	"abusefilter-list-invalid-searchmode": "Error message text.",
 	"abusefilter-list-regexerror": "Error message text.",
 	"abusefilter-list-options-submit": "Submit button text in filter form to update a filtered list.\n{{Identical|Update}}",
 	"abusefilter-tools-text": "Introduction test for abuse filter tools.",
diff --git a/includes/Views/AbuseFilterViewList.php b/includes/Views/AbuseFilterViewList.php
index e8376cfc0..4653e9f6c 100644
--- a/includes/Views/AbuseFilterViewList.php
+++ b/includes/Views/AbuseFilterViewList.php
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class AbuseFilterViewList extends AbuseFilterView {
 			$scope === 'global' );
 
 		if ( $searchEnabled ) {
-			$querypattern = $request->getVal( 'querypattern' );
+			$querypattern = $request->getVal( 'querypattern', '' );
 			$searchmode = $request->getVal( 'searchoption', 'LIKE' );
 		} else {
 			$querypattern = '';
@@ -84,51 +84,31 @@ class AbuseFilterViewList extends AbuseFilterView {
 			$conds['af_global'] = 1;
 		}
 
-		$dbr = wfGetDB( DB_REPLICA );
-
 		if ( $querypattern !== '' ) {
-			if ( $searchmode !== 'LIKE' ) {
-				if ( !StringUtils::isValidPCRERegex( "/$querypattern/" ) ) {
-					$out->addHTML(
-						Xml::tags(
-							'p',
-							null,
-							Html::errorBox( $this->msg( 'abusefilter-list-regexerror' )->parse() )
-						)
-					);
-					$this->showList(
-						[ 'af_deleted' => 0 ],
-						compact(
-							'deleted',
-							'furtherOptions',
-							'querypattern',
-							'searchmode',
-							'scope',
-							'searchEnabled'
-						)
-					);
-					return;
-				}
-				if ( $searchmode === 'RLIKE' ) {
-					$conds[] = 'af_pattern RLIKE ' .
-						$dbr->addQuotes( $querypattern );
-				} else {
-					$conds[] = 'LOWER( CAST( af_pattern AS char ) ) RLIKE ' .
-						strtolower( $dbr->addQuotes( $querypattern ) );
-				}
-			} else {
-				// Build like query escaping tokens and encapsulating in % to search everywhere
-				$conds[] = 'LOWER( CAST( af_pattern AS char ) ) ' .
-					$dbr->buildLike(
-						$dbr->anyString(),
-						strtolower( $querypattern ),
-						$dbr->anyString()
-					);
+			// Check the search pattern. Filtering the results is done in AbuseFilterPager
+			$error = null;
+			if ( !in_array( $searchmode, [ 'LIKE', 'RLIKE', 'IRLIKE' ] ) ) {
+				$error = 'abusefilter-list-invalid-searchmode';
+			} elseif ( $searchmode !== 'LIKE' && !StringUtils::isValidPCRERegex( "/$querypattern/" ) ) {
+				$error = 'abusefilter-list-regexerror';
+			}
+
+			if ( $error !== null ) {
+				$out->addHTML(
+					Xml::tags(
+						'p',
+						null,
+						Html::errorBox( $this->msg( $error )->escaped() )
+					)
+				);
+
+				// Reset the conditions in case of error
+				$conds = [ 'af_deleted' => 0 ];
+				$querypattern = '';
 			}
 		}
 
 		$this->showList(
-			$conds,
 			compact(
 				'deleted',
 				'furtherOptions',
@@ -136,15 +116,16 @@ class AbuseFilterViewList extends AbuseFilterView {
 				'searchmode',
 				'scope',
 				'searchEnabled'
-			)
+			),
+			$conds
 		);
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * @param array $conds
 	 * @param array $optarray
+	 * @param array $conds
 	 */
-	public function showList( $conds = [ 'af_deleted' => 0 ], $optarray = [] ) {
+	private function showList( array $optarray, array $conds = [ 'af_deleted' => 0 ] ) {
 		$config = $this->getConfig();
 		$this->getOutput()->addHTML(
 			Xml::tags( 'h2', null, $this->msg( 'abusefilter-list' )->parse() )
@@ -172,7 +153,8 @@ class AbuseFilterViewList extends AbuseFilterView {
 				$this,
 				$conds,
 				$this->linkRenderer,
-				[ $querypattern, $searchmode ]
+				$querypattern,
+				$searchmode
 			);
 		}
 
diff --git a/includes/pagers/AbuseFilterPager.php b/includes/pagers/AbuseFilterPager.php
index ba6dae1f7..c34e3b80c 100644
--- a/includes/pagers/AbuseFilterPager.php
+++ b/includes/pagers/AbuseFilterPager.php
@@ -21,23 +21,33 @@ class AbuseFilterPager extends TablePager {
 	 */
 	public $mConds;
 	/**
-	 * @var string[] Info used for searching patterns. The first element is the specified pattern,
-	 *   the second is the search mode (LIKE, RLIKE or IRLIKE)
+	 * @var string The pattern being searched
 	 */
-	public $mQuery;
+	private $mSearchPattern;
+	/**
+	 * @var string The pattern search mode (LIKE, RLIKE or IRLIKE)
+	 */
+	private $mSearchMode;
 
 	/**
 	 * @param AbuseFilterViewList $page
 	 * @param array $conds
 	 * @param LinkRenderer $linkRenderer
-	 * @param array $query
+	 * @param string $searchPattern Empty string if no pattern was specified
+	 * @param string $searchMode
 	 */
-	public function __construct( AbuseFilterViewList $page, $conds, LinkRenderer $linkRenderer,
-		$query ) {
+	public function __construct(
+		AbuseFilterViewList $page,
+		$conds,
+		LinkRenderer $linkRenderer,
+		string $searchPattern,
+		string $searchMode
+	) {
 		$this->mPage = $page;
 		$this->mConds = $conds;
 		$this->linkRenderer = $linkRenderer;
-		$this->mQuery = $query;
+		$this->mSearchPattern = $searchPattern;
+		$this->mSearchMode = $searchMode;
 		parent::__construct( $this->mPage->getContext() );
 	}
 
@@ -68,6 +78,61 @@ class AbuseFilterPager extends TablePager {
 		];
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * @inheritDoc
+	 * This is the same as the parent implementation if no search pattern was specified.
+	 * Otherwise, it does a query with no limit and then slices the results à la ContribsPager.
+	 */
+	public function reallyDoQuery( $offset, $limit, $order ) {
+		if ( !strlen( $this->mSearchPattern ) ) {
+			return parent::reallyDoQuery( $offset, $limit, $order );
+		}
+
+		list( $tables, $fields, $conds, $fname, $options, $join_conds ) =
+			$this->buildQueryInfo( $offset, $limit, $order );
+
+		unset( $options['LIMIT'] );
+		$res = $this->mDb->select( $tables, $fields, $conds, $fname, $options, $join_conds );
+
+		$filtered = [];
+		foreach ( $res as $row ) {
+			if ( $this->matchesPattern( $row->af_pattern ) ) {
+				$filtered[ $row->af_id ] = $row;
+			}
+		}
+
+		// sort results and enforce limit like ContribsPager
+		if ( $order === self::QUERY_ASCENDING ) {
+			ksort( $filtered );
+		} else {
+			krsort( $filtered );
+		}
+		$filtered = array_slice( $filtered, 0, $limit );
+		$filtered = array_values( $filtered );
+		return new FakeResultWrapper( $filtered );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Check whether $subject matches the given $pattern.
+	 *
+	 * @param string $subject
+	 * @return bool
+	 * @throws LogicException
+	 */
+	private function matchesPattern( $subject ) {
+		$pattern = $this->mSearchPattern;
+		switch ( $this->mSearchMode ) {
+			case 'RLIKE':
+				return (bool)preg_match( "/$pattern/u", $subject );
+			case 'IRLIKE':
+				return (bool)preg_match( "/$pattern/ui", $subject );
+			case 'LIKE':
+				return mb_stripos( $subject, $pattern ) !== false;
+			default:
+				throw new LogicException( "Unknown search type {$this->mSearchMode}" );
+		}
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * @see Pager::getFieldNames()
 	 * @return array
@@ -93,7 +158,7 @@ class AbuseFilterPager extends TablePager {
 			$headers['af_hit_count'] = 'abusefilter-list-hitcount';
 		}
 
-		if ( AbuseFilter::canViewPrivate( $user ) && !empty( $this->mQuery[0] ) ) {
+		if ( AbuseFilter::canViewPrivate( $user ) && $this->mSearchPattern !== '' ) {
 			$headers['af_pattern'] = 'abusefilter-list-pattern';
 		}
 
@@ -125,60 +190,7 @@ class AbuseFilterPager extends TablePager {
 					$lang->formatNum( intval( $value ) )
 				);
 			case 'af_pattern':
-				if ( $this->mQuery[1] === 'LIKE' ) {
-					$position = mb_stripos( $row->af_pattern, $this->mQuery[0] );
-					if ( $position === false ) {
-						// This may happen due to problems with character encoding
-						// which aren't easy to solve
-						return htmlspecialchars( mb_substr( $row->af_pattern, 0, 50 ) );
-					}
-					$length = mb_strlen( $this->mQuery[0] );
-				} else {
-					$regex = '/' . $this->mQuery[0] . '/u';
-					if ( $this->mQuery[1] === 'IRLIKE' ) {
-						$regex .= 'i';
-					}
-
-					$matches = [];
-					Wikimedia\suppressWarnings();
-					$check = preg_match(
-						$regex,
-						$row->af_pattern,
-						$matches
-					);
-					Wikimedia\restoreWarnings();
-					// This may happen in case of catastrophic backtracking
-					if ( $check === false ) {
-						return htmlspecialchars( mb_substr( $row->af_pattern, 0, 50 ) );
-					}
-
-					$length = mb_strlen( $matches[0] );
-					$position = mb_strpos( $row->af_pattern, $matches[0] );
-				}
-
-				$remaining = 50 - $length;
-				if ( $remaining <= 0 ) {
-					// Truncate the filter pattern and only show the first 50 characters of the match
-					$pattern = '<b>' .
-						htmlspecialchars( mb_substr( $row->af_pattern, $position, 50 ) ) .
-						'</b>';
-				} else {
-					// Center the snippet on the matched string
-					$minoffset = max( $position - round( $remaining / 2 ), 0 );
-					$pattern = mb_substr( $row->af_pattern, $minoffset, 50 );
-					$pattern =
-						htmlspecialchars( mb_substr( $pattern, 0, $position - $minoffset ) ) .
-						'<b>' .
-						htmlspecialchars( mb_substr( $pattern, $position - $minoffset, $length ) ) .
-						'</b>' .
-						htmlspecialchars( mb_substr(
-							$pattern,
-							$position - $minoffset + $length,
-							$remaining - ( $position - $minoffset + $length )
-							)
-						);
-				}
-				return $pattern;
+				return $this->getHighlightedPattern( $row );
 			case 'af_public_comments':
 				return $this->linkRenderer->makeLink(
 					SpecialPage::getTitleFor( 'AbuseFilter', intval( $row->af_id ) ),
@@ -257,7 +269,7 @@ class AbuseFilterPager extends TablePager {
 						)
 					)->params(
 						wfEscapeWikiText( $row->af_user_text )
-				)->parse();
+					)->parse();
 			case 'af_group':
 				return AbuseFilter::nameGroup( $value );
 			default:
@@ -265,6 +277,65 @@ class AbuseFilterPager extends TablePager {
 		}
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Get the filter pattern with <b> elements surrounding the searched pattern
+	 *
+	 * @param stdClass $row
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	private function getHighlightedPattern( stdClass $row ) {
+		$maxLen = 50;
+		if ( $this->mSearchMode === 'LIKE' ) {
+			$position = mb_stripos( $row->af_pattern, $this->mSearchPattern );
+			$length = mb_strlen( $this->mSearchPattern );
+		} else {
+			$regex = '/' . $this->mSearchPattern . '/u';
+			if ( $this->mSearchMode === 'IRLIKE' ) {
+				$regex .= 'i';
+			}
+
+			$matches = [];
+			Wikimedia\suppressWarnings();
+			$check = preg_match(
+				$regex,
+				$row->af_pattern,
+				$matches
+			);
+			Wikimedia\restoreWarnings();
+			// This may happen in case of catastrophic backtracking, or regexps matching
+			// the empty string.
+			if ( $check === false || strlen( $matches[0] ) === 0 ) {
+				return htmlspecialchars( mb_substr( $row->af_pattern, 0, 50 ) );
+			}
+
+			$length = mb_strlen( $matches[0] );
+			$position = mb_strpos( $row->af_pattern, $matches[0] );
+		}
+
+		$remaining = $maxLen - $length;
+		if ( $remaining <= 0 ) {
+			$pattern = '<b>' .
+				htmlspecialchars( mb_substr( $row->af_pattern, $position, $maxLen ) ) .
+				'</b>';
+		} else {
+			// Center the snippet on the matched string
+			$minoffset = max( $position - round( $remaining / 2 ), 0 );
+			$pattern = mb_substr( $row->af_pattern, $minoffset, $maxLen );
+			$pattern =
+				htmlspecialchars( mb_substr( $pattern, 0, $position - $minoffset ) ) .
+				'<b>' .
+				htmlspecialchars( mb_substr( $pattern, $position - $minoffset, $length ) ) .
+				'</b>' .
+				htmlspecialchars( mb_substr(
+						$pattern,
+						$position - $minoffset + $length,
+						$remaining - ( $position - $minoffset + $length )
+					)
+				);
+		}
+		return $pattern;
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * @return string
 	 */
diff --git a/includes/pagers/GlobalAbuseFilterPager.php b/includes/pagers/GlobalAbuseFilterPager.php
index 983e912eb..7cf13cf9a 100644
--- a/includes/pagers/GlobalAbuseFilterPager.php
+++ b/includes/pagers/GlobalAbuseFilterPager.php
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ class GlobalAbuseFilterPager extends AbuseFilterPager {
 	 * @param LinkRenderer $linkRenderer
 	 */
 	public function __construct( AbuseFilterViewList $page, $conds, LinkRenderer $linkRenderer ) {
-		parent::__construct( $page, $conds, $linkRenderer, [ '', 'LIKE' ] );
+		parent::__construct( $page, $conds, $linkRenderer, '', 'LIKE' );
 		$this->mDb = wfGetDB(
 			DB_REPLICA, [], $this->getConfig()->get( 'AbuseFilterCentralDB' ) );
 	}