diff --git a/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer.cc b/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer.cc
index 2f11e5f889..258c0e9bec 100644
--- a/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer.cc
+++ b/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer.cc
@@ -1913,6 +1913,29 @@ bool MessageDifferencer::MatchRepeatedFieldIndices(
 
   match_list1->assign(count1, -1);
   match_list2->assign(count2, -1);
+
+  // In the special case where both repeated fields have exactly one element,
+  // return without calling the comparator.  This optimization prevents the
+  // pathological case of deeply nested repeated fields of size 1 from taking
+  // exponential-time to compare.
+  //
+  // In the case where reporter_ is set, we need to do the compare here to
+  // properly distinguish a modify from an add+delete.  The code below will not
+  // pass the reporter along in recursive calls to nested repeated fields, so
+  // the inner call will have the opportunity to perform this optimization and
+  // avoid exponential-time behavior.
+  //
+  // In the case where key_comparator is set, we need to do the compare here to
+  // fulfill the interface contract that keys will be compared even if the user
+  // asked to ignore that field.  The code will only compare the key fields
+  // which (hopefully) do not contain further repeated fields.
+  if (count1 == 1 && count2 == 1 && reporter_ == nullptr &&
+      key_comparator == nullptr) {
+    match_list1->at(0) = 0;
+    match_list2->at(0) = 0;
+    return true;
+  }
+
   // Ensure that we don't report differences during the matching process. Since
   // field comparators could potentially use this message differencer object to
   // perform further comparisons, turn off reporting here and re-enable it
diff --git a/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer_unittest.cc b/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer_unittest.cc
index a77f819518..8807d1dfe0 100644
--- a/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer_unittest.cc
+++ b/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer_unittest.cc
@@ -1912,6 +1912,91 @@ TEST(MessageDifferencerTest, RepeatedFieldSetTest_Combination) {
   EXPECT_TRUE(differencer2.Compare(msg1, msg2));
 }
 
+// This class is a comparator that uses the default comparator, but counts how
+// many times it was called.
+class CountingComparator : public util::SimpleFieldComparator {
+ public:
+  ComparisonResult Compare(const Message& message_1, const Message& message_2,
+                           const FieldDescriptor* field, int index_1,
+                           int index_2,
+                           const util::FieldContext* field_context) override {
+    ++compare_count_;
+    return SimpleCompare(message_1, message_2, field, index_1, index_2,
+                         field_context);
+  }
+
+  int compare_count() const { return compare_count_; }
+
+ private:
+  int compare_count_ = 0;
+};
+
+TEST(MessageDifferencerTest, RepeatedFieldSet_RecursivePerformance) {
+  constexpr int kDepth = 20;
+
+  protobuf_unittest::TestField left;
+  protobuf_unittest::TestField* p = &left;
+  for (int i = 0; i < kDepth; ++i) {
+    p = p->add_rm();
+  }
+
+  protobuf_unittest::TestField right = left;
+  util::MessageDifferencer differencer;
+  differencer.set_repeated_field_comparison(
+      util::MessageDifferencer::RepeatedFieldComparison::AS_SET);
+  CountingComparator comparator;
+  differencer.set_field_comparator(&comparator);
+  std::string report;
+  differencer.ReportDifferencesToString(&report);
+  differencer.Compare(left, right);
+
+  EXPECT_LE(comparator.compare_count(), kDepth * kDepth);
+}
+
+TEST(MessageDifferencerTest, RepeatedFieldSmartSet_RecursivePerformance) {
+  constexpr int kDepth = 20;
+
+  protobuf_unittest::TestField left;
+  protobuf_unittest::TestField* p = &left;
+  for (int i = 0; i < kDepth; ++i) {
+    p = p->add_rm();
+  }
+
+  protobuf_unittest::TestField right = left;
+  util::MessageDifferencer differencer;
+  differencer.set_repeated_field_comparison(
+      util::MessageDifferencer::RepeatedFieldComparison::AS_SMART_SET);
+  CountingComparator comparator;
+  differencer.set_field_comparator(&comparator);
+  std::string report;
+  differencer.ReportDifferencesToString(&report);
+  differencer.Compare(left, right);
+
+  EXPECT_LE(comparator.compare_count(), kDepth * kDepth);
+}
+
+TEST(MessageDifferencerTest, RepeatedFieldSmartList_RecursivePerformance) {
+  constexpr int kDepth = 20;
+
+  protobuf_unittest::TestField left;
+  protobuf_unittest::TestField* p = &left;
+  for (int i = 0; i < kDepth; ++i) {
+    p = p->add_rm();
+  }
+
+  protobuf_unittest::TestField right = left;
+  util::MessageDifferencer differencer;
+  differencer.set_repeated_field_comparison(
+      util::MessageDifferencer::RepeatedFieldComparison::AS_SMART_LIST);
+  CountingComparator comparator;
+  differencer.set_field_comparator(&comparator);
+  std::string report;
+  differencer.ReportDifferencesToString(&report);
+  differencer.Compare(left, right);
+
+  EXPECT_LE(comparator.compare_count(), kDepth * kDepth);
+}
+
 TEST(MessageDifferencerTest, RepeatedFieldMapTest_Partial) {
   protobuf_unittest::TestDiffMessage msg1;
   // message msg1 {
diff --git a/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer_unittest.proto b/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer_unittest.proto
index 032f4b9b7f..702b3e3549 100644
--- a/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer_unittest.proto
+++ b/src/google/protobuf/util/message_differencer_unittest.proto
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ message TestField {
   optional int32 c = 1;
   repeated int32 rc = 2;
   optional TestField m = 5;
+  repeated TestField rm = 6;
 
   extend TestDiffMessage {
     optional TestField tf = 100;