RTFM: "Returns a complete result information in a multi-dimensional array on success and FALSE on error. "

Your query most likely has an error, try check it with ldap_error()

This behavior changed in 5.2.9, apparently due to the change associated 
with http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=48469

I confirm (and as stated in my description) that ldap-get-entries return NULL when there is no entries corresponding to the request filter even when there is no error. No error. And I too think that the new behavior comes from the change described at http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=48469.

I'd be quite surprised if this func returned null in PHP 5.2.11 since there's only code to return FALSE. var_dump($info); to see what it is.

Here is a transcript of an interactive PHP session (real user, server, password modified).

server:~ johndoe$ php -v
PHP 5.2.11 (cli) (built: Sep 28 2009 16:48:57) 
Copyright (c) 1997-2009 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v2.2.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2009 Zend Technologies
server:~ johndoe$ php -a
Interactive mode enabled

<?php
$ldap_host="ldap.example.com";
$ldap_root="ou=people,dc=example,dc=com";
$ldap_dn="cn=admin,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com";
$ldap_password="fak3pwd";
$attribute_list = array("uid");
$connection = ldap_connect($ldap_host);
printf("ldap_connect error:%s\n", ldap_errno($connection));
$link = @ldap_bind($connection, $ldap_dn, $ldap_password);
printf("ldap_bind error:%s\n", ldap_errno($connection));
$search="(uid=bad_uid)";
$search_result = ldap_search($connection, $ldap_root, $search,
$attribute_list);
printf("ldap_search error:%s\n", ldap_errno($connection));
$info = ldap_get_entries($connection, $search_result);
printf("ldap_get_entries error:%s\n", ldap_errno($connection));
printf("var_dump($info): ");
var_dump($info);
?>
ldap_connect error:0
ldap_bind error:0
ldap_search error:0
ldap_get_entries error:0
var_dump(): NULL