The bug
Apparently fireballs have a "too big" hitbox.
How to reproduce
/summon fireball ~ ~ ~ {direction:[0.0,0.0,0.0]}
Move above the fireball
Press
F3+b
to show the hitboxesHit next to the fireball outside of the hitbox
→ The fireball still gets punched
Another bug is that it renders incorrectly. When you are above, it is rotated but not shifted (see screenshot). The red point shows the position where it should actually get rendered.
Related issues
relates to
Attachments
Comments


Is this still an issue in the most recent versions (i.e. 1.10.2, or 16w42a) of Minecraft?

Yes.

Would fixing this bring back MC-3367?

Maybe partwise but the larger hitboxes existed while the report you mentioned had not been fixed, so I assume there was a different problem as well.

Confirmed for 1.13.1.
Can confirm in 20w51a.
Can confirm in 21w03a.
Can confirm in 21w05a.
Can confirm in 21w06a.
Can confirm in 21w07a. Video attached.
Can confirm in 1.16.5 and 21w10a.
Can confirm in 21w11a.
Can confirm in 21w15a.
Can confirm in 1.17.
Can confirm in 1.17.1.
Can confirm in 1.18.1.
Can confirm in 1.18.2.
Can confirm in 1.19 and 22w24a.
Can confirm in 1.19.2.
The rendering issue is a dupe of MC-158734 Thrown projectile sprites are not centered correctly - Jira (mojang.com)