diff --git a/pkg/github/issues.go b/pkg/github/issues.go
index 46111a4d6..ec83e4efa 100644
--- a/pkg/github/issues.go
+++ b/pkg/github/issues.go
@@ -1381,11 +1381,14 @@ func ListIssues(getGQLClient GetGQLClientFn, t translations.TranslationHelperFun
 				return utils.NewToolResultError(err.Error()), nil, nil
 			}
 
-			// If the state has a value, cast into an array of strings
+			// Normalize and filter by state
+			state = strings.ToUpper(state)
 			var states []githubv4.IssueState
-			if state != "" {
-				states = append(states, githubv4.IssueState(state))
-			} else {
+
+			switch state {
+			case "OPEN", "CLOSED":
+				states = []githubv4.IssueState{githubv4.IssueState(state)}
+			default:
 				states = []githubv4.IssueState{githubv4.IssueStateOpen, githubv4.IssueStateClosed}
 			}
 
@@ -1405,13 +1408,21 @@ func ListIssues(getGQLClient GetGQLClientFn, t translations.TranslationHelperFun
 				return utils.NewToolResultError(err.Error()), nil, nil
 			}
 
-			// These variables are required for the GraphQL query to be set by default
-			// If orderBy is empty, default to CREATED_AT
-			if orderBy == "" {
+			// Normalize and validate orderBy
+			orderBy = strings.ToUpper(orderBy)
+			switch orderBy {
+			case "CREATED_AT", "UPDATED_AT", "COMMENTS":
+				// Valid, keep as is
+			default:
 				orderBy = "CREATED_AT"
 			}
-			// If direction is empty, default to DESC
-			if direction == "" {
+
+			// Normalize and validate direction
+			direction = strings.ToUpper(direction)
+			switch direction {
+			case "ASC", "DESC":
+				// Valid, keep as is
+			default:
 				direction = "DESC"
 			}
 
diff --git a/pkg/github/issues_test.go b/pkg/github/issues_test.go
index 48901ccdc..c4454624b 100644
--- a/pkg/github/issues_test.go
+++ b/pkg/github/issues_test.go
@@ -1183,6 +1183,16 @@ func Test_ListIssues(t *testing.T) {
 			expectError:   false,
 			expectedCount: 2,
 		},
+		{
+			name: "filter by open state - lc",
+			reqParams: map[string]interface{}{
+				"owner": "owner",
+				"repo":  "repo",
+				"state": "open",
+			},
+			expectError:   false,
+			expectedCount: 2,
+		},
 		{
 			name: "filter by closed state",
 			reqParams: map[string]interface{}{
@@ -1229,6 +1239,9 @@ func Test_ListIssues(t *testing.T) {
 			case "filter by open state":
 				matcher := githubv4mock.NewQueryMatcher(qBasicNoLabels, varsOpenOnly, mockResponseOpenOnly)
 				httpClient = githubv4mock.NewMockedHTTPClient(matcher)
+			case "filter by open state - lc":
+				matcher := githubv4mock.NewQueryMatcher(qBasicNoLabels, varsOpenOnly, mockResponseOpenOnly)
+				httpClient = githubv4mock.NewMockedHTTPClient(matcher)
 			case "filter by closed state":
 				matcher := githubv4mock.NewQueryMatcher(qBasicNoLabels, varsClosedOnly, mockResponseClosedOnly)
 				httpClient = githubv4mock.NewMockedHTTPClient(matcher)