date: escape control characters in invalid date messages like GNU - #14868

Node.js 20 is deprecated. The following actions target Node.js 20 but are being forced to run on Node.js 24: vmactions/freebsd-vm@v1.3.9. For more information see: https://github.blog/changelog/2025-09-19-deprecation-of-node-20-on-github-actions-runners/