Adicionando --posix
funciona em 3.1
echo ";#ADCDE#" | gawk --posix '/#.{5}#$/'
Eu tenho
awk --version
GNU Awk 3.1.6
...
Da minha man awk
página
r{n}
r{n,}
r{n,m} One or two numbers inside braces denote an interval expres‐
sion. If there is one number in the braces, the preceding
regular expression r is repeated n times. If there are two
numbers separated by a comma, r is repeated n to m times.
If there is one number followed by a comma, then r is
repeated at least n times.
Interval expressions are only available if either --posix or
--re-interval is specified on the command line.