NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · RuntimeError

Cannot convert '{address}' to address

Error message

Cannot convert '{address}' to address

What it means

Raised by eval_address (commands.py:462-463) as the user-facing RuntimeError wrapping every failure inside the try block: parse_and_eval throwing, returning a non-int (the inner ValueError from [286]), or any other Exception. It is the catch-all 'address could not be converted' message that callers actually see.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Debug/Debugger-agent-x64dbg/src/main/py/src/ghidraxdbg/commands.py:463

            if isinstance(count, Future):
                count.add_done_callback(lambda c: print(f"Wrote {c} bytes"))
            else:
                print(f"Wrote {count} bytes")
        if isinstance(count, Future):
            return {'count': -1}
        else:
            return {'count': count}
    return {'count': 0}


def eval_address(address: Union[str, int]) -> int:
    try:
        result = util.parse_and_eval(address)
        if isinstance(result, int):
            return result
        raise ValueError(f"Value '{address}' does not evaluate to an int")
    except Exception:
        raise RuntimeError(f"Cannot convert '{address}' to address")


def eval_range(address: Union[str, int],
               length: Union[str, int]) -> Tuple[int, int]:
    start = eval_address(address)
    try:
        l = util.parse_and_eval(length)
    except Exception as e:
        raise RuntimeError(f"Cannot convert '{length}' to length")
    if not isinstance(l, int):
        raise ValueError(f"Value '{address}' does not evaluate to an int")
    end = start + l
    return start, end


def putmem(address: Union[str, int], length: Union[str, int],
           pages: bool = True, display_result: bool = True) -> Dict[str, int]:
    start, end = eval_range(address, length)

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Verify the address expression resolves before using it: test util.parse_and_eval(address) interactively.
2. Pass a literal hex/integer address when symbols are unavailable.
3. Ensure the target process/module is loaded so symbol resolution succeeds.
4. Catch RuntimeError around eval_address and report the bad input to the user.

Example fix

// before
putmem('UndefinedSymbol', 0x10)  # -> Cannot convert 'UndefinedSymbol' to address

// after
putmem('main', 0x10)  # resolved symbol, or
putmem(0x00401000, 0x10)  # literal address

def try_eval_address(address):
    try:
        r = util.parse_and_eval(address)
    except Exception:
        return int(address, 16) if isinstance(address, str) else int(address)
    return r if isinstance(r, int) else int(address, 0)

def is_evaluatable_address(address) -> bool:
    try:
        return isinstance(util.parse_and_eval(address), int)
    except Exception:
        return isinstance(address, int) or (
            isinstance(address, str) and address.strip().startswith(('0x', '0X'))
        )

try:
    putmem(address, length)
except RuntimeError as e:
    if 'Cannot convert' in str(e) and 'to address' in str(e):
        log.warning('bad address %r; skipping', address)
    else:
        raise

When it happens

Trigger: Calling eval_address (directly or via putmem/delmem/putmem_state/ghidra_trace_putmem etc.) with an address expression that parse_and_eval cannot resolve to an integer: an undefined symbol, malformed expression, or a value of the wrong type.

Common situations: Typos in symbol names; querying an address before the module/symbols are loaded; passing an expression syntax the evaluator does not understand; a debugger not in a state where evaluation is possible.

Related errors

• Value '{address}' does not evaluate to an int
• Cannot convert '{length}' to length
• Transaction already started
• 'ghidra_trace_connect': missing required argument 'address'
• address must be in the form 'host:port'

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3830ec265dc34426. Report an issue: GitHub.