NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · IllegalArgumentException

Cannot find column '{}' for @DBAnnotatedColumn on {}

Error message

Cannot find column '{}' for @DBAnnotatedColumn on {}

What it means

@DBAnnotatedColumn(value="x") must name a column that is also declared by a matching @DBAnnotatedField(column="x"). writeColumnNumbers builds a name->number map from the collected fields, then looks up the handle's declared name; a miss means the handle points at a column that was never registered in the schema, so IllegalArgumentException is thrown.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Debug/ProposedUtils/src/main/java/ghidra/util/database/DBCachedObjectStoreFactory.java:1186

					continue;
				}
				int mod = f.getModifiers();
				if (!Modifier.isStatic(mod)) {
					throw new IllegalArgumentException(
						"@" + DBAnnotatedColumn.class.getSimpleName() +
							" fields must be static. Got " + f);
				}
				if (f.getType() != DBObjectColumn.class) {
					throw new IllegalArgumentException(
						"@" + DBAnnotatedColumn.class.getSimpleName() + " fields must be " +
							DBObjectColumn.class.getSimpleName() + " type. Got " + f);
				}

				String name = annotation.value();

				Integer columnNumber = numbersByName.get(name);
				if (columnNumber == null) {
					throw new IllegalArgumentException("Cannot find column '" + name + "' for @" +
						DBAnnotatedColumn.class.getSimpleName() + " on " + f);
				}

				f.setAccessible(true);
				try {
					DBObjectColumn already = (DBObjectColumn) f.get(null);
					if (already == null) {
						f.set(null, DBObjectColumn.get(columnNumber.intValue()));
					}
					else if (already.columnNumber != columnNumber.intValue()) {
						throw new AssertionError();
					}
				}
				catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
					throw new AssertionError(e);
				}
			}
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Ensure a @DBAnnotatedField(column="x") exists whose column() exactly matches the @DBAnnotatedColumn("x") value (case-sensitive).
2. Grep the type for the column name to spot the typo/mismatch.
3. If migrating schema, verify @DBAnnotatedObjectInfo version and that the column layout still declares that name.

Example fix

// before
@DBAnnotatedColumn("fullname")
static DBObjectColumn NAME;
@DBAnnotatedField(column="name")
String name;
// after
@DBAnnotatedColumn("name")
static DBObjectColumn NAME;
@DBAnnotatedField(column="name")
String name;

// Collect column names from @DBAnnotatedField, then verify each @DBAnnotatedColumn name matches.
Set<String> valueCols = new HashSet<>();
for (Field f : objectType.getDeclaredFields()) {
    DBAnnotatedField a = f.getAnnotation(DBAnnotatedField.class);
    if (a != None) valueCols.add(a.column());
}
for (Field f : objectType.getDeclaredFields()) {
    DBAnnotatedColumn c = f.getAnnotation(DBAnnotatedColumn.class);
    if (c != None && !valueCols.contains(c.value())) {
        throw new IllegalStateException("@DBAnnotatedColumn references unknown column: " + c.value());
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: `numbersByName.get(annotation.value()) == None`. Happens when the @DBAnnotatedColumn value has no matching @DBAnnotatedField with the same column name - a typo, case mismatch, renamed column, or a handle for a column removed in the current schema version.

Common situations: Renaming a @DBAnnotatedField's column without updating the @DBAnnotatedColumn handle; renaming a constant; declaring a handle for a column that only exists in another schema version; case differences in the column name string.

Related errors

• DBAnnotatedObject {objectType} must have @DBAnnotatedObjectI
• @DBAnnotatedColumn fields must be static. Got {}
• The parameter '%s' of method '%s' refers to a non-existent s
• {}
• Column {} is not indexed

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c1f1296620edd7c2. Report an issue: GitHub.