NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · LSHException

Could not change metadata: {}

Error message

Could not change metadata: {}

What it means

Thrown in installMetadata when ResponseInfo resp is null after InstallMetadataRequest.execute(querydb). The server rejected the metadata change and BulkSignatures wraps its BSimError as 'Could not change metadata: <message>' (LSHException).

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Features/BSim/src/main/java/ghidra/features/bsim/query/ingest/BulkSignatures.java:774

	 * @param name the database name
	 * @param owner the database owner
	 * @param description the database description
	 * @throws IOException if there's an error establishing the database connection
	 * @throws LSHException if there's an error issuing the query
	 */
	protected void installMetadata(String name, String owner, String description)
			throws IOException, LSHException {

		DatabaseInformation info = establishQueryServerConnection(false);

		InstallMetadataRequest req = new InstallMetadataRequest();
		req.dbname = name;
		req.owner = owner;
		req.description = description;
		ResponseInfo resp = req.execute(querydb);
		if (resp == null) {
			BSimError lastError = querydb.getLastError();
			throw new LSHException("Could not change metadata: " + lastError.message);
		}
		info = resp.info;
		Msg.info(this, "Updated BSim metadata: ");
		Msg.info(this, "   Database:     " + info.databasename);
		Msg.info(this, "   Owner:        " + info.owner);
		Msg.info(this, "   Description:  " + info.description);
	}

	/**
	 * Prints the metadata.
	 * 
	 * @throws IOException if there's an error establishing the database connection
	 */
	public void printMetadata() throws IOException {
		DatabaseInformation info = establishQueryServerConnection(false);
		Msg.info(this, "BSim metadata: ");
		Msg.info(this, "   Database:     " + info.databasename);
		Msg.info(this, "   Owner:        " + info.owner);

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Read the message for the exact server reason.
2. Use a unique database name and acceptable owner string.
3. Ensure the user has admin/metadata privileges.
4. Retry on transient failures.

Example fix

// before
bsim.installMetadata("existing-name", owner, desc);  // conflict -> LSHException

// after
// use a unique name or keep the existing one
bsim.installMetadata("new-unique-name", owner, desc);

// choose a unique database name and acceptable owner before installing metadata

try {
    bsim.installMetadata(name, owner, desc);
} catch (LSHException e) {
    // message: "Could not change metadata: <server>"; adjust name/owner per the message
}

When it happens

Trigger: Changing database name/owner/description on a server that rejects it: invalid characters, conflicting name, insufficient privileges, or a backend error.

Common situations: Renaming to a name that already exists; owner value rejected; privileges; transient failure.

Related errors

• Duplicate md5 hash, different metadata
• Overwriting existing executable id
• LSHException fatal error
• Could not perform delete: {}
• Could not drop index: {}

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a22c80a8b6c98da8. Report an issue: GitHub.