NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · warning · FunctionComparisonException

Couldn't get local function {} at {}.

Error message

Couldn't get local function {} at {}.

What it means

BSimSearchResultsProvider.getOriginalFunction() looks up the local program's function at the match result's entry point address. If FunctionManager.getFunctionAt(originalEntryPoint) returns null it throws FunctionComparisonException. This means a BSim match result references a function entry point that no longer exists in the currently loaded local program.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Features/BSim/src/main/java/ghidra/features/bsim/gui/search/results/BSimSearchResultsProvider.java:521

			int rowCount = model.getRowCount();
			String text = title + "  - " + rowCount + " results";
			int nonFilteredSize = nonFilteredRowCount.getAsInt();
			if (nonFilteredSize != rowCount) {
				text += "   (Filtered from " + nonFilteredSize + " results)";
			}
			titleLabel.setText(text);
		});
		return panel;
	}

	private Function getOriginalFunction(BSimMatchResult resultRow)
			throws FunctionComparisonException {
		// Determine the original function (local program's function; left side)
		Address originalEntryPoint = resultRow.getAddress();
		FunctionManager originalFunctionManager = program.getFunctionManager();
		Function originalFunction = originalFunctionManager.getFunctionAt(originalEntryPoint);
		if (originalFunction == null) {
			throw new FunctionComparisonException("Couldn't get local function " +
				resultRow.getOriginalFunctionDescription().getFunctionName() + " at " +
				originalEntryPoint.toString() + ".");
		}
		return originalFunction;
	}

	private Function getMatchFunction(BSimMatchResult resultRow, Set<Program> opened)
			throws FunctionComparisonException {
		// Determine the match function (remote program's function; right side)
		Program matchProgram = getCachedRemoteProgram(resultRow.getExecutableURLString(), opened);
		if (matchProgram == null) {
			throw new FunctionComparisonException(
				"Couldn't open remote program: " + resultRow.getExecutableURLString() + " for " +
					resultRow.getSimilarFunctionName() + ".");
		}
		FunctionDescription matchFunctionDescription = resultRow.getMatchFunctionDescription();
		long matchOffset = matchFunctionDescription.getAddress();
		Address matchEntryPoint =

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Re-run the BSim search against the current program state so match results reflect existing function entry points.
2. Verify the program hasn't been modified (functions deleted/moved) since the BSim signatures were generated.
3. Clear the BSim search results cache and re-query if results appear stale.
4. Regenerate signatures for the current program and re-ingest into BSim.

// Verify the function still exists before opening comparison
FunctionManager fm = program.getFunctionManager();
for (BSimMatchResult row : results) {
    if (fm.getFunctionAt(row.getAddress()) == null) {
        // mark row as stale / remove from results
    }
}

try {
    getOriginalFunction(resultRow);
} catch (FunctionComparisonException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Couldn't get local function")) {
        // skip this match row — local function no longer exists
    } else {
        throw e;
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling getOriginalFunction(resultRow) during a BSim comparison action where program.getFunctionManager().getFunctionAt(resultRow.getAddress()) returns null. The entry point stored in the BSim match doesn't correspond to a function in the live program.

Common situations: The program was modified after the BSim search index was built (functions deleted, moved, or re-analyzed with different entry points); the program was re-analyzed changing function boundaries; the match result is stale (from a cached/old search); the program loaded for comparison is a different version than the one indexed.

Related errors

• Couldn't get remote function {} at {}.
• Couldn't open remote program: {} for {}.
• {getType()}scripts cannot be used for context [{context.name
• Unknown script name {scriptSource}
• Document is missing "features"

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5dc6f08371d69b3f. Report an issue: GitHub.