What causes "{database.getLastError().message}" in NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra?

Inspect db.getLastError().message for the specific underlying cause.

NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · LSHException

{database.getLastError().message}

Error message

{database.getLastError().message}

What it means

Thrown by ExecutableComparison.pullConnectionInfo when a QueryInfo execute() returns a null response, indicating the query failed. The actual failure message is retrieved from database.getLastError().message. This wraps any server-side or protocol-level QueryInfo failure into an LSHException.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Features/BSim/src/main/java/ghidra/features/bsim/query/client/ExecutableComparison.java:146

	 */
	public boolean isConfigured() {
		return (scorer.simThreshold > 0.0);
	}

	/**
	 * Make sure the database has an active connection. Query for basic
	 * information and inform the scorer of settings
	 * @return information from the database
	 * @throws LSHException if something is wrong with the connection
	 */
	private DatabaseInformation pullConnectionInfo() throws LSHException {
		if (!database.initialize()) {
			throw new LSHException("Unable to connect to server");
		}
		QueryInfo query = new QueryInfo();
		ResponseInfo response = query.execute(database);
		if (response == null) {
			throw new LSHException(database.getLastError().message);
		}
		vectorFactory = database.getLSHVectorFactory();
		return response.info;
	}

	/**
	 * Look up a full ExecutableRecord in the database given an md5
	 * @param md5 is the md5 String
	 * @return the corresponding ExecutableRecord
	 * @throws LSHException if there are problems accessing the database
	 *    or the executable doesn't exist
	 */
	private ExecutableRecord lookupExecutable(String md5) throws LSHException {
		QueryName query = new QueryName();
		query.spec = new ExeSpecifier();
		query.spec.exemd5 = md5;
		query.maxfunc = 1;
		query.fillinCallgraph = false;

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

Inspect db.getLastError().message for the specific underlying cause.
Verify client/server BSim protocol versions are compatible.
Recreate or repair the BSim database if metadata is corrupted.
Retry after resolving the reported server-side error.

Example fix

// before
DatabaseInformation info = cmp.pullConnectionInfo(); // opaque failure
// after (wrap to expose detail)
QueryInfo q = new QueryInfo();
ResponseInfo r = q.execute(database);
if (r == null) {
    throw new RuntimeException("QueryInfo failed: " + database.getLastError().message);
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Try / catch

catch (LSHException e) { String msg = e.getMessage(); log.error("QueryInfo failed: {}", msg); /* msg == db.getLastError().message; diagnose and surface to user */ }

Prevention

Log db.getLastError() after any null query response to capture the root cause.
Ensure client and server BSim versions match to avoid protocol errors.
Validate database integrity with QueryInfo during health checks.

When it happens

Trigger: database.initialize() succeeds but the subsequent QueryInfo (basic database metadata query) fails and returns null — e.g., protocol error, server-side exception, authentication succeeds but query permission fails, or the server returns a malformed response.

Common situations: Connected to a partially-initialized or corrupted BSim database; version mismatch between client and server; permission issues on the database; transient server error during the initial metadata fetch.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/779843d88c8298c3. Report an issue: GitHub.