NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · IsfErrorException

EC_BAD_REQUEST

EC_BAD_REQUEST

Error message

Unrecognized request: {}

What it means

IsfErrorException (a RuntimeException) with error code Isf.ErrorCode.EC_BAD_REQUEST thrown by IsfClientHandler when a dispatched message's case (msg.getMsgCase()) matches none of the handled cases (PING, FULL_EXPORT, LOOK_TYPE/SYMBOL/ADDRESS, ENUM_TYPES/SYMBOLS). The default branch formats the unhandled case into the message. It signals an unrecognized or unset protobuf message case.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Debug/Debugger-isf/src/main/java/ghidra/dbg/isf/IsfClientHandler.java:94

	protected RootMessage processMessage(Isf.RootMessage msg) throws IOException {
		switch (msg.getMsgCase()) {
			case PING_REQUEST:
				return processPing(msg.getSequence(), msg.getPingRequest());
			case FULL_EXPORT_REQUEST:
				return processFullExport(msg.getSequence(), msg.getFullExportRequest());
			case LOOK_TYPE_REQUEST:
				return processLookType(msg.getSequence(), msg.getLookTypeRequest());
			case LOOK_SYMBOL_REQUEST:
				return processLookSym(msg.getSequence(), msg.getLookSymbolRequest());
			case LOOK_ADDRESS_REQUEST:
				return processLookAddr(msg.getSequence(), msg.getLookAddressRequest());
			case ENUM_TYPES_REQUEST:
				return processEnumTypes(msg.getSequence(), msg.getEnumTypesRequest());
			case ENUM_SYMBOLS_REQUEST:
				return processEnumSyms(msg.getSequence(), msg.getEnumSymbolsRequest());
			default:
				throw new IsfErrorException(Isf.ErrorCode.EC_BAD_REQUEST,
					"Unrecognized request: " + msg.getMsgCase());
		}
	}

	protected RootMessage processPing(int seqno, Isf.PingRequest req) {
		return Isf.RootMessage.newBuilder()
				.setSequence(seqno)
				.setPingReply(Isf.PingReply.newBuilder().setContent(req.getContent()))
				.build();
	}

	protected RootMessage processFullExport(int seqno, Isf.FullExportRequest req)
			throws IOException {
		String data = fullExport(req.getNs());
		return Isf.RootMessage.newBuilder()
				.setSequence(seqno)
				.setFullExportReply(Isf.FullExportReply.newBuilder()
						.setValue(data))

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Align the client and server to the same ISF protobuf schema version so every sent case is handled by the server switch.
2. Ensure the request oneof is actually set on outgoing RootMessages (avoid dispatching NOT_SET).
3. Catch IsfErrorException and inspect getErrorCode()/message to map EC_BAD_REQUEST to a client-side retry or schema upgrade.
4. If adding a new request type, add its case to the server dispatch switch before shipping clients that emit it.

Example fix

// before
RootMessage msg = RootMessage.newBuilder().setSequence(seq).build(); // no request set
client.send(msg);

// after
RootMessage msg = RootMessage.newBuilder()
    .setSequence(seq)
    .setPingRequest(Isf.PingRequest.newBuilder().setContent("hi"))
    .build();
client.send(msg);

Isf.RootMessage.MsgCase c = msg.getMsgCase();
if (c == Isf.RootMessage.MsgCase.NOT_SET || !HANDLED_CASES.contains(c)) {
    // do not dispatch; reject at the client before sending
}

try {
    handler.dispatch(msg);
} catch (IsfErrorException e) {
    if (e.getErrorCode() == Isf.ErrorCode.EC_BAD_REQUEST) {
        // unrecognized case; check client/server schema version alignment
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: An ISF client sends a RootMessage whose msgCase is not one of the handled request types, or whose request oneof field is not set (getMsgCase returns NOT_SET or an unknown enum value after a version skew). The switch in dispatch hits default.

Common situations: Client and server built from different versions of the ISF protobuf schema (client sends a newer request type the server does not know); a malformed/empty RootMessage with no request set; a client bug sending the wrong message type for the operation.

Related errors

• File does not correspond to Program content: {}
• Null datatype passed to getIsfObject
• Bad address format: {}
• Unsupported value: {}
• Invalid value for {}

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/25c79ea2f972f0b0. Report an issue: GitHub.