NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · IllegalArgumentException

Expecting privilege option (admin or user)

Error message

Expecting privilege option (admin or user)

What it means

Thrown by scanPrivilege() when the privilege argument is present but is neither `admin` nor `user`. BSim maps exactly those two strings to the adminPrivilegeRequested flag; anything else is rejected.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Features/BSim/src/main/java/ghidra/features/bsim/query/BSimControlLaunchable.java:989

	/**
	 * Scan command-line for a particular privilege level. Administrator privileges are
	 * requested with the exact String "admin", anything is a request for a read-only user 
	 * @param params are the command-line arguments
	 * @param slot is the position to retrieve the user name argument
	 * @throws IllegalArgumentException the privilege parameter is missing
	 */
	private void scanPrivilege(String[] params, int slot) throws IllegalArgumentException {
		if (params.length <= slot) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Missing desired privilege (admin or user)");
		}
		if (params[slot].equals("admin")) {
			adminPrivilegeRequested = true;
		}
		else if (params[slot].equals("user")) {
			adminPrivilegeRequested = false;
		}
		else {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Expecting privilege option (admin or user)");
		}
	}

	/**
	 * Start a PostgreSQL server, configured for BSim, on the local host.
	 * If the data directory is already populated, the server process is simply restarted.
	 * If the data directory is empty, a new server configuration is established, and the server is started.
	 * Authentication may be necessary, either via password or certificate, in order to enable
	 * the BSim extension on the server
	 * 
	 * @throws IOException if postgres cannot be started 
	 * @throws InterruptedException if the process fails during the run
	 * @throws SAXException if the data directory cannot be initialized
	 * @throws GeneralSecurityException if the authentication fails
	 */
	private void startCommand()
			throws IOException, InterruptedException, SAXException, GeneralSecurityException {
		discoverPostgresInstall();

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Use exactly `admin` or `user` (lowercase).
2. Double-check spelling and case.
3. Consult usage help for the accepted literal values.

Example fix

// before
bsim_ctl changeprivilege alice administrator
// after
bsim_ctl changeprivilege alice admin

Set<String> allowed = Set.of("admin", "user");
if (!allowed.contains(args[privilegeSlot])) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException(
        "Privilege must be one of " + allowed + ", got: " + args[privilegeSlot]);
}

public boolean isValidPrivilege(String v) {
    return "admin".equals(v) || "user".equals(v);
}

try {
    bsimControl.exec(args);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    if ("Expecting privilege option (admin or user)".equals(e.getMessage())) {
        throw new UserFacingException("Use exactly 'admin' or 'user' (lowercase)", e);
    }
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing `bsim_ctl changeprivilege alice administrator`, `... readwrite`, `... true`, or any value other than `admin`/`user`.

Common situations: Using a synonym (administrator/superuser/readwrite); passing a boolean; case mismatch (Admin/USER); locale-specific word.

Related errors

• Missing desired privilege (admin or user)
• %s: unknown demangling style `%s'
• Missing data directory
• Data directory {} does not exist
• Missing username

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a36edc51979c67a1. Report an issue: GitHub.