NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · IllegalArgumentException

Invalid absolute file path:

Error message

Invalid absolute file path: 

What it means

Thrown by cleanupFilename() when the file-type database path, after trimming and backslash-to-slash conversion, is not an absolute path. The path must start with '/' (Unix absolute) or match the Windows drive-letter pattern (isWindowsFilePath), and must not end with a trailing '/'. Throws IllegalArgumentException.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Features/BSim/src/main/java/ghidra/features/bsim/query/BSimServerInfo.java:257

		}
		else if (pwdSep > 0 && (userinfo.length() - pwdSep) == 0) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid userinfo specified");
		}
		return userinfo;
	}

	private static String cleanupFilename(String name) {
		// transform dbName into acceptable H2 DB file path

		Matcher m = BAD_H2_CHARS_PATTERN.matcher(name);
		if (m.matches()) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Bad character in H2 database path. " +
				"Disallowed characters: " + BAD_H2_CHARS);
		}
		String dbName = name.trim();
		dbName = dbName.replace("\\", "/");
		if ((!dbName.startsWith("/") && !isWindowsFilePath(dbName)) || dbName.endsWith("/")) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid absolute file path: " + dbName);
		}
		if (!dbName.endsWith(H2_FILE_EXTENSION)) {
			dbName += H2_FILE_EXTENSION;
		}
		return dbName;
	}

	private static String checkURLField(String val, String name) {
		if (StringUtils.isEmpty(val)) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid " + name + " in URL");
		}
		return val.trim();
	}

	/**
	 * Determine if this server info corresponds to Windows OS file path.
	 * @return true if this server info corresponds to Windows OS file path.
	 */

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Provide an absolute path starting with '/' (Unix) or a drive letter (Windows), e.g. '/opt/bsim/data.mv.db'.
2. Remove any trailing slash from the path.
3. Resolve relative paths to absolute with java.nio.file.Path.toAbsolutePath() before constructing.

Example fix

// before (relative path)
new BSimServerInfo("data/bsim.mv.db");
// after (absolute path)
Path abs = Path.of("data/bsim.mv.db").toAbsolutePath();
new BSimServerInfo(abs.toString());

String p = dbName.trim().replace("\\", "/");
boolean isWinDrive = p.length() >= 2 && p.charAt(1) == ':';
if ((!p.startsWith("/") && !isWinDrive) || p.endsWith("/")) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("BSim file path must be absolute and not end with '/': " + p);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Constructing a file-type BSimServerInfo with a relative path like 'bsim.mv.db' or 'data/bsim.mv.db', or a path ending in '/', e.g. 'new BSimServerInfo("/opt/bsim/")'.

Common situations: Passing a relative working-directory path instead of an absolute one; trailing slash from directory join logic; Windows path not recognized as a drive path.

Related errors

• Remote file URL not supported: {}
• Bad character in H2 database path. Disallowed characters:
• host required
• Non-empty dbName required
• Invalid {} dbName: {}

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fa6527b786c7ff9b. Report an issue: GitHub.