NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · IllegalArgumentException

Invalid {} dbName: {}

Error message

Invalid {} dbName: {}

What it means

Thrown by the multi-argument BSimServerInfo constructor when dbType is postgres or elastic and the dbName contains a forward slash ('/') or backslash ('\'). Network database names must be simple identifiers with no path separators; a separator usually indicates the caller mistakenly passed a file path. Throws IllegalArgumentException.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Features/BSim/src/main/java/ghidra/features/bsim/query/BSimServerInfo.java:100

		if ((dbType == DBType.postgres || dbType == DBType.elastic) && StringUtils.isEmpty(host)) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("host required");
		}

		dbName = dbName.trim();
		if (StringUtils.isEmpty(dbName)) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Non-empty dbName required");
		}

		if (dbType == DBType.file) {
			host = null;
			port = -1;
			userinfo = null;
			dbName = cleanupFilename(dbName);
		}
		else {
			if (dbName.contains("/") || dbName.contains("\\")) { // may want additional validation
				throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid " + dbType + " dbName: " + dbName);
			}
			userinfo = cleanupUserInfo(userinfo);
			if (port <= 0) {
				port = -1;
			}
			if (dbType == DBType.postgres && port <= 0) {
				port = DEFAULT_POSTGRES_PORT;
			}
			if (dbType == DBType.elastic && port <= 0) {
				port = DEFAULT_ELASTIC_PORT;
			}
		}

		this.userinfo = userinfo;
		this.host = host;
		this.port = port;
		this.dbName = dbName;
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Pass a simple database name (no slashes) for postgres/elastic types.
2. If the value is actually a file path, use DBType.file instead.
3. Strip or reject path separators from user-supplied dbName input before construction.

Example fix

// before
new BSimServerInfo(DBType.postgres, null, "host", 5432, "/var/bsim/data");
// after (simple name for postgres)
new BSimServerInfo(DBType.postgres, null, "host", 5432, "bsimdb");

if ((type == BSimServerInfo.DBType.postgres || type == BSimServerInfo.DBType.elastic) && (dbName.contains("/") || dbName.contains("\\"))) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("postgres/elastic dbName must not contain path separators: " + dbName);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a file-path-style dbName such as '/var/bsim/data' or 'C:\bsim' to the postgres/elastic constructor.

Common situations: Reusing a file-system path as the dbName for a network DB; copy-pasting a datadir path into the dbName field; incorrect DBType chosen (file path passed to a postgres descriptor).

Related errors

• host required
• Non-empty dbName required
• Remote file URL not supported: {}
• Unsupported BSim URL protocol: {}
• Missing dbName in URL: {}

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/01acd1e90f75bfaf. Report an issue: GitHub.