apache/cassandra · error · ConfigurationException

Cannot access method create in %s

Error message

Cannot access method create in %s

What it means

Method.invoke on the compressor's create(Map) threw IllegalAccessException: the method exists but is not accessible from DefaultCompressionProvider (e.g. it is non-public, or its declaring class is not accessible). This is wrapped as a ConfigurationException naming the class whose create method could not be accessed.

Source

Thrown at src/java/org/apache/cassandra/io/compress/DefaultCompressionProvider.java:84

            Method method = compressorClass.getMethod("create", Map.class);
            ICompressor compressor = (ICompressor)method.invoke(null, compressionOptions);
            // Check for unknown options
            for (String provided : compressionOptions.keySet())
                if (!compressor.supportedOptions().contains(provided))
                    throw new ConfigurationException("Unknown compression options " + provided);
            return compressor;
        }
        catch (NoSuchMethodException e)
        {
            throw new ConfigurationException("create method not found", e);
        }
        catch (SecurityException e)
        {
            throw new ConfigurationException("Access forbidden", e);
        }
        catch (IllegalAccessException e)
        {
            throw new ConfigurationException("Cannot access method create in " + compressorClass.getName(), e);
        }
        catch (InvocationTargetException e)
        {
            if (e.getTargetException() instanceof ConfigurationException)
                throw (ConfigurationException) e.getTargetException();

            Throwable cause = e.getCause() == null
                            ? e
                            : e.getCause();

            throw new ConfigurationException(format("%s.create() threw an error: %s %s",
                                                    compressorClass.getSimpleName(),
                                                    cause.getClass().getName(),
                                                    cause.getMessage()),
                                             e);
        }
        catch (ExceptionInInitializerError e)
        {

View on GitHub (pinned to 88fd0f6a0e)

Solutions

  1. Make the create(Map) method (and its declaring class) public static.
  2. Call method.setAccessible(true) in a custom provider if you control the code path and policy permits it.
  3. Move the compressor class to a public top-level class in its own file or an exported package.

Example fix

// before
class MyCompressor implements ICompressor { static MyCompressor create(Map<String,String> o) {...} }
// after
public class MyCompressor implements ICompressor { public static ICompressor create(Map<String,String> o) {...} }
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

Method m;
try { m = compressorClass.getMethod("create", Map.class); }
catch (NoSuchMethodException e) { throw new IllegalStateException("no create"); }
if (!Modifier.isPublic(m.getModifiers()) || !Modifier.isPublic(compressorClass.getModifiers()))
    throw new IllegalStateException("create and its declaring class must be public");

Type guard

boolean isPubliclyAccessible(Class<?> c) {
    try { return Modifier.isPublic(c.getMethod("create", Map.class).getModifiers()) && Modifier.isPublic(c.getModifiers()); }
    catch (NoSuchMethodException e) { return false; }
}

Try / catch

try {
    registry.getCompressor(cls, opts);
} catch (ConfigurationException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Cannot access method create")) log.error("Make {}.create(Map) public", cls);
    throw e;
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: createCompressor() targeting a class whose create(Map) method is package-private/protected/private, or whose declaring class is non-public so even a public method is unreachable reflectively without setAccessible.

Common situations: Custom compressor implementations with non-public factory methods; nesting a compressor class inside another class without making it public; obfuscated/minified builds that strip public modifiers; package-private compressor classes in third-party jars.

Understand the failure class

Background: Permission denied / not authorized / 403 Forbidden: access-control rejections when the caller lacks the required role, grant, or ownership — this error's family across 18 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of apache/cassandra@88fd0f6a0e (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e30253ec9a80ed77. Report an issue: GitHub.