apache/cassandra · error · IllegalArgumentException

ParamType id must be non-negative (got + id + )

Error message

ParamType id must be non-negative (got + id + )

What it means

ParamType.lookUpById() maps numeric message-parameter ids to ParamType enum constants. It throws IllegalArgumentException when given a negative id, since negative ids can never be valid; non-negative but unknown ids simply return null.

Solutions

1. Fix the sender or serializer so parameter ids written to the wire are valid non-negative ParamType ids
2. Validate the id (or cap it against idToTypeMap.length) before calling lookUpById and handle null/negative gracefully
3. Ensure all nodes run compatible Cassandra versions so message param encoding matches

Example fix

// before
ParamType type = ParamType.lookUpById(rawId);
// after
if (rawId < 0 || rawId >= ParamType.COUNT) { /* skip param or fail frame */ }
ParamType type = ParamType.lookUpById(rawId);

if (rawId < 0 || rawId > MAX_PARAM_TYPE_ID) { /* skip param / fail frame */ }

boolean isValidParamTypeId(int id) { return id >= 0 && id < ParamType.COUNT; }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling ParamType.lookUpById(id) with a negative int, e.g. when deserializing a malformed or corrupted frame header whose parameter id field decoded to a negative value.

Common situations: Corrupted or malicious inter-node network traffic during deserialization; wire-format/version mismatches causing a wrong byte to be read as the param id; buggy custom serializers.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Must be a positive integer", "Invalid value", "Unsupported": the invalid-argument-value error family, when a library rejects the value you pass — this error's family across 35 libraries.

Related errors

• Invalid IP address ( . . . ) while deserializing inet…
• Invalid IP address while deserializing inet address
• Unsupported type: + type
• Addresses differ: !=
• Already released

AI-assisted analysis of apache/cassandra@88fd0f6a0e (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/502caacd871910af. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/java/org/apache/cassandra/net/ParamType.java:104

        ParamType[] idMap = new ParamType[max + 1];

        for (ParamType type : types)
        {
            if (idMap[type.id] != null)
                throw new RuntimeException("Two ParamType-s that map to the same id: " + type.id);
            idMap[type.id] = type;

        }

        idToTypeMap = idMap;
    }

    @Nullable
    static ParamType lookUpById(int id)
    {
        if (id < 0)
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("ParamType id must be non-negative (got " + id + ')');

        return id < idToTypeMap.length ? idToTypeMap[id] : null;
    }

}

View on GitHub (pinned to 88fd0f6a0e)