apache/hadoop · error · UnsupportedOperationException

{} doesn't support getAclStatus

Error message

{} doesn't support getAclStatus

What it means

getAclStatus is the read side of the ACL API and, like the writers, has no base implementation: AbstractFileSystem throws UnsupportedOperationException with the filesystem's simple class name unless the AFS implements ACLs. Reading works only on HDFS (dfs.namenode.acls.enabled=true) and POSIX-ACL local filesystems; 'hadoop fs -getfacl' and FileContext.getAclStatus fail identically elsewhere.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/AbstractFileSystem.java:1342

   * @param aclSpec List{@literal <AclEntry>} describing modifications, must
   * include entries for user, group, and others for compatibility with
   * permission bits.
   * @throws IOException if an ACL could not be modified
   */
  public void setAcl(Path path, List<AclEntry> aclSpec) throws IOException {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException(getClass().getSimpleName()
        + " doesn't support setAcl");
  }

  /**
   * Gets the ACLs of files and directories.
   *
   * @param path Path to get
   * @return RemoteIterator{@literal <AclStatus>} which returns each AclStatus
   * @throws IOException if an ACL could not be read
   */
  public AclStatus getAclStatus(Path path) throws IOException {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException(getClass().getSimpleName()
        + " doesn't support getAclStatus");
  }

  /**
   * Set an xattr of a file or directory.
   * The name must be prefixed with the namespace followed by ".". For example,
   * "user.attr".
   * <p>
   * Refer to the HDFS extended attributes user documentation for details.
   *
   * @param path Path to modify
   * @param name xattr name.
   * @param value xattr value.
   * @throws IOException raised on errors performing I/O.
   */
  public void setXAttr(Path path, String name, byte[] value)
      throws IOException {
    setXAttr(path, name, value, EnumSet.of(XAttrSetFlag.CREATE,

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Probe fc.hasPathCapability(path, CommonPathCapabilities.FS_ACLS) before reading and treat ACLs as absent when false
2. Degrade to fc.getFileStatus(path).getPermission() (the 16-bit mode) for display or audit purposes
3. On HDFS confirm dfs.namenode.acls.enabled=true so the read path is available

Example fix

// before
AclStatus acls = fc.getAclStatus(path); // -> UnsupportedOperationException

// after
if (fc.hasPathCapability(path, CommonPathCapabilities.FS_ACLS)) {
  AclStatus acls = fc.getAclStatus(path);
} else {
  FsPermission p = fc.getFileStatus(path).getPermission(); // mode bits only
}

if (fc.hasPathCapability(path, CommonPathCapabilities.FS_ACLS)) {
  AclStatus acls = fc.getAclStatus(path);
}

boolean aclCapable(Path p) throws IOException {
  return fc.hasPathCapability(p, CommonPathCapabilities.FS_ACLS);
}

try { return fc.getAclStatus(path).getEntries(); } catch (UnsupportedOperationException e) { return aclFromMode(fc.getFileStatus(path).getPermission()); }

When it happens

Trigger: fc.getAclStatus(path) on an object store, ftp, or http filesystem; getfacl commands run against a defaultFS without ACL support; audit tools that enumerate ACLs across all stores in a data lake.

Common situations: Security audit/scanner tooling iterating mixed-protocol filesystems; report generators ported from HDFS-only environments; tests on LocalFs where the kernel filesystem has no ACLs enabled.

Related errors

• {getClass().getSimpleName()} doesn't support modifyAclEntrie
• {getClass().getSimpleName()} doesn't support removeAclEntrie
• {getClass().getSimpleName()} doesn't support removeDefaultAc
• {} doesn't support removeAcl
• {} doesn't support setAcl

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b0a84a4fe8216441. Report an issue: GitHub.