apache/hadoop · error · HadoopIllegalArgumentException

Invalid permission in <aclSpec> :

Error message

Invalid permission in <aclSpec> : 

What it means

Error "Invalid permission in <aclSpec> : " thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/permission/AclEntry.java:311

    }

    if (split.length > index) {
      String name = split[index];
      if (!name.isEmpty()) {
        builder.setName(name);
      }
      index++;
    }

    if (includePermission) {
      if (split.length <= index) {
        throw new HadoopIllegalArgumentException("Invalid <aclSpec> : "
            + aclStr);
      }
      String permission = split[index];
      FsAction fsAction = FsAction.getFsAction(permission);
      if (null == fsAction) {
        throw new HadoopIllegalArgumentException(
            "Invalid permission in <aclSpec> : " + aclStr);
      }
      builder.setPermission(fsAction);
      index++;
    }

    if (split.length > index) {
      throw new HadoopIllegalArgumentException("Invalid <aclSpec> : " + aclStr);
    }
    AclEntry aclEntry = builder.build();
    return aclEntry;
  }

  /**
   * Convert a List of AclEntries into a string - the reverse of parseAclSpec.
   * @param aclSpec List of AclEntries to convert
   * @return String representation of aclSpec
   */

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Use a valid ACL permission in the <aclSpec>: some combination of r, w, x (e.g. 'rwx', 'r--').
2. Check the ACL spec format: [default:]type:name:permissions, and fix the permission field.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown when AclEntry.parseAclEntry encounters an ACL spec entry whose permission field is not a valid combination of r, w, x (e.g. 'user:foo:q' or a permission string with invalid characters).

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/dbed15dc5d75081f. Report an issue: GitHub.