apache/hadoop · error · org.apache.hadoop.hdfs.util.XMLUtils.InvalidXmlException

Invalid value for FsAction

Error message

Invalid value for FsAction

What it means

fsActionFromXml() maps the PERM element of a permission/ACL stanza to an FsAction via FSACTION_SYMBOL_MAP, which contains exactly the eight rwx combinations ('---' through 'rwx'). A missing, empty, or malformed PERM value misses the map and yields InvalidXmlException('Invalid value for FsAction').

Source

Thrown at hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/server/namenode/FSEditLogOp.java:5548

        Short.toString(mode.toShort()));
  }

  public static FsPermission fsPermissionFromXml(Stanza st)
      throws InvalidXmlException {
    short mode = Short.parseShort(st.getValue("MODE"));
    return new FsPermission(mode);
  }

  private static void fsActionToXml(ContentHandler contentHandler, FsAction v)
      throws SAXException {
    XMLUtils.addSaxString(contentHandler, "PERM", v.SYMBOL);
  }

  private static FsAction fsActionFromXml(Stanza st)
      throws InvalidXmlException {
    FsAction v = FSACTION_SYMBOL_MAP.get(st.getValue("PERM"));
    if (v == null)
      throw new InvalidXmlException("Invalid value for FsAction");
    return v;
  }

  private static void appendAclEntriesToXml(ContentHandler contentHandler,
      List<AclEntry> aclEntries) throws SAXException {
    for (AclEntry e : aclEntries) {
      contentHandler.startElement("", "", "ENTRY", new AttributesImpl());
      XMLUtils.addSaxString(contentHandler, "SCOPE", e.getScope().name());
      XMLUtils.addSaxString(contentHandler, "TYPE", e.getType().name());
      if (e.getName() != null) {
        XMLUtils.addSaxString(contentHandler, "NAME", e.getName());
      }
      fsActionToXml(contentHandler, e.getPermission());
      contentHandler.endElement("", "", "ENTRY");
    }
  }

  private static List<AclEntry> readAclEntriesFromXml(Stanza st) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Fix PERM to exactly three characters matching [r-][w-][x-], e.g. 'r-x'.
2. Regenerate the XML from the binary edits file rather than editing permissions by hand.
3. If PERM is empty, check the stanza nesting — the element is probably missing or misplaced.

Example fix

<!-- before: octal / padded symbols -->
<PERM>644</PERM>

<!-- after: 3-char rwx symbol -->
<PERM>rw-</PERM>

String perm = st.getValue("PERM");
if (perm == null || !perm.matches("[r-][w-][x-]")) {
  throw new IllegalArgumentException(
      "PERM must match [r-][w-][x-]: " + perm);
}

try {
  FsAction a = FSEditLogOp.fsActionFromXml(st);
} catch (InvalidXmlException e) {
  // fix the PERM element and re-run the conversion
}

When it happens

Trigger: OfflineEditsViewer XML round-trip where PERM is absent (empty string from a missing element), uppercase ('R--'), four characters ('r-x '), or uses octal ('644') instead of the 3-char rwx symbol.

Common situations: Hand-edited permission entries; sed/awk scripts rewriting the XML; conversion from tools that emit octal permissions or mangle stanza nesting so PERM comes back empty.

Related errors

• {} doesn't support modifyAclEntries
• {} doesn't support removeAclEntries
• {} doesn't support removeAcl
• {} doesn't support setAcl
• can't understand DelegationTokenIdentifier KIND {kind}

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/77b13fca23d408f4. Report an issue: GitHub.