{"record":{"id":"88b6883af414b2f3","repo":"hyperledger/fabric","slug":"empty-policy-element","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Empty policy element","messagePattern":"Empty policy element","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"common/cauthdsl/cauthdsl.go","lineNumber":26,"sourceCode":"\nimport (\n\t\"fmt\"\n\t\"time\"\n\n\t\"github.com/hyperledger/fabric-lib-go/common/flogging\"\n\tcb \"github.com/hyperledger/fabric-protos-go-apiv2/common\"\n\tmb \"github.com/hyperledger/fabric-protos-go-apiv2/msp\"\n\t\"github.com/hyperledger/fabric/msp\"\n\t\"go.uber.org/zap/zapcore\"\n)\n\nvar cauthdslLogger = flogging.MustGetLogger(\"cauthdsl\")\n\n// compile recursively builds a go evaluatable function corresponding to the policy specified, remember to call deduplicate on identities before\n// passing them to this function for evaluation\nfunc compile(policy *cb.SignaturePolicy, identities []*mb.MSPPrincipal) (func([]msp.Identity, []bool) bool, error) {\n\tif policy == nil {\n\t\treturn nil, fmt.Errorf(\"Empty policy element\")\n\t}\n\n\tswitch t := policy.Type.(type) {\n\tcase *cb.SignaturePolicy_NOutOf_:\n\t\tpolicies := make([]func([]msp.Identity, []bool) bool, len(t.NOutOf.Rules))\n\t\tfor i, policy := range t.NOutOf.Rules {\n\t\t\tcompiledPolicy, err := compile(policy, identities)\n\t\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\t\treturn nil, err\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\tpolicies[i] = compiledPolicy\n\n\t\t}\n\t\treturn func(signedData []msp.Identity, used []bool) bool {\n\t\t\tgrepKey := time.Now().UnixNano()\n\t\t\tcauthdslLogger.Debugf(\"%p gate %d evaluation starts\", signedData, grepKey)\n\t\t\tverified := int32(0)\n\t\t\t_used := make([]bool, len(used))","sourceCodeStart":8,"sourceCodeEnd":44,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/hyperledger/fabric/blob/2736b63f8fd5932511d56fe68b7039d15977f7f6/common/cauthdsl/cauthdsl.go#L8-L44","documentation":"cauthdsl.compile returns this error when the SignaturePolicy element handed to it is nil. The policy compiler cannot build an evaluatable function from a nil rule, indicating a malformed or incompletely constructed SignaturePolicyEnvelope.","triggerScenarios":"A channel config or policy reference resolves to a nil SignaturePolicy — e.g. hand-written config with a missing policy Type, a deserialization that left the policy unset, or programmatic policy construction omitting the rule.","commonSituations":"Corrupted or hand-edited channel configuration, custom tooling generating policies that leave SignaturePolicy nil, wrong policy name reference in a chaincode definition.","solutions":["Regenerate the channel configuration with configtxgen instead of hand-editing.","Inspect the policy definition and ensure the SignaturePolicy Type (NOutOf or Rule) is set.","Validate the policy envelope programmatically before committing config updates.","If constructing policies in code, always assign policy.Type before compiling."],"exampleFix":"// before\npolicy := &cb.SignaturePolicy{} // nil Type -> \"Empty policy element\"\n// after\npolicy := &cb.SignaturePolicy{Type: &cb.SignaturePolicy_NOutOf_{\n    NOutOf: &cb.SignaturePolicy_NOutOf{N: 1, Rules: []*cb.SignaturePolicy{...}},\n}}","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"// pre-validate policy envelope before committing config\nif pol.Policy == nil || pol.Policy.Type == nil {\n    return fmt.Errorf(\"policy %s has empty SignaturePolicy\", pol.Name)\n}","typeGuard":"func hasPolicyType(p *cb.SignaturePolicy) bool {\n    return p != nil && p.Type != nil\n}","tryCatchPattern":"_, err := compile(policy, identities)\nif err != nil {\n    if err.Error() == \"Empty policy element\" {\n        log.Fatalf(\"malformed policy: SignaturePolicy or its Type is nil: %v\", err)\n    }\n    return err\n}","preventionTips":["Generate policies with configtxgen rather than manual YAML editing.","Always set SignaturePolicy.Type (NOutOf or Rule) when building policies in code.","Validate channel config after any hand modification.","Diff config updates against a known-good channel config."],"tags":["policy","configuration","hyperledger-fabric"],"backgroundTag":"empty-policy-element","analyzedSha":"2736b63f8fd5932511d56fe68b7039d15977f7f6","analyzedAt":"2026-09-04T08:52:36.465Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-04T08:52:36.465Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-08T10:18:20.063Z"}