{"record":{"id":"8f2e63128c3d4b55","repo":"hyperledger/fabric","slug":"expected-a-chain-of-length-at-least-2-got-d","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"expected a chain of length at least 2, got %d","messagePattern":"expected a chain of length at least 2, got (.+?)","errorType":"validation","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"msp/mspimpl.go","lineNumber":852,"sourceCode":"\t\t\t\t// found in deployments outside the WebPKI.\n\t\t\t\tcontinue\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\treturn false\n\t\t}\n\t}\n\n\treturn true\n}\n\nfunc (msp *bccspmsp) getValidationChain(cert *x509.Certificate, isIntermediateChain bool) ([]*x509.Certificate, error) {\n\tvalidationChain, err := msp.getUniqueValidationChain(cert, msp.getValidityOptsForCert(cert))\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.WithMessage(err, \"failed getting validation chain\")\n\t}\n\n\t// we expect a chain of length at least 2\n\tif len(validationChain) < 2 {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.Errorf(\"expected a chain of length at least 2, got %d\", len(validationChain))\n\t}\n\n\t// check that the parent is a leaf of the certification tree\n\t// if validating an intermediate chain, the first certificate will the parent\n\tparentPosition := 1\n\tif isIntermediateChain {\n\t\tparentPosition = 0\n\t}\n\tif msp.certificationTreeInternalNodesMap[string(validationChain[parentPosition].Raw)] {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.Errorf(\"invalid validation chain. Parent certificate should be a leaf of the certification tree [%v]\", cert.Raw)\n\t}\n\treturn validationChain, nil\n}\n\n// getCertificationChainIdentifier returns the certification chain identifier of the passed identity within this msp.\n// The identifier is computes as the SHA256 of the concatenation of the certificates in the chain.\nfunc (msp *bccspmsp) getCertificationChainIdentifier(id Identity) ([]byte, error) {\n\tchain, err := msp.getCertificationChain(id)","sourceCodeStart":834,"sourceCodeEnd":870,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/hyperledger/fabric/blob/2736b63f8fd5932511d56fe68b7039d15977f7f6/msp/mspimpl.go#L834-L870","documentation":"getValidationChain expects the verified chain to contain at least the identity certificate plus its issuing CA (root or parent). A chain of length 1 means the certificate verified directly against a trust anchor that is itself the certificate, or the verify options made cert.Verify return a single self-referential entry — so no parent can be located. The library throws this because the subsequent parent-lookup logic requires >=2 entries.","triggerScenarios":"getCertificationChainForBCCSPIdentity or getCertifiersIdentifier calls getValidationChain for a certificate whose Verify(opts) result has fewer than 2 certificates — typically when the identity cert is itself the root CA in msp.opts.Roots, or a self-signed cert was added as its own root.","commonSituations":"Registering a self-signed certificate both as identity and as MSP root; misconfigured MSP where the identity cert was copied into cacerts; validation options that include the identity's own cert as a trust anchor.","solutions":["Ensure the identity certificate is issued by a CA distinct from itself; use a proper end-entity cert","Remove the identity/self-signed cert from the MSP cacerts folder","Provide the real root (and intermediates) so the chain is [identity, intermediate?, root]","Re-enroll with fabric-ca to get a chain rooted at the org CA"],"exampleFix":"// before\n// cacerts contains identityCert.pem (self-signed identity also used as identity)\n// after\n// cacerts contains rootCA.pem; identity cert issued by rootCA","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"if bytes.Equal(cert.Raw, rootCA.Raw) { return errors.New(\"identity cert must not be the root CA itself\") }","typeGuard":"func hasIssuer(cert, issuer *x509.Certificate) bool {\n\treturn cert.CheckSignatureFrom(issuer) == nil && !bytes.Equal(cert.Raw, issuer.Raw)\n}","tryCatchPattern":"chain, err := msp.GetCertificationChain(id)\nif err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), \"chain of length at least 2\") {\n\t// identity is self-signed or equals a trust anchor: re-enroll\n}","preventionTips":["Never add the identity cert to cacerts or use self-signed certs as identities","Ensure each identity has a distinct issuing CA in the MSP config","Use cryptogen/fabric-ca generated trees so chains are complete"],"tags":["x509","msp","fabric","certificate-chain"],"backgroundTag":"certificate-chain-too-short","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"}