{"record":{"id":"90b2b052c7f05d76","repo":"kubernetes/kops","slug":"error-serializing-secret-v","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"error serializing secret: %v","messagePattern":"error serializing secret: (.+?)","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"upup/pkg/fi/secrets/clientset_secretstore.go","lineNumber":86,"sourceCode":"\n\t\tif keyset.Spec.Type != kops.SecretTypeSecret {\n\t\t\tcontinue\n\t\t}\n\n\t\tprimary := fi.FindPrimary(keyset)\n\t\tif primary == nil {\n\t\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"found secret with no primary data: %s\", keyset.Name)\n\t\t}\n\n\t\tname := strings.TrimPrefix(keyset.Name, NamePrefix)\n\t\tp := BuildVfsSecretPath(basedir, name)\n\n\t\ts := &fi.Secret{\n\t\t\tData: primary.PrivateMaterial,\n\t\t}\n\t\tdata, err := json.Marshal(s)\n\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"error serializing secret: %v\", err)\n\t\t}\n\n\t\tacl, err := acls.GetACL(ctx, p, c.cluster)\n\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\treturn err\n\t\t}\n\n\t\tif err := p.WriteFile(ctx, bytes.NewReader(data), acl); err != nil {\n\t\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"error writing secret to %q: %v\", p, err)\n\t\t}\n\t}\n\n\treturn nil\n}\n\n// FindSecret implements fi.SecretStore::FindSecret\nfunc (c *ClientsetSecretStore) FindSecret(name string) (*fi.Secret, error) {\n\tctx := context.TODO()","sourceCodeStart":68,"sourceCodeEnd":104,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kops/blob/4c8573c808a73d578c5eadc86d410646ea0b0d73/upup/pkg/fi/secrets/clientset_secretstore.go#L68-L104","documentation":"This error is returned by ClientsetSecretStore.MirrorTo when json.Marshal fails to serialize a fi.Secret (whose Data is the keyset's primary PrivateMaterial) into JSON before writing it to the VFS path. It indicates the in-memory secret material could not be encoded, almost always due to an unsupported value inside the secret data map. It wraps the underlying encoding/json error with context about which operation failed.","triggerScenarios":"MirrorTo iterates Keyset objects of type SecretTypeSecret; json.Marshal(&fi.Secret{Data: primary.PrivateMaterial}) fails, e.g. PrivateMaterial contains a value json cannot encode (channel, func, cycle) or the marshaler itself errors.","commonSituations":"A Keyset in the cluster API was created or mutated by tooling that stored non-JSON-serializable private material; corrupted or hand-edited keyset objects; a custom fi.Secret change introducing unencodable fields.","solutions":["Inspect the wrapped %v error to identify the offending field/type in the secret data","Dump the Keyset (kubectl get keysets -o yaml in the cluster namespace) and check the primary key's PrivateMaterial for unexpected values","Fix or recreate the offending Keyset via `kops replace` or delete and recreate the secret (`kops delete secret`, then re-create it)","Re-run the mirror/export operation after the keyset is corrected"],"exampleFix":"// before: opaque failure mid-mirror\nfor _, keyset := range list.Items {\n    data, err := json.Marshal(&fi.Secret{Data: primary.PrivateMaterial})\n    if err != nil { return fmt.Errorf(\"error serializing secret: %v\", err) }\n}\n// after: identify which secret failed to serialize\nfor _, keyset := range list.Items {\n    data, err := json.Marshal(&fi.Secret{Data: primary.PrivateMaterial})\n    if err != nil { return fmt.Errorf(\"error serializing secret %q: %v\", keyset.Name, err) }\n}","handlingStrategy":"try-catch","validationCode":"// validate secret data is JSON-encodable before mirroring\nfunc encodable(data map[string][]byte) error {\n    b, err := json.Marshal(map[string][]byte{\"k\": nil})\n    _ = b\n    for k, v := range data {\n        if v == nil { continue }\n        if len(v) == 0 { return fmt.Errorf(\"secret key %q has empty material\", k) }\n    }\n    _ = err\n    return nil\n}","typeGuard":"func hasPrimaryMaterial(keyset *kops.Keyset) bool {\n    primary := fi.FindPrimary(keyset)\n    return primary != nil && primary.PrivateMaterial != nil\n}","tryCatchPattern":"err := store.MirrorTo(ctx, basedir)\nif err != nil {\n    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), \"error serializing secret\") {\n        klog.Errorf(\"secret serialization failed; inspect keyset private material: %v\", err)\n        // fall back to skipping the offending keyset instead of aborting the mirror\n    } else {\n        return err\n    }\n}","preventionTips":["Only create keysets via supported kops APIs so PrivateMaterial stays []byte-based and JSON-safe","Before mirroring, validate keysets with `kops get keysets -o yaml` for unexpected material","Keep fi.Secret fields JSON-encodable; never embed channels/funcs/cycles","Run mirroring in dry-run first to catch serialization issues per keyset"],"tags":["serialization","json","kops","secrets"],"backgroundTag":"json-serialization-failed","analyzedSha":"4c8573c808a73d578c5eadc86d410646ea0b0d73","analyzedAt":"2026-09-05T04:13:19.212Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-05T04:13:19.212Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-12T07:17:12.445Z"}