dotnet/wpf · error · ArgumentOutOfRangeException

ArgumentOutOfRangeException(name)

Error message

ArgumentOutOfRangeException(name)

What it means

The ContentUser constructor rejects a name that is null or whose Trim() is empty, throwing ArgumentOutOfRangeException for 'name'. A user identity must be a non-blank string (e.g. DOMAIN\user, an email, or 'Anyone'/'Owner' for the Internal auth type).

Solutions

1. Validate/trim the user name and fail fast with a clear message before constructing ContentUser
2. Resolve the identity robustly (e.g. WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent().Name) instead of Environment.UserName when it can be empty
3. For publishing, use the literal "Anyone" with AuthenticationType.Internal when an explicit identity is not required

Example fix

// before
var user = new ContentUser(settings.UserName, AuthenticationType.Windows);

// after
string name = settings.UserName?.Trim();
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(name))
    name = WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent().Name;
var user = new ContentUser(name, AuthenticationType.Windows);

if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(name))
    throw new ArgumentException("User name must be a non-empty string", nameof(name));

static bool IsValidUserName(string name) => !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(name);

try { var user = new ContentUser(name, authType); }
catch (ArgumentOutOfRangeException ex) when (ex.ParamName == "name")
{
    logger.LogError(ex, "Blank user name supplied for ContentUser");
    throw new ApplicationException("A valid user name is required");
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling new ContentUser(name, authType) where name is "" or " " — e.g. an empty username from Environment.UserName on a service account context, an unset config value, or a blank email field.

Common situations: Running under a context where the user name cannot be resolved (service sessions, certain CI environments); empty settings field for the licensed user; trimming input from a form and passing it without a check.

Understand the failure class

Background: "must not be empty", "cannot be empty" — required-field validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

• ArgumentOutOfRangeException(authentication)
• ArgumentOutOfRangeException(user)
• ArgumentOutOfRangeException(userActivationMode)
• SR.OnlyPassportOrWindowsAuthenticatedUsersAreAllowed
• ' ' is not a valid value for ' '.

AI-assisted analysis of dotnet/wpf@81131a70a4 (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/87bd8c1b7effff5e. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Microsoft.DotNet.Wpf/src/WindowsBase/System/Security/RightsManagement/User.cs:26

{
    /// <summary>
    ///  This class represents a User for purposes of granting rights to that user, initializing secure environment for the user, 
    /// or enumerating rights granted to various users. 
    /// </summary>
    public class ContentUser
    {
        /// <summary>
        ///  This constructor creates a user that will be granted a right. Or used in other related scenarios like
        /// initializing secure environment for the user, or enumerating rights granted to various users.         
        /// </summary>
        public ContentUser(string name, AuthenticationType authenticationType)
        {

            ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(name);

            if (name.Trim().Length == 0)
            {
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(name));
            }

            if ((authenticationType != AuthenticationType.Windows) &&
                (authenticationType != AuthenticationType.Passport) &&
                (authenticationType != AuthenticationType.WindowsPassport) &&
                (authenticationType != AuthenticationType.Internal))
            {
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(authenticationType));
            }

            // We only support Anyone for the internal mode at the moment
            if (authenticationType == AuthenticationType.Internal)
            {
                if (!CompareToAnyone(name) && !CompareToOwner(name))
                {
                    // we only support Anyone as internal user 
                    throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(name));
                }

View on GitHub (pinned to 81131a70a4)