gchq/CyberChef · error · OperationError

${err}

Error message

${err}

What it means

The operation constructs a BSON ObjectId from the input string and extracts its embedded timestamp. The bson library's ObjectId constructor throws if the input is not a valid 24-character hex string (12 bytes). This catch wraps that error as an OperationError.

Source

Thrown at src/core/operations/ParseObjectIDTimestamp.mjs:41

        this.module = "Serialise";
        this.description = "Parse timestamp from MongoDB/BSON ObjectID hex string.";
        this.infoURL = "https://docs.mongodb.com/manual/reference/method/ObjectId.getTimestamp/";
        this.inputType = "string";
        this.outputType = "string";
        this.args = [];
    }

    /**
     * @param {string} input
     * @param {Object[]} args
     * @returns {string}
     */
    run(input, args) {
        try {
            const objectId = new ObjectId(input);
            return objectId.getTimestamp().toISOString();
        } catch (err) {
            throw new OperationError(err);
        }
    }

}

export default ParseObjectIDTimestamp;

View on GitHub (pinned to 4290ea7539)

Solutions

1. Provide a valid 24-character hexadecimal MongoDB ObjectId (e.g., 507f1f77bcf86cd799439011)
2. Trim any whitespace, newlines, or surrounding quotes from the input
3. If the input is a different ID format, convert it to a BSON ObjectId first

Example fix

// before: "507f1f77" (too short)
// after:  "507f1f77bcf86cd799439011" (24 hex chars)

// Pre-check: validate MongoDB ObjectId format
const OID_RE = /^[0-9a-fA-F]{24}$/;
if (!OID_RE.test(input.trim())) {
  throw new Error("Input must be a 24-character hex MongoDB ObjectId.");
}

function isObjectId(s) {
  return /^[0-9a-fA-F]{24}$/.test(s);
}

try {
  const result = chef.parseObjectIDTimestamp(input);
} catch (e) {
  if (/argument|hex|length/i.test(e.message)) {
    console.error("Provide a valid 24-char hex ObjectId like 507f1f77bcf86cd799439011");
  } else { throw e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: new ObjectId(input) rejects because the input is not exactly 24 hexadecimal characters. Causes include: wrong length (too short or too long), non-hex characters (letters beyond a-f), empty string, or a buffer of the wrong size.

Common situations: User enters a short hex string, a GUID/UUID instead of a MongoDB ObjectId, a decimal number, or text. User pastes an ObjectId with trailing whitespace or a newline. User enters an ObjectId from a system that uses a different format (e.g., a Firebase push ID).

Related errors

• Byte length must be a positive integer
• More than 4 blocks.
• Badly formatted IPv6 address.
• Invalid input. Enter either a CIDR range (e.g. 10.0.0.0/24)
• Invalid IPv6 address

AI-assisted analysis of gchq/CyberChef@4290ea7539 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c292eaa1f31d15da. Report an issue: GitHub.