hibernate/hibernate-orm · error · IllegalArgumentException

Entity may not be null

Error message

Entity may not be null

What it means

Error "Entity may not be null" thrown in hibernate/hibernate-orm.

Source

Thrown at hibernate-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/engine/internal/StatefulPersistenceContext.java:1694

			nullAssociations = setOfSize( INIT_COLL_SIZE );
		}
		nullAssociations.add( new AssociationKey( ownerKey, propertyName ) );
	}

	@Override
	public boolean isPropertyNull(EntityKey ownerKey, String propertyName) {
		return nullAssociations != null
			&& nullAssociations.contains( new AssociationKey( ownerKey, propertyName ) );
	}

	private void clearNullProperties() {
		nullAssociations = null;
	}

	@Override
	public boolean isReadOnly(Object entityOrProxy) {
		if ( entityOrProxy == null ) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException( "Entity may not be null" );
		}

		final var lazyInitializer = extractLazyInitializer( entityOrProxy );
		if ( lazyInitializer != null ) {
			return lazyInitializer.isReadOnly();
		}
		else {
			final var ee = getEntry( entityOrProxy );
			if ( ee == null ) {
				throw new UnmanagedObjectException( "Given entity is not associated with the persistence context" );
			}
			return ee.isReadOnly();
		}
	}

	@Override
	public void setReadOnly(Object object, boolean readOnly) {
		if ( object == null ) {

View on GitHub (pinned to fad1729dce)

Solutions

1. Pass a non-null entity instance to the persistence-context operation
2. Guard against null before calling getEntry/removeEntity on the persistence context

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at hibernate-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/engine/internal/StatefulPersistenceContext.java:1694 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of hibernate/hibernate-orm@fad1729dce (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ce8e90d77cf9a857. Report an issue: GitHub.