hibernate/hibernate-orm · error · IllegalArgumentException

Invalid lock mode '${lockMode}' passed to 'lock()'

Error message

Invalid lock mode '${lockMode}' passed to 'lock()'

What it means

Error "Invalid lock mode '${lockMode}' passed to 'lock()'" thrown in hibernate/hibernate-orm.

Source

Thrown at hibernate-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/event/internal/DefaultLockEventListener.java:41

public class DefaultLockEventListener implements LockEventListener {

	/**
	 * Handle the given lock event.
	 *
	 * @param event The lock event to be handled.
	 */
	@Override
	public void onLock(@Nonnull LockEvent event) {

		final Object instance = event.getObject();
		//noinspection ConstantValue
		if ( instance == null ) {
			throw new NullPointerException( "Attempted to lock null" );
		}

		final var lockMode = event.getLockMode();
		if ( lockMode == LockMode.WRITE || lockMode == LockMode.UPGRADE_SKIPLOCKED ) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException( "Invalid lock mode '" + lockMode + "' passed to 'lock()'" );
		}

		final var source = event.getSession();
		final Object entity = forceInitialize( instance, source );
		//TODO: if instance was an uninitialized proxy, this is inefficient,
		//      resulting in two SQL selects

		final var entry = source.getPersistenceContextInternal().getEntry( entity );
		if ( entry == null && instance == entity ) {
			throw new DetachedObjectException( "Given entity is not associated with the persistence context" );
		}
		assert entry != null;

		upgradeLock( entity, entry, event.getLockOptions(), source );
	}
}

View on GitHub (pinned to fad1729dce)

Solutions

1. Pass a valid LockMode value (e.g. NONE, READ, PESSIMISTIC_READ, PESSIMISTIC_WRITE) to lock().
2. Verify the LockMode comes from the org.hibernate.LockMode enum rather than an arbitrary string.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown when an unsupported LockMode is supplied for the attempted lock operation.

Common situations: Typical situations: passing LockMode.WRITE where it is not permitted; a lock mode computed from user input without validation.

AI-assisted analysis of hibernate/hibernate-orm@fad1729dce (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/01cea3e052899fe7. Report an issue: GitHub.