hyperledger/fabric · error

failed parsing header

Error message

failed parsing header

What it means

The expiration-check filter unmarshalled the proposal but failed to parse its Header field — the header bytes are missing or corrupted, preventing extraction of the signature header needed for the identity expiration check.

Source

Thrown at core/handlers/auth/filter/expiration.go:42

type expirationCheckFilter struct {
	next peer.EndorserServer
}

// Init initializes the Filter with the next EndorserServer
func (f *expirationCheckFilter) Init(next peer.EndorserServer) {
	f.next = next
}

func validateProposal(signedProp *peer.SignedProposal) error {
	prop, err := protoutil.UnmarshalProposal(signedProp.ProposalBytes)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.Wrap(err, "failed parsing proposal")
	}

	hdr, err := protoutil.UnmarshalHeader(prop.Header)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.Wrap(err, "failed parsing header")
	}

	sh, err := protoutil.UnmarshalSignatureHeader(hdr.SignatureHeader)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.Wrap(err, "failed parsing signature header")
	}
	expirationTime := crypto.ExpiresAt(sh.Creator)
	if !expirationTime.IsZero() && time.Now().After(expirationTime) {
		return errors.New("proposal client identity expired")
	}
	return nil
}

// ProcessProposal processes a signed proposal
func (f *expirationCheckFilter) ProcessProposal(ctx context.Context, signedProp *peer.SignedProposal) (*peer.ProposalResponse, error) {
	if err := validateProposal(signedProp); err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to 2736b63f8f)

Solutions

1. Fix client-side proposal construction so a valid Header is included
2. Reject the malformed request

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at core/handlers/auth/filter/expiration.go:42 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of hyperledger/fabric@2736b63f8f (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f03890fa59e7e606. Report an issue: GitHub.