hyperledger/fabric · error

nil payload signature header

Error message

nil payload signature header

What it means

This error is returned by validateProtoAndConstructTxEnv in core/tx/processor_factory.go:93 when the payload's Header.SignatureHeader field is empty. Fabric's transaction validation requires a decodable SignatureHeader (creator identity, nonce) to build the transaction environment; without one the transaction is marked BAD_PAYLOAD with peer.TxValidationCode_BAD_PAYLOAD. It indicates the payload was constructed or deserialized incorrectly before reaching the processor.

Source

Thrown at core/tx/processor_factory.go:93

	if len(payload.Header.ChannelHeader) == 0 {
		return nil, &tx.InvalidErr{
			ActualErr:      errors.New("nil payload channel header"),
			ValidationCode: peer.TxValidationCode_BAD_PAYLOAD,
		}
	}

	chdr, err := protoutil.UnmarshalChannelHeader(payload.Header.ChannelHeader)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, &tx.InvalidErr{
			ActualErr:      err,
			ValidationCode: peer.TxValidationCode_BAD_PAYLOAD,
		}
	}

	if len(payload.Header.SignatureHeader) == 0 {
		return nil, &tx.InvalidErr{
			ActualErr:      errors.New("nil payload signature header"),
			ValidationCode: peer.TxValidationCode_BAD_PAYLOAD,
		}
	}

	shdr, err := protoutil.UnmarshalSignatureHeader(payload.Header.SignatureHeader)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, &tx.InvalidErr{
			ActualErr:      err,
			ValidationCode: peer.TxValidationCode_BAD_PAYLOAD,
		}
	}

	// other checks over shdr.Nonce, shdr.Creator can be added if universally applicable

	// what TODO in legacy validation:
	//   validate cHdr.ChannelId ?
	//   validate epoch in cHdr.Epoch?

View on GitHub (pinned to 2736b63f8f)

Solutions

1. Ensure the transaction envelope is built with a populated SignatureHeader (protoutil.MakeSignatureHeader / protoutil.SignOrFail) before submission
2. Verify the payload is unmarshaled from a complete, uncorrupted envelope and that the signer/creator identity is set
3. Check the client SDK / gateway version compatibility with the peer and that the envelope passed integrity checks (signature verified earlier in validation)
4. If reading from a block, inspect the envelope bytes for truncation or corruption in your storage path

Example fix

// before: manually assembled payload without signature header
payload.Header = &common.Header{ChannelHeader: chdrBytes}

// after: include SignatureHeader
sigHdr, _ := protoutil.MakeSignatureHeader(creator, nonce)
payload.Header = &common.Header{ChannelHeader: chdrBytes, SignatureHeader: sigHdr}

if payload == nil || payload.Header == nil || len(payload.Header.SignatureHeader) == 0 {
    return errors.New("payload missing SignatureHeader; rebuild envelope with protoutil.MakeSignatureHeader")
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling CreateProcessor with a common.Payload whose Header.SignatureHeader byte slice has zero length, typically after unmarshaling a corrupted envelope or an envelope that never had its signature header populated.

Common situations: Programmatically assembled transactions missing the signature header; envelopes created by non-SDK tools that omit the field; truncated or tampered envelopes read from a block; protobuf version mismatches causing silent field drops.

Related errors

• malformed chaincode invocation spec
• malformed org definition for org: %s
• error encode input
• message of type %s unknown
• error marshaling: proto: Marshal called with nil

AI-assisted analysis of hyperledger/fabric@2736b63f8f (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/46b8b73912c6e385. Report an issue: GitHub.