spring-projects/spring-framework · error · IllegalStateException

Failed to resolve pointcut expression in: {}

Error message

Failed to resolve pointcut expression in: {}

What it means

Thrown by AspectJAnnotation.resolvePointcutExpression() when neither the 'pointcut' nor the 'value' attribute of an AspectJ advice/pointcut annotation yields a non-empty String. Every @Before/@Around/@After/@AfterReturning/@AfterThrowing/@Pointcut annotation must carry a pointcut expression (directly or via the 'value' attribute), otherwise Spring cannot build the pointcut. An empty or blank expression is treated as absent.

Source

Thrown at spring-aop/src/main/java/org/springframework/aop/aspectj/annotation/AbstractAspectJAdvisorFactory.java:208

			}
		}

		private AspectJAnnotationType determineAnnotationType(Annotation annotation) {
			AspectJAnnotationType type = annotationTypeMap.get(annotation.annotationType());
			if (type != null) {
				return type;
			}
			throw new IllegalStateException("Unknown annotation type: " + annotation);
		}

		private String resolvePointcutExpression(Annotation annotation) {
			for (String attributeName : EXPRESSION_ATTRIBUTES) {
				Object val = AnnotationUtils.getValue(annotation, attributeName);
				if (val instanceof String str && !str.isEmpty()) {
					return str;
				}
			}
			throw new IllegalStateException("Failed to resolve pointcut expression in: " + annotation);
		}

		public AspectJAnnotationType getAnnotationType() {
			return this.annotationType;
		}

		public Annotation getAnnotation() {
			return this.annotation;
		}

		public String getPointcutExpression() {
			return this.pointcutExpression;
		}

		public String getArgumentNames() {
			return this.argumentNames;
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to e8729d0438)

Solutions

1. Supply a valid pointcut expression to the advice annotation's value/pointcut attribute.
2. Reference a named @Pointcut method via the annotation value (e.g. @Before("com.acme.MyAspect.somePointcut()").

Example fix

// before
@Before("")
public void beforeAdvice() { ... }
// after
@Before("execution(* com.acme.service.*.*(..))")
public void beforeAdvice() { ... }

import org.aspectj.lang.annotation.*;
import org.springframework.core.annotation.AnnotationUtils;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;

void requirePointcutExpression(Method m) {
  Before b = AnnotationUtils.findAnnotation(m, Before.class);
  if (b != null && b.value().isBlank())
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("@Before on " + m + " has empty pointcut");
  // repeat for Around, After, AfterReturning, AfterThrowing, Pointcut as needed
}

When it happens

Trigger: An advice method annotated like @Before("") or @Before (with no value and no separate pointcut attribute), passed through ReflectiveAspectJAdvisorFactory when building advisors.

Common situations: Developer forgets to fill in the pointcut expression; uses a placeholder empty string; copies a template aspect without completing the expression; a refactoring leaves the advice annotation empty.

Related errors

• Found {} potential annotation variable(s) and {} potential a
• Found {} candidate annotation binding variables but only one
• Number of pointcut parameter names must match number of poin
• Must set property 'expression' before attempting to match
• {} is not a valid AspectJ annotation

AI-assisted analysis of spring-projects/spring-framework@e8729d0438 (2026-08-04). Data as JSON: /data/errors/77faa514527954eb.json. Report an issue: GitHub.