spring-projects/spring-framework · error · InvalidPropertyException

Invalid property '{propertyName}' of bean class [{beanClass.

Error message

Invalid property '{propertyName}' of bean class [{beanClass.getName()}]: Index of out of bounds in property path '{propertyName}'

What it means

Thrown by getPropertyValue when applying an index to an array or List raises IndexOutOfBoundsException (e.g. autoGrow off, or beyond limit, or a Set/Collection short-circuit already handled separately). It is wrapped as InvalidPropertyException with bean class context and the original exception as cause.

Source

Thrown at spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/AbstractNestablePropertyAccessor.java:687

											currIndex + ", accessed using property path '" + propertyName + "'");
						}
					}
					else {
						throw new InvalidPropertyException(getRootClass(), this.nestedPath + propertyName,
								"Property referenced in indexed property path '" + propertyName +
										"' is neither an array nor a List/Set/Collection/Iterable nor a Map; " +
										"returned value was [" + value + "]");
					}
					indexedPropertyName.append(PROPERTY_KEY_PREFIX).append(key).append(PROPERTY_KEY_SUFFIX);
				}
			}
			return value;
		}
		catch (InvalidPropertyException ex) {
			throw ex;
		}
		catch (IndexOutOfBoundsException ex) {
			throw new InvalidPropertyException(getRootClass(), this.nestedPath + propertyName,
					"Index of out of bounds in property path '" + propertyName + "'", ex);
		}
		catch (NumberFormatException | TypeMismatchException ex) {
			throw new InvalidPropertyException(getRootClass(), this.nestedPath + propertyName,
					"Invalid index in property path '" + propertyName + "'", ex);
		}
		catch (InvocationTargetException ex) {
			throw new InvalidPropertyException(getRootClass(), this.nestedPath + propertyName,
					"Getter for property '" + actualName + "' threw exception", ex);
		}
		catch (Exception ex) {
			throw new InvalidPropertyException(getRootClass(), this.nestedPath + propertyName,
					"Illegal attempt to get property '" + actualName + "' threw exception", ex);
		}
	}


	/**

View on GitHub (pinned to 69bf83ad71)

Solutions

Bounds-check the index against Array.getLength / list.size() before reading.
If the index is valid but the container is short, pre-size the container or switch to a Map.
Catch InvalidPropertyException at the binding boundary and return a 400 / field error instead of propagating.
Validate incoming indices in a custom Validator.

Example fix

// before
Object v = wrapper.getPropertyValue("arr[" + requestIdx + "]"); // unvalidated

// after
int len = Array.getLength(wrapper.getPropertyValue("arr"));
if (requestIdx < 0 || requestIdx >= len) throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException(...);
Object v = wrapper.getPropertyValue("arr[" + requestIdx + "]");

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

BeanWrapper w = new BeanWrapperImpl(bean);
Object arr = w.getPropertyValue("arr");
int len = arr == null ? 0 : (arr.getClass().isArray() ? java.lang.reflect.Array.getLength(arr)
        : (arr instanceof List<?> l ? l.size() : -1));
if (idx < 0 || idx >= len) throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException("idx=" + idx + " len=" + len);
return w.getPropertyValue("arr[" + idx + "]");

Type guard

static boolean indexWithinBounds(Object container, int idx) {
    if (container == null) return false;
    if (container.getClass().isArray()) return idx >= 0 && idx < java.lang.reflect.Array.getLength(container);
    if (container instanceof List<?> l) return idx >= 0 && idx < l.size();
    return false;
}

Try / catch

try {
    return wrapper.getPropertyValue(path);
} catch (InvalidPropertyException ex) {
    if (ex.getCause() instanceof IndexOutOfBoundsException) return null;
    throw ex;
}

Prevention

Bounds-check against current length/size before indexed reads.
Catch InvalidPropertyException at the binding boundary and map to a field error / 400.
Validate indices from request parameters with a Validator.

When it happens

Trigger: getPropertyValue("arr[10]") on an array of length <= 10 with autoGrow off (reads never auto-grow arrays past the limit without autoGrow enabled); list.get(10) on a smaller list.

Common situations: Reading bound array/list fields with client-supplied indices; autoGrow not enabled for reads; index from request exceeding actual size; off-by-one in computed index.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of spring-projects/spring-framework@69bf83ad71 (2026-08-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/097bfd753b56cf9a. Report an issue: GitHub.