spring-projects/spring-framework · error · AopConfigException

Target required after globals

Error message

Target required after globals

What it means

In initializeAdvisorChain(), if the last entry of interceptorNames is a global advisor (ends with '*') and no target was supplied (targetName==null and targetSource is empty), Spring cannot build the proxy because globals only contribute advice - the proxy still needs a target. Hence 'Target required after globals'.

Source

Thrown at spring-aop/src/main/java/org/springframework/aop/framework/ProxyFactoryBean.java:418

	}

	/**
	 * Create the advisor (interceptor) chain. Advisors that are sourced
	 * from a BeanFactory will be refreshed each time a new prototype instance
	 * is added. Interceptors added programmatically through the factory API
	 * are unaffected by such changes.
	 */
	private synchronized void initializeAdvisorChain() throws AopConfigException, BeansException {
		if (!this.advisorChainInitialized && !ObjectUtils.isEmpty(this.interceptorNames)) {
			if (this.beanFactory == null) {
				throw new IllegalStateException("No BeanFactory available anymore (probably due to serialization) " +
						"- cannot resolve interceptor names " + Arrays.toString(this.interceptorNames));
			}

			// Globals can't be last unless we specified a targetSource using the property...
			if (this.interceptorNames[this.interceptorNames.length - 1].endsWith(GLOBAL_SUFFIX) &&
					this.targetName == null && this.targetSource == EMPTY_TARGET_SOURCE) {
				throw new AopConfigException("Target required after globals");
			}

			// Materialize interceptor chain from bean names.
			for (String name : this.interceptorNames) {
				if (name.endsWith(GLOBAL_SUFFIX)) {
					if (!(this.beanFactory instanceof ListableBeanFactory lbf)) {
						throw new AopConfigException(
								"Can only use global advisors or interceptors with a ListableBeanFactory");
					}
					addGlobalAdvisors(lbf, name.substring(0, name.length() - GLOBAL_SUFFIX.length()));
				}

				else {
					// If we get here, we need to add a named interceptor.
					// We must check if it's a singleton or prototype.
					Object advice;
					if (this.singleton || this.beanFactory.isSingleton(name)) {
						// Add the real Advisor/Advice to the chain.

View on GitHub (pinned to e8729d0438)

Solutions

1. Set target / targetName / targetSource on the ProxyFactoryBean, OR
2. Add the target bean name as the final (non-global) entry of interceptorNames, OR
3. Drop the global suffix from interceptorNames and reference advisors explicitly.

Example fix

// before
<property name="interceptorNames" value="global*"/>

// after
<property name="interceptorNames" value="global*"/>
<property name="targetName" value="myService"/>

String[] names = pfb.getInterceptorNames();
boolean endsWithGlobal = names != null && names.length > 0 && names[names.length - 1].endsWith("*");
boolean hasTarget = pfb.getTargetName() != null || pfb.getTargetSource() != null;
if (endsWithGlobal && !hasTarget) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("Global-only interceptorNames require an explicit target on ProxyFactoryBean");
}

When it happens

Trigger: Configuring interceptorNames ending with a global pattern (e.g. 'global*' or 'foo*') without also providing a target, targetName, or a non-empty targetSource on the ProxyFactoryBean.

Common situations: XML config that relies on global advisors but forgets to wire the target bean; using the legacy global-advisor convention without a concluding target entry.

Related errors

• Can only use global advisors or interceptors with a Listable
• Unknown advisor type {next.getClass()}; can only include Adv
• Cannot determine target class for proxy
• No BeanFactory available anymore (probably due to serializat
• No BeanFactory available anymore (probably due to serializat

AI-assisted analysis of spring-projects/spring-framework@e8729d0438 (2026-08-04). Data as JSON: /data/errors/24b85361eeee5533.json. Report an issue: GitHub.