sqlmapproject/sqlmap · error · SqlmapSyntaxException

invalid regular expression '%s' ('%s')

Error message

invalid regular expression '%s' ('%s')

What it means

Error "invalid regular expression '%s' ('%s')" thrown in sqlmapproject/sqlmap.

Source

Thrown at lib/core/common.py:5777

                if not url.startswith("http"):
                    url = "%s://%s:%s%s" % (scheme or "http", host, port or "80", url)
                    scheme = None
                    port = None

                if not (conf.scope and not re.search(conf.scope, url, re.I)):
                    yield (url, conf.method or method, data, cookie, tuple(headers))

    content = readCachedFileContent(reqFile)

    if conf.scope:
        logger.info("using regular expression '%s' for filtering targets" % conf.scope)

        try:
            re.compile(conf.scope)
        except Exception as ex:
            errMsg = "invalid regular expression '%s' ('%s')" % (conf.scope, getSafeExString(ex))
            raise SqlmapSyntaxException(errMsg)

    for target in _parseBurpLog(content):
        yield target

    for target in _parseWebScarabLog(content):
        yield target

def getSafeExString(ex, encoding=None):
    """
    Safe way how to get the proper exception represtation as a string

    >>> getSafeExString(SqlmapBaseException('foobar')) == 'foobar'
    True
    >>> getSafeExString(OSError(0, 'foobar')) == 'OSError: foobar'
    True
    """

    retVal = None

View on GitHub (pinned to 0a35b20e39)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/core/common.py:5777 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of sqlmapproject/sqlmap@0a35b20e39 (2026-08-26). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3b0a4e5236f50606. Report an issue: GitHub.