Name the key type when rejecting non-string CBOR/MessagePack map keys (#5594)

* Name the key type when rejecting non-string CBOR/MessagePack map keys

CBOR and MessagePack allow map keys of any type, but JSON object keys
are always strings, so such maps are rejected. The error so far was the
one for a malformed string (e.g. "expected length specification
(0xA0-0xBF, 0xD9-0xDB); last byte: 0xC0" for a nil key), which does not
tell the user what went wrong. Report the type of the key instead:

  syntax error while parsing MessagePack object key: only string keys
  are supported, but found nil; last byte: 0xC0

The exception id (parse_error.113) and type are unchanged. Malformed
string keys and a missing key keep their previous messages. Document
the restriction on the CBOR and MessagePack pages.

Refs #2766, #3381

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>

* Point the MessagePack key note to the spec's profile section

The note linked to "Serialization: type to format conversion", which says nothing about key types. Restricting map keys to strings is only mentioned in the "Profile" section (under "Future discussion") as an example of a JSON-compatible profile, so link there and describe it as such instead of as a permission.

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>

---------

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
This commit is contained in:
Niels Lohmann
2026-09-28 17:51:07 +02:00
committed by GitHub
parent 373005f7ac
commit 9e1a09eec0
10 changed files with 484 additions and 17 deletions
+2 -2
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@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ Strong guarantee: if an exception is thrown, there are no changes in the JSON va
the end of the file was not reached when `strict` was set to true
- Throws [parse_error.112](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error112) if unsupported features from CBOR were
used in the given input or if the input is not valid CBOR
- Throws [parse_error.113](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error113) if a string was expected as a map key,
but not found
- Throws [parse_error.113](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error113) if a map key is not a string (keys of other
types are not supported, as JSON object keys are always strings) or a string is malformed
## Complexity
@@ -73,8 +73,8 @@ Strong guarantee: if an exception is thrown, there are no changes in the JSON va
the end of the file was not reached when `strict` was set to true
- Throws [parse_error.112](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error112) if unsupported features from
MessagePack were used in the given input or if the input is not valid MessagePack
- Throws [parse_error.113](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error113) if a string was expected as a map key,
but not found
- Throws [parse_error.113](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error113) if a map key is not a string (keys of other
types are not supported, as JSON object keys are always strings) or a string is malformed
## Complexity
@@ -174,7 +174,20 @@ The library maps CBOR types to JSON value types as follows:
!!! warning "Object keys"
CBOR allows map keys of any type, whereas JSON only allows strings as keys in object values. Therefore, CBOR maps with keys other than UTF-8 strings are rejected.
CBOR allows map keys of any type, whereas JSON only allows strings as keys in object values. Therefore, CBOR maps
with keys other than text strings (major type 3) are rejected with a
[`parse_error.113`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error113) exception (or, with `allow_exceptions` set
to `false`, a discarded value) naming the type of the key that was found, for instance:
```
[json.exception.parse_error.113] parse error at byte 2: syntax error while parsing CBOR object key: only string keys are supported, but found an unsigned integer; last byte: 0x01
```
This applies to the [SAX interface](../parsing/sax_interface.md) as well, as the key is read before it is passed
on. This is a deliberate restriction of the library's JSON value model, not an oversight: formats built on CBOR
maps with integer keys, such as COSE ([RFC 9052](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9052.html)) or CWT
([RFC 8392](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8392.html)), cannot be read with this library and need a
general-purpose CBOR library instead.
!!! warning "UTF-8 validation of text strings"
@@ -138,6 +138,21 @@ The library maps MessagePack types to JSON value types as follows:
Any MessagePack output created by `to_msgpack` can be successfully parsed by `from_msgpack`.
!!! warning "Object keys"
MessagePack allows map keys of any type, whereas JSON only allows strings as keys in object values. Like the
JSON-compatible [profile](https://github.com/msgpack/msgpack/blob/master/spec.md#profile) sketched in the
MessagePack specification, this library restricts map keys to `str` values. Maps with keys of any other type are
rejected with a [`parse_error.113`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error113) exception (or, with
`allow_exceptions` set to `false`, a discarded value) naming the type of the key that was found, for instance:
```
[json.exception.parse_error.113] parse error at byte 2: syntax error while parsing MessagePack object key: only string keys are supported, but found nil; last byte: 0xC0
```
This applies to the [SAX interface](../parsing/sax_interface.md) as well, as the key is read before it is passed
on. Such input needs a general-purpose MessagePack library instead.
!!! warning "UTF-8 validation of string values"
The MessagePack specification requires `str` values (`fixstr`, `str 8`, `str 16`, `str 32`) to be valid UTF-8.
+9 -2
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@@ -343,13 +343,20 @@ A string could not be read from a [binary format](../features/binary_formats/ind
string was read where one was required (for instance as a map key), the string's length specification is invalid, or
the string's bytes are not valid UTF-8.
CBOR and MessagePack allow map keys of any type, but JSON object keys are always strings. Maps with keys of any other
type (for instance integers or `null`) are therefore not supported; see the notes on
[CBOR](../features/binary_formats/cbor.md) and [MessagePack](../features/binary_formats/messagepack.md).
!!! failure "Example messages"
```
[json.exception.parse_error.113] parse error at byte 2: syntax error while parsing CBOR string: expected length specification (0x60-0x7B) or indefinite string type (0x7F); last byte: 0xFF
[json.exception.parse_error.113] parse error at byte 2: syntax error while parsing CBOR object key: only string keys are supported, but found an unsigned integer; last byte: 0x01
```
```
[json.exception.parse_error.113] parse error at byte 2: syntax error while parsing MessagePack string: expected length specification (0xA0-0xBF, 0xD9-0xDB); last byte: 0xFF
[json.exception.parse_error.113] parse error at byte 2: syntax error while parsing MessagePack object key: only string keys are supported, but found nil; last byte: 0xC0
```
```
[json.exception.parse_error.113] parse error at byte 2: syntax error while parsing CBOR string: expected length specification (0x60-0x7B) or indefinite string type (0x7F); last byte: 0x7C
```
```
[json.exception.parse_error.113] parse error at byte 2: syntax error while parsing UBJSON char: byte after 'C' must be in range 0x00..0x7F; last byte: 0x82