Windows error 14051 (ERROR_SXS_XML_E_UNEXPECTEDENDTAG): meaning

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: Manifest Parse Error : End tag was not expected at this location.

Previous	Next
ERROR_SXS_XML_E_WHITESPACEORQUESTIONMARK	ERROR_SXS_XML_E_UNCLOSEDTAG

ERROR_SXS_XML_E_UNEXPECTEDENDTAG

ERROR_SXS_XML_E_UNEXPECTEDENDTAG (0x000036E3) is a Windows Side-by-Side XML parser status for application, assembly, policy, or configuration manifest processing.

An end tag was syntactically recognizable but the parser did not have the corresponding element open at that point. The common causes are a mismatched element name, a duplicate close, or closing an outer element before its current child is closed.

Parser boundary

XML’s element well-formedness constraint requires the end-tag name to match the element’s start-tag name and requires proper nesting. A close tag cannot jump across an open child element to terminate an ancestor.

What to inspect

Compare the unexpected end-tag name with the stack of opening elements immediately before it.
Look for a spelling or namespace-prefix mismatch between the start and end tag rather than deleting the closing tag automatically.
Check merged manifest fragments for duplicated footer markup that closes an element already closed by the base fragment.

Use the first structural parser error from sxstrace; later unclosed-tag messages can be consequences of the same unexpected close changing the nesting sequence.

References

Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.