What does Windows error code 1781 (RPC_X_ENUM_VALUE_OUT_OF_RANGE) mean?

 
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RPC_X_NULL_REF_POINTER RPC_X_BYTE_COUNT_TOO_SMALL

RPC_X_ENUM_VALUE_OUT_OF_RANGE

An enum value failed the RPC contract

RPC_X_ENUM_VALUE_OUT_OF_RANGE means that a stub received or produced an enumeration value outside the values permitted by the interface it is processing. The important boundary is the RPC contract: an enum is serialized as part of NDR data, then interpreted according to the IDL and the generated stub. Casting an arbitrary integer to a C or C++ enum does not make it a valid protocol value.

This is different from an application-defined “invalid option” response. The error is raised while the remote-call parameters are being validated or reconstructed, so the manager routine may not have received a usable value at all.

Where mismatches come from

  • Client and server use different IDL revisions and one side added, removed, or renumbered enum members.
  • A hand-written serializer, FFI binding, test fuzzer, or corrupted intermediate record emits a raw numeric value instead of a defined enumerator.
  • Version-gated feature values are sent to an endpoint that negotiated an older interface or transfer contract.
  • Code confuses a bitmask with an enum and combines values that should be mutually exclusive.

How to diagnose it

  • Record interface UUID, interface version, procedure number, enum field name, and numeric value at the client boundary.
  • Compare the generated MIDL header, proxy, and server stub from both builds; do not compare only application DLL versions.
  • Check whether the value is meant to be an enum, a flags field, or a discriminant for a union.
  • Reject unsupported feature values before making the call when the protocol defines capability or version negotiation.

References

Microsoft: RPC NDR Engine · The Open Group: DCE NDR transfer syntax · Microsoft: strict NDR/NDR64 consistency checks


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