What does Windows error code 546 (ERROR_PORT_MESSAGE_TOO_LONG) mean?

 
Previous Next
ERROR_INVALID_PORT_ATTRIBUTES ERROR_INVALID_QUOTA_LOWER

ERROR_PORT_MESSAGE_TOO_LONG

The LPC or ALPC message is too large

ERROR_PORT_MESSAGE_TOO_LONG means a message submitted to a native port request or request/reply operation exceeds the maximum accepted size. The limit can include headers and alignment, not just application payload bytes.

Common causes

  • Serializing an unbounded object directly into one IPC message.
  • Ignoring protocol header and alignment overhead.
  • A length field uses characters while the transport expects bytes.
  • Client and server disagree about structure version.

Diagnosis

Log total message size, payload size, header version, and negotiated maximum. Validate all nested lengths and protect additions from overflow. Reproduce with the exact architecture and OS build.

Resolution

Split data into bounded chunks, place bulk data in shared memory or a file-backed section, and send only descriptors through the port. Define explicit protocol limits before allocation.

Security guidance

Reject oversized inbound messages early. Do not allocate based solely on an untrusted declared length, and do not truncate structured messages because truncation can change their meaning.

References


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