What does Windows error code 8310 (ERROR_DS_ATT_IS_NOT_ON_OBJ) mean?

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: The target object does not contain the referenced attribute.

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ERROR_DS_USER_BUFFER_TO_SMALL	ERROR_DS_ILLEGAL_MOD_OPERATION

ERROR_DS_ATT_IS_NOT_ON_OBJ

The attribute is not present on this entry

ERROR_DS_ATT_IS_NOT_ON_OBJ means the directory operation named an attribute that is not currently stored on the target object. The schema may define the attribute perfectly well; the failure is about the concrete entry being modified or read by the requested operation.

A common example is a cleanup job that deletes a value after another workflow has already removed the attribute, or a synchronization client operating from a stale snapshot. It can also appear after an object was moved between classes or after an auxiliary class was removed, leaving the client with an old expectation of the entry.

Useful diagnostics

Retrieve the object with its current objectClass values and the specific attribute before retrying.
Inspect the exact LDAP change. Deleting a missing value, replacing an absent attribute, and reading a requested-but-absent property are different client behaviors.
Check whether a recent schema or object-class change altered which optional attributes are normally populated.
Make cleanup and reconciliation operations idempotent: a missing optional attribute should not be interpreted as a damaged directory by itself.

What this does not establish

This status does not prove that the attribute is illegal for the class. For that case, the relevant condition is ERROR_DS_ATT_NOT_DEF_FOR_CLASS. It also does not prove that the attribute is unknown to the schema, which is the separate ERROR_DS_ATT_NOT_DEF_IN_SCHEMA condition.

References

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