PowerShell / PowerShell/vscode-powershell

Same assembly was loaded into multiple contexts of an application domain

Open
#5,128 3 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

Area-Engine Bug: PowerShell 5.1 Issue-Bug Needs: Maintainer Attention
Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
1.9k
Forks
547
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

Prerequisites
  • I have written a descriptive issue title.
  • I have searched all open and closed issues to ensure it has not already been reported.
  • I have read the troubleshooting guide.
  • I am sure this issue is with the extension itself and does not reproduce in a standalone PowerShell instance.
  • I have verified that I am using the latest version of Visual Studio Code and the PowerShell extension.
  • If this is a security issue, I have read the security issue reporting guidance.
Summary

When opening a Windows PowerShell (x64) session in the embedded VSCode terminal, I found an error in fusion log (assembly binding log) saying Newtonsoft.Json was "loaded into multiple contexts of an application domain" and "might lead to runtime failures". I am not sure if this caused modules such as "Az.Accounts" behaving incorrectly in this session (see Not able to connect to Azure with Az.Accounts version 2.12.3 (get_SerializationSettings) from within Visual studio code), but please review the design and let us know if it's intentional or not.

Fusion log:

*** Assembly Binder Log Entry  (2025/1/20 @ 10:09:44 AM) ***

The operation was successful.
Bind result: hr = 0x0. The operation completed successfully.

Assembly manager loaded from:  C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\clr.dll
Running under executable  C:\WINDOWS\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
--- A detailed error log follows. 

WRN: The same assembly was loaded into multiple contexts of an application domain:
WRN: Context: LoadFrom | Domain ID: 1 | Assembly Name: Newtonsoft.Json, Version=13.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=30ad4fe6b2a6aeed
WRN: Context: Neither | Domain ID: 1 | Assembly Name: Newtonsoft.Json, Version=13.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=30ad4fe6b2a6aeed
WRN: This might lead to runtime failures.
WRN: It is recommended to inspect your application on whether this is intentional or not.
WRN: See whitepaper http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=109270 for more information and common solutions to this issue.

These are the two Newtonsoft.Json assemblies that are loaded to the session, one net45 from PSScriptAnalyzer, another netstandard2.0 from PowerShellEditorServices.

FullName            : Newtonsoft.Json, Version=13.0.0.0, Culture=neutral,
                      PublicKeyToken=30ad4fe6b2a6aeed
Location            : C:\Users\yeliu\.vscode\extensions\ms-vscode.powershell-2024.4.0\ 
                      modules\PSScriptAnalyzer\1.23.0\Newtonsoft.Json.dll
AssemblyFileVersion : 13.0.3.27908
TargetFramework     : .NETFramework,Version=v4.5

FullName            : Newtonsoft.Json, Version=13.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, 
                      PublicKeyToken=30ad4fe6b2a6aeed
Location            : C:\Users\yeliu\.vscode\extensions\ms-vscode.powershell-2024.4.0\ 
                      modules\PowerShellEditorServices\bin\Common\Newtonsoft.Json.dll  
AssemblyFileVersion : 13.0.3.27908
TargetFramework     : .NETStandard,Version=v2.0
PowerShell Version
Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      5.1.26100.2161
PSEdition                      Desktop
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...}
BuildVersion                   10.0.26100.2161
CLRVersion                     4.0.30319.42000
WSManStackVersion              3.0
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1

Name             : Visual Studio Code Host
Version          : 2024.4.0
InstanceId       : 1f8d7bfb-7399-4b83-a114-5d5cfa983ec5
UI               : System.Management.Automation.Internal.Host.InternalHostUserInterfac 
                   e
CurrentCulture   : en-US
CurrentUICulture : en-US
PrivateData      : Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost+ConsoleColorProxy
DebuggerEnabled  : True
IsRunspacePushed : False
Runspace         : System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.LocalRunspace
Visual Studio Code Version
1.96.4
cd4ee3b1c348a13bafd8f9ad8060705f6d4b9cba
x64
Extension Version
ms-vscode.powershell@2024.4.0
Steps to Reproduce
  1. Open Fuslogvw.exe (Assembly Binding Log Viewer) and enable "Log all bindings in disk" in the settings - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/tools/fuslogvw-exe-assembly-binding-log-viewer
  2. Open a .ps1 script to activate the extension
  3. Open a integrated terminal of Windows PowerShell (x64)
  4. You should be able to find an entry like "LoadFile!FileName=(Newtonsoft.Json.dll)", the warning message is in it.
Visuals

No response

Logs

No response

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the warning with Fuslogvw.exe, Windows PowerShell, and the extension activation steps in the issue. Inspect how PSScriptAnalyzer and PowerShellEditorServices load their Newtonsoft.Json assemblies, then determine whether the duplicate contexts are intentional or cause the reported module failures. Done means documenting a confirmed cause and an agreed fix or explanation.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
powershell, typescript
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.