Inconsistent contentObject.path for File Assets Due to Metadata Cache Misses

Problem Statement

In the customer’s UAT environment, the path property under contentObject for some file assets (PDFs) is intermittently missing in Elasticsearch query results. This behavior causes incomplete sitemap generation.

While trying to open a file and close it seems to be caching and reflects the data.

File asset metadata uses BinaryMap with lazy loading and caching.
path is pulled from this metadata, which can result in cache misses under certain conditions.
This explains why editing or viewing the asset in the content editor repopulates the value temporarily.
Issue is not reproducible on demo.dotcms.com, but was reproduced locally using the customer’s exported UAT content and assets.

Steps to Reproduce

Import [UAT asset + contentlet dump (Google Drive)]
Run the sitemap VTL code using ${currentDocument.contentObject.path}.
Observe: Some PDFs will return the full path; others will return blank.
Inspect content metadata via the Browse UI — the correct path is still visible there.

#set($contentHydrated = $dotcontent.findHydrated($currentDocument.identifier))
https://${host.externalizationDomain}${contentHydrated.contentObject.path}

Data dump : https://drive.google.com/file/d/19kLO6mzIzt-4q8NPUkSX1pp\_A-KD7pnh/view

Acceptance Criteria

Investigate consistency of the path property generation in BinaryMap caching mechanism.

Ensure contentObject.path is always populated in ES index or provide a reliable fallback strategy.

Consider:

Eager metadata loading for file assets on index
Background job to warm BinaryMap cache
Option to enforce path hydration for specific content types (like FileAssets)

dotCMS Version

Evergreen

Proposed Objective

Core Features

Proposed Priority

Priority 3 - Average

External Links... Slack Conversations, Support Tickets, Figma Designs, etc.

https://dotcms.freshdesk.com/a/tickets/31905

Assumptions & Initiation Needs

No response

Quality Assurance Notes & Workarounds

#set($contentHydrated = $dotcontent.findHydrated($currentDocument.identifier))
https://${host.externalizationDomain}${contentHydrated.contentObject.path}

Sub-Tasks & Estimates

No response

Start by importing the referenced UAT asset and contentlet dump, then run the sitemap VTL using currentDocument.contentObject.path and compare results with the Browse UI metadata. Trace how FileAsset metadata is loaded through BinaryMap and how findHydrated affects contentObject.path during Elasticsearch indexing. Done means the path is consistently populated for file assets or a reliable fallback is documented and verified against the reproduction.