nodejs / nodejs/node

sqlite: excess bound parameters produce an opaque "column index out of range" error

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sqlite
Dominant language
JavaScript
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Description

Version

v24.15.0 (also present on main)

Platform

Darwin 25.6.0 arm64 (platform-independent — pure BindParams logic)

Subsystem

sqlite

What steps will reproduce the bug?
const { DatabaseSync } = require('node:sqlite');
const db = new DatabaseSync(':memory:');
db.exec('CREATE TABLE t(a)');

const ins = db.prepare('INSERT INTO t VALUES (?)');
ins.run(1, 2);          // ERR_SQLITE_ERROR, errcode 25, "column index out of range"
db.prepare('SELECT 1').get(5);   // same

Any excess anonymous argument reproduces it, regardless of type — 2, 'x', and null all give the identical message.

How often does it reproduce? Is there a required condition?

Always, whenever the number of anonymous arguments exceeds the statement's sqlite3_bind_parameter_count().

What is the expected behavior? Why is that the expected behavior?

An error naming the actual problem — that more parameters were supplied than the statement accepts, ideally with both counts. Something like:

TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_COUNT]: Statement accepts 1 parameter, but 2 were provided.

Two reasons this matters:

  1. The message describes the wrong thing. "Column index out of range" is SQLite's wording for a binding index, but to a JS caller "column" reads as a table column, pointing them at their schema rather than their call site. Nothing in the message indicates an argument-count mismatch.

  2. It's inconsistent with how the adjacent failure is reported. A wrong-type argument gets a precise Node-authored error: ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE: Provided value cannot be bound to SQLite parameter 2. A wrong-count argument falls through to a raw SQLite error code. Both are caller mistakes in the same call, caught in the same function.

What do you see instead?

ERR_SQLITE_ERROR with errcode: 25 and message column index out of range.

Additional information

The anonymous-binding loop in StatementSync::BindParams (src/node_sqlite.cc) iterates args from anon_start to args.Length() without comparing that span against sqlite3_bind_parameter_count(), so the overflow surfaces from sqlite3_bind_* instead. param_count is already fetched a few lines above, inside the bare-named-params block. A pre-loop guard would cover every excess-argument case at once.

Worth deciding up front whether this should throw at all, or ignore extra arguments the way ordinary JS functions do. Throwing seems better for a database API, and it's the current behavior, so a guard would preserve semantics while fixing only the message. Note this would be a breaking change for anyone matching on ERR_SQLITE_ERROR/errcode 25, so it likely wants semver-major treatment.

Surfaced while reviewing #62008, which changes undefined handling in the same function; the two are independent.

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 in src/node_sqlite.cc at StatementSync::BindParams, reading the existing param_count handling and anonymous-binding loop. Reproduce the issue with the SQL snippets provided; done means excess anonymous arguments report a clear parameter-count error instead of SQLite errcode 25, without changing the existing binding behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript, node.js, sqlite
Domain
databases
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
68/100

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