How to Debug Entity Malformed Exception

Learn how to debug the Entity Malformed Exception. Our Drupal Support team is here to answer your queries and concerns.

How to Debug Entity Malformed Exception

Having trouble with the following error message?

EntityMalformedException: Missing bundle property on entity of type node.

You’re not alone. This Drupal exception has stumped several of our customers recently. However, with help from our Experts, they soon resolved the issue quickly.

Why This Error Happens

This error is thrown when Drupal tries to load or save an entity (such as a node) but can’t determine its bundle (i.e., content type). In other words, Drupal checks if the bundle property exists and is not empty:

if (!isset($entity->{$info['entity keys']['bundle']}) || $entity->{$info['entity keys']['bundle']} === '') {

throw new EntityMalformedException(t('Missing bundle property on entity of type @entity_type.', array('@entity_type' => $entity_type)));

}

For nodes, the bundle is stored in `$node->type`. If this property is missing or empty, Drupal doesn’t know what kind of entity it’s working with and winds up throwing the error.

Common Causes

Even if we haven’t modified Drupal core, several things can trigger this issue:

1. Invalid or Corrupt Entity Data

• Missing node type

  Often caused by tools like Devel Generate creating incomplete entities.
• Orphaned nodes

  Entries in the `node` table do not match the revision or field data.
• Invalid field data

  For example, a taxonomy term reference field pointing to a non-existent term.

We can check for invalid term references using SQL:

SELECT nid, title

FROM node

WHERE nid IN (

SELECT entity_id

FROM field_data_field_ref

WHERE field_some_ref_tid NOT IN (SELECT tid FROM taxonomy_term_data)

);

Remember to replace `field_ref` with the actual field name.

These kinds of structural issues often come up after updates or misconfigurations. For more on handling unexpected Drupal errors, check out this guide to resolving “Unexpected error” issues in Drupal 7.

2. Caching Issues

Sometimes, entity or field caches get corrupted. Clearing all caches (`drush cr`) can help, but may not solve deep data inconsistencies.

If you’re using Drush, ensure you’re also familiar with uninstalling modules using Drush properly. The remnants of improperly removed modules can contribute to issues like this.

3. Buggy Modules

Furthermore, the community has flagged the following modules as culprits behind the error:

• Field Permissions module
• Drag’n’Drop Uploads module

Removing or disabling these modules temporarily can help narrow down the issue.

4. Incorrect Custom Code

Poorly written custom code can lead to this exception. Watch out for these issues:

• Missing `!empty()` checks before using entity fields.
• Bad implementation of the Entity API or CTools access checks.
• Improper rendering logic on non-standard pages (e.g., using `field_view_field()` where it’s not applicable).

 

Incorrect render arrays are another common issue in custom code. If you’ve seen errors like “attributes is an invalid render array key”This article on render array issues will help clarify how render arrays should be structured.

How to Debug the Exception

1. Use debug_backtrace()

According to our Engineers, the fastest way to trace the root cause is to examine the call stack where the error occurs.

We need to insert debug_backtrace() just before the exception is thrown (typically in `common.inc`, or wherever you see the error):

var_dump(debug_backtrace());

die();

Or use the Devel module’s `dd()`:

dd(debug_backtrace());

This will write a detailed trace to `temporary://drupal_debug.txt`, which we can open to see the exact chain of function calls leading to the error.

Our developer traced the problem to a pane visibility rule affected by a patched file in the CTools module when a Customer reported the error. After removing the patch or disabling the problematic rule, the error disappeared.

2. A Quick Fix for Form Submissions

We will likely run into an error if we customize an entity form and forget to include the bundle value. To fix this, explicitly add the bundle value like so:

$form['bundle'] = array(

'#type' => 'value',

'#value' => $entity->bundle,

);

We can use `’value’` instead of `’hidden’` for better security and clarity.

For developers working on custom code, make sure your environment follows the proper standards. Otherwise, you may run into subtle bugs. If you’ve ever seen the error about the Drupal coding standard not being installed, this post explains how to fix it.

3. Clean Up Orphaned Nodes

Sometimes, the best fix is a clean slate. To identify and remove orphaned nodes:

1. First, find the orphaned nodes:

   SELECT n.nid, n.title, n.vid, nr.vid
   
   FROM node n
   
   LEFT JOIN node_revision nr ON nr.nid = n.nid
   
   WHERE n.type = 'content_type'
   
   AND nr.vid IS NULL
   
   ORDER BY n.nid ASC;
   
   

   Replace `’content_type’` with the actual content type machine name.
2. Then, delete these nodes:

   DELETE FROM node
   
   WHERE nid IN (nid1, nid2, nid3);
   
   

   Remember to back up the database before running any DELETE queries.

[Need assistance with a different issue? Our team is available 24/7.]

Conclusion

This error indicates invalid data or incorrect assumptions in the code or module setup. Once cleaned up, our cron jobs will run smoothly.

In brief, our Support Experts demonstrated how to debug the Entity Malformed Exception