Troubleshooting 'Constraint Violation' Errors in Identity Management

Products

• CA Identity Manager
• CA Identity Governance
• CA Identity Portal
• CA Identity Suite

Issue/Introduction

When creating or modifying users in Identity Manager, Identity Governance, or the Identity Suite, the operation fails with a Constraint Violation error. This typically occurs when working with LDAP user stores or endpoints.

Environment

IGA 14.x

Cause

This applies to LDAP user stores or endpoints. A constraint violation occurs when the data being submitted does not comply with the rules defined in your LDAP schema. Essentially, the LDAP server rejects the update because the provided value "breaks" a grammatical or structural rule of the directory.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must identify which attribute is causing the violation and adjust the data or the submission method. Use the following troubleshooting flowchart to identify the specific cause.

A constraint violation is simply a grammatical error or a value that does not adhere to the LDAP schema. 
For example , you may be creating a user and providing characters that are not allowed for an attribute. 

Example: The telephone number attribute has schema that allows only numbers. 
However, if you have entered text such 'test' in there, you would get a constraint violation.

Example: An attribute has a size limit of 5 chars. 
If you enter a value larger than that, you would get a constraint violation. 

Example: You have an attribute defined as single valued. 
You use Policy Xpress to update the value. But instead of clearing the existing value, you are using Add function. This adds another value to the attribute which is only allowed if the attribute is multi-valued. So you would get a constraint violation in this instance too. 

Common Scenarios and Fixes

Scenario	Example	Solution
Data Type Mismatch	Entering text in a telephoneNumber field restricted to integers.	Ensure the input matches the LDAP syntax (e.g., Integer, DirectoryString).
Size Constraints	Entering a 10-character string into an attribute defined with a 5-character limit.	Truncate the value or update the LDAP schema to allow larger values.
Value Cardinality	Using a "PX Add" function on a single-valued attribute that already contains data.	Use the Set or Clear/Add logic in Policy Xpress to replace the existing value.
Illegal Characters	Using special characters (e.g., *, (, )) in attributes where they are reserved.	Remove reserved characters or escape them according to LDAP standards.

There are many more examples, but the first thing to do when receiving a constraint violation is to check the data being submitted. 
the data is being rejected due to schema violations. 
 

Additional Information

1. Check Identity Manager Logs: Look for the specific attribute name mentioned immediately before the LDAP: error code 19 (Constraint Violation) message.
2. Inspect Policy Xpress (PX): If the error occurs during an automated task, verify that your PX logic isn't attempting to add a second value to a single-valued attribute.
3. Direct LDAP Test: Attempt to make the same change directly on the LDAP server using a tool like JXplorer or ldapmodify. If it fails there, the issue is strictly with the LDAP schema rules.

We hope these steps help you resolve the constraint violation. We understand that data errors can be frustrating, especially during critical account management tasks. If you continue to experience difficulties after verifying your schema and data, please open a case with support.