IllegalVersioningConfigurationException
AWS IllegalVersioningConfigurationException (Illegal Versioning Configuration Exception) means the versioning configuration in the request is not valid. In Amazon S3, this error returns HTTP 400.
Last reviewed: February 12, 2026|Editorial standard: source-backed technical guidance
What Does Illegal Versioning Configuration Exception Mean?
S3 rejects the configuration update, so versioning state remains unchanged and downstream lifecycle, replication, and recovery controls can drift from intended policy.
Common Causes
- -VersioningConfiguration payload uses unsupported values (Status must be Enabled or Suspended).
- -MFADelete is requested without required MFA context and ownership prerequisites.
- -Automation serializes invalid versioning XML structure.
How to Fix Illegal Versioning Configuration Exception
- 1Validate VersioningConfiguration against S3 API requirements.
- 2Apply only supported status/MFA combinations for the target bucket state and owner context.
- 3Retry PutBucketVersioning with minimal valid configuration.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis for Illegal Versioning Configuration Exception
- 1Capture raw versioning request and compare with official examples.
- 2Check bucket owner context and MFA prerequisites for requested MFADelete changes.
- 3Diff failing config against last known-good versioning payload.
Versioning Payload Contract Review
- -Inspect VersioningConfiguration fields for allowed values only (example: Status=Active is invalid; use Enabled or Suspended).
- -Parse serialized XML and ensure expected node structure (example: malformed MFADelete element causes configuration rejection).
Ownership and MFA Preconditions
- -Verify the caller is authorized as bucket owner for versioning changes (example: delegated role lacks effective rights for PutBucketVersioning).
- -Audit MFA requirement handling when toggling MFADelete (example: request omits x-amz-mfa header while attempting MFADelete=Enabled).
How to Verify the Fix
- -Re-run PutBucketVersioning and confirm configuration is accepted.
- -Validate GetBucketVersioning returns expected status values.
- -Confirm no follow-up versioning configuration failures occur.
How to Prevent Recurrence
- -Generate versioning payloads from strict typed templates.
- -Validate MFA Delete and versioning prerequisites before apply.
- -Gate versioning changes behind policy and schema checks.
Pro Tip
- -treat versioning configuration as immutable IaC intent and run a post-apply GetBucketVersioning drift check in the same pipeline stage.
Decision Support
Compare Guide
HTTP 400 vs 422: Bad Request vs Unprocessable Content
Fix API payload issues faster by using 400 for malformed syntax and 422 for semantic validation failures, so clients correct format before business rules.
Playbook
CORS Error Fix Playbook (Preflight / Origin / Credentials)
Use this playbook to separate browser-enforced cross-origin policy failures from server-side CORS header and route defects and apply strict origin and credential controls safely.
Playbook
Validation Failure Playbook (400 / 422 / INVALID_ARGUMENT)
Use this playbook to separate malformed-request failures from semantic validation failures, then fix request contracts without broad server-side bypasses.
Official References
Provider Context
This guidance is specific to AWS services. Always validate implementation details against official provider documentation before deploying to production.