RpcError: 1010: Invalid Transaction: Transaction has a bad signature

[yrong]

2025-11-17 03:51:03        RPC-CORE: submitAndWatchExtrinsic(extrinsic: Extrinsic): ExtrinsicStatus:: 1010: Invalid Transaction: Transaction has a bad signature
2025-11-17 03:51:03        RPC-CORE: submitAndWatchExtrinsic(extrinsic: Extrinsic): ExtrinsicStatus:: 1010: Invalid Transaction: Transaction has a bad signature
/home/ubuntu/projects/snowbridge-westend/web/node_modules/.pnpm/@polkadot+rpc-provider@16.4.8/node_modules/@polkadot/rpc-provider/cjs/coder/index.js:23
        throw new error_js_1.default(`${code}: ${message}${formatErrorData(data)}`, code, data);
              ^
RpcError: 1010: Invalid Transaction: Transaction has a bad signature
    at checkError (/home/ubuntu/projects/snowbridge-westend/web/node_modules/.pnpm/@polkadot+rpc-provider@16.4.8/node_modules/@polkadot/rpc-provider/cjs/coder/index.js:23:15)
    at RpcCoder.decodeResponse (/home/ubuntu/projects/snowbridge-westend/web/node_modules/.pnpm/@polkadot+rpc-provider@16.4.8/node_modules/@polkadot/rpc-provider/cjs/coder/index.js:39:9)
    at WsProvider.#onSocketMessageResult (/home/ubuntu/projects/snowbridge-westend/web/node_modules/.pnpm/@polkadot+rpc-provider@16.4.8/node_modules/@polkadot/rpc-provider/cjs/ws/index.js:433:40)
    at WebSocket.#onSocketMessage (/home/ubuntu/projects/snowbridge-westend/web/node_modules/.pnpm/@polkadot+rpc-provider@16.4.8/node_modules/@polkadot/rpc-provider/cjs/ws/index.js:422:42)
    at WebSocket.[nodejs.internal.kHybridDispatch] (node:internal/event_target:827:20)
    at WebSocket.dispatchEvent (node:internal/event_target:762:26)
    at fireEvent (node:internal/deps/undici/undici:11637:14)
    at websocketMessageReceived (node:internal/deps/undici/undici:11659:7)
    at ByteParser.run (node:internal/deps/undici/undici:12281:19)
    at ByteParser._write (node:internal/deps/undici/undici:12174:14)

I encountered an error when submitting this extrinsic on Westend AssetHub.

However, the same extrinsic executes successfully when using the runtime API dryRunApi.dryRunCall from 5E4Hf7LzHE4W3jabjLWSP8p8RzEa9ednwRivFEwYAprzpgwc signed origin.

[rajk93]

Hey @yrong
I’ve confirmed that api.call.dryRunApi.dryRunCall is working correctly with the extrinsic data you provided, using the snippet below:

import { ApiPromise, WsProvider } from '@polkadot/api';

const address = "5E4Hf7LzHE4W3jabjLWSP8p8RzEa9ednwRivFEwYAprzpgwc";

const main = async () => {
    try {
        const providerUrl = "wss://westend-asset-hub-rpc.polkadot.io";
        const provider = new WsProvider(providerUrl);
        const api = await ApiPromise.create({ provider });
        
        const data = "0x1f030514000c010000078c8b04d12f020109079edaa802000bc0543a51185b020209079edaa8020300fff9976782d46cc05630d1f6ebab18b2324d6b14000b00407a10f35a30010000078c8b04d12f1608140d010220000101005827013ddc4082f8252f8729bd2f06e77e7863dea9202a6f0e7a2c34e356e85a31020109079edaa80201020004020109079edaa8020007c014c040250104020008020209079edaa8020300fff9976782d46cc05630d1f6ebab18b2324d6b14000b00407a10f35a020109079edaa802000b00407a10f35a080d01022000010300302f0b71b8ad3cf6dd90adb668e49b2168d652fd2c44d6882e59dc56f3e1cd1e0f8daf56ff3152d8e3c02d244721f5f8ca8ac3bce22c44d6882e59dc56f3e1cd1e0f8daf56ff3152d8e3c02d244721f5f8ca8ac3bce20700d6117e0302d43000";
        const extrinsicCall = api.createType('Call', data);

        const origin = {
            system: {
                Signed: address
            }
        };

        const dryRunResult = await api.call.dryRunApi.dryRunCall(
            origin,
            extrinsicCall,
            5 // XCM version
        );
        console.log({ dryRunResult: dryRunResult.toString() });

        await api.disconnect();
    } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error:', error.message);
        console.error(error.stack);
    }
}

main();

I also attempted to validate this using tx.dryRun(<signer>), but that requires a real signer with access to a private key.

Could you share more details or a code sample showing how you’re constructing and submitting the extrinsic on your side? That would help me reproduce the exact flow you’re experiencing.

[yrong]

how you’re constructing and submitting the extrinsic

Just construct the transaction using polkadotXcm.execute, then call signAndSend on the resulting transaction object.

I assume this isn’t related to the call itself, since we’ve used it previously for building transfers to Ethereum and it has always worked as expected. It still works for a single asset (ETH), but fails in the case above when multiple assets (ETH and WETH) are included. Could this be caused by a transaction or response size limit?

I also attempted to validate this using tx.dryRun(), but that requires a real signer with access to a private key.

I can send some ERC-20 assets to your test account if necessary, but I assume you can reproduce the above extrinsic in the Polkadot app using any account, even without holding ERC-20 assets. I observed the same error there in the Polkadot app.

[rajk93]

Thanks for the information! I'll continue investigating this on my side.
It would be very helpful for testing if you could send some assets to 5HTHiqaEEThndv84K8s7eg3GKnqJEAwGvikU663G6QBQXNg8 address.

[yrong]

send to 5HTHiqaEEThndv84K8s7eg3GKnqJEAwGvikU663G6QBQXNg8

Done — I’ve tested it, and using dryRunApi.dryRunCall to execute the extrinsic above works with your account.

[rajk93]

Alright, thanks!
I was able to reproduce the same behavior. I’ve spent some time investigating the issue, and my current hypothesis is that it may be related to the following discussion: polkadot-fellows/RFCs#148

[yrong]

Thanks for investigating. The weird part is that, using the exact same code, I'm able to send this extrinsic (for transferring a single asset -ETH) without any errors.

Since you already have the required asset, I assume you should be able to reproduce it on your end.

[rajk93]

Yeah, that is strange.

I was able to reproduce the same error Invalid Transaction: Transaction has a bad signature when submitting the extrinsic. I’ll keep investigating and update you once I find more info here.

[josepot]

I have spent a bit of time looking into this and by the looks of it, this seems to be an issue with the runtime... I will have a closer look at it tomorrow, but -at a first glance- there seems to be something seriously wrong with the runtime. Anyways, this is just to say that this almost certainly not a problem with PJS.

[yrong]

I got it working with this extrinsic, which reconstruct the XCM slightly.

It might not be a direct issue with PJS, but I do think it’s worth digging deeper. Since dryRunApi.dryRunCall succeeds, the XCM should be valid, and the error doesn’t make sense in this context.

[bkchr]

I think the issue here is because of this pull request. As we change the ordering on decode, it will be different when we check the signature. The extrinsic above that works is sorting the assets correctly and thus, we do not reorder it. I'm going to fix this.

[bkchr]

paritytech/polkadot-sdk#10390 should be fixed by this pr.

[yrong]

paritytech/polkadot-sdk#10390 should be fixed by this pr.

@bkchr I can confirm the fix works in my local setup when building from your PR — many thanks.

[bkchr]

Thanks for confirming @yrong