Fix TableClient.list_entities leaking unsupported kwargs to transport

[ahmedtaha100]

Summary

Fixes #46014

When calling list_entities(query_filter=...), the query_filter and parameters kwargs were being forwarded through **kwargs into the transport layer, causing aiohttp to raise TypeError: unexpected keyword argument 'query_filter'.

Per maintainer feedback, query_filter is not a supported parameter on list_entities — the intended API for filtering is query_entities. The fix now rejects query_filter early with a clear ValueError pointing users to query_entities, and pops parameters to prevent it from leaking downstream.

Changes

• _table_client.py / _table_client_async.py: pop query_filter and parameters from kwargs, raise ValueError if query_filter is provided
• Added 4 regression tests (2 sync, 2 async) verifying the ValueError is raised

Test results

• All 4 new regression tests pass
• Full unit test suite: 57 passed, 2 skipped, 0 failed
• Pylint, mypy, black, bandit, sphinx all pass

@YalinLi0312 @klaaslanghout I’d appreciate a review when you have a chance. This fixes the list_entities(query_filter=...) kwarg leak in azure-data-tables and adds regression coverage.

[github-actions]

Thank you for your contribution @ahmedtaha100! We will review the pull request and get back to you soon.

[ahmedtaha100]

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[annatisch]

Thanks @ahmedtaha100 - the "query filter" feature is already surfaced as a separate method - TableClient.query_entities.
Could you provide some more detail on why this is not sufficient for your scenario?

[ahmedtaha100]

Thanks @ahmedtaha100 - the "query filter" feature is already surfaced as a separate method - TableClient.query_entities. Could you provide some more detail on why this is not sufficient for your scenario?

Thanks for clarifying — I agree query_entities is the intended API for filtering, and that works for my scenario.

I think the core bug is that unsupported kwargs on list_entities leak to the async transport and surface as an aiohttp TypeError, instead of a clear SDK-level error.

I can revise this PR to keep list_entities behavior unchanged and add kwarg validation so unsupported args (for example query_filter) fail early with a clear message (and point users to query_entities for filtering). If that direction looks right, I’ll update the PR accordingly. I

[annatisch]

Thank you @ahmedtaha100 - that sounds like a good approach - much appreciated!

[ahmedtaha100]

@annatisch

Thank you @ahmedtaha100 - that sounds like a good approach - much appreciated!

@annatisch Updated the PR per your suggestion: list_entities now rejects query_filter with a clear ValueError directing users to query_entities instead of forwarding it. It also pops parameters to avoid downstream kwarg leakage. Sync and async regression tests were updated accordingly.

[ahmedtaha100]

Hello @rgant @annatisch, just a brief follow up on this PR if there's anything I need to fix/correct to get it merged? Thank you!

[rgant]

Thanks for picking this up @ahmedtaha100! The fix is correct for list_entities and the regression tests provide coverage.

That said, I think this is treating a symptom rather than the root cause. The underlying problem is that **kwargs flows unchecked from the public API through _base_client_async.py → AioHttpTransport.send() → aiohttp.ClientSession.request(). Any SDK-specific kwarg that isn't popped before hitting the transport will trigger the same TypeError with aiohttp. The sync client dodges this because requests is more permissive about unexpected kwargs.

Popping query_filter and parameters here fixes my reported case, but any other method that passes SDK kwargs through **kwargs on the async path is vulnerable to the same class of bug.

Has the team considered a more systematic fix? For example, an allowlist of transport-safe kwargs, or stripping unknown kwargs at the pipeline/transport boundary before they reach session.request(). That would prevent this entire category of leak rather than patching each method individually.

[ahmedtaha100]

Thanks for picking this up @ahmedtaha100! The fix is correct for list_entities and the regression tests provide coverage.

That said, I think this is treating a symptom rather than the root cause. The underlying problem is that **kwargs flows unchecked from the public API through _base_client_async.py → AioHttpTransport.send() → aiohttp.ClientSession.request(). Any SDK-specific kwarg that isn't popped before hitting the transport will trigger the same TypeError with aiohttp. The sync client dodges this because requests is more permissive about unexpected kwargs.

Popping query_filter and parameters here fixes my reported case, but any other method that passes SDK kwargs through **kwargs on the async path is vulnerable to the same class of bug.

Has the team considered a more systematic fix? For example, an allowlist of transport-safe kwargs, or stripping unknown kwargs at the pipeline/transport boundary before they reach session.request(). That would prevent this entire category of leak rather than patching each method individually.

Thanks — I agree the underlying issue is broader than TableClient.list_entities.

For this PR, I’d like to keep the fix narrow because list_entities is not intended to support query_filter; the supported API for server-side filtering is query_entities. The change here is just to fail early with a clear SDK-level ValueError instead of letting unsupported kwargs leak through to the transport.

I also agree the root cause is more general: SDK-specific kwargs can survive through pipeline context and reach the built-in transports on the async path, where aiohttp rejects them. That broader fix seems like it belongs in azure-core / shared transport handling rather than in this tables-specific PR.

I also want to be careful about sync compatibility: today the sync path is more permissive than async, so a systemic fix likely needs azure-core owner review and may need a staged compatibility approach rather than being folded into this PR.

I’ll open a follow-up azure-core tracking issue for the shared transport-layer problem and link it back here. For this PR, my goal is to keep the tables API behavior correct and make the reported failure mode clear.

@annatisch
@rgant

[ahmedtaha100]

Thanks @rgant for flagging the broader concern — I opened a follow-up azure-core tracking issue for the shared transport-layer kwarg leak: #46365.

I’d still prefer to keep this PR narrow since list_entities is not intended to support query_filter; the supported API for server-side filtering is query_entities. This PR keeps the tables API behavior correct, and the broader shared transport concern is now tracked separately.

@annatisch