v1.14 backport: Fix nil pointer dereference in backend state migration (#38028) (#38058)

* fix: handle all StateMgr errors during backend migration

Fixes a nil pointer dereference panic that occurs during backend
migration when StateMgr returns an error other than ErrDefaultWorkspaceNotSupported.

The bug occurred because the code only checked for the specific
ErrDefaultWorkspaceNotSupported error. When any other error occurred
(such as permission errors like storage.objects.get access denied),
destinationState remained nil, but the code continued and attempted
to call destinationState.RefreshState(), causing a panic.

This fix adds an else clause to catch and return all other errors
from StateMgr, preventing the nil pointer dereference and providing
users with a clear error message instead of a crash.

Fixes #24100

* Add changelog entry for backend migration nil pointer fix

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)



---------

Co-authored-by: Mark Hall <mark.hall993@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

.changes/v1.14/BUG FIXES-20251223-184516.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+kind: BUG FIXES
+body: 'backend: Fix nil pointer dereference crash during `terraform init` when the destination backend returns an error'
+time: 2025-12-23T18:45:16.000000Z
+custom:
+    Issue: "38027"

internal/command/meta_backend_migrate.go

@@ -282,37 +282,43 @@ func (m *Meta) backendMigrateState_s_s(opts *backendMigrateOpts) error {
 
 	var err error
 	destinationState, sDiags := opts.Destination.StateMgr(opts.destinationWorkspace)
-	if sDiags.HasErrors() && sDiags.Err().Error() == backend.ErrDefaultWorkspaceNotSupported.Error() {
-		// If the backend doesn't support using the default state, we ask the user
-		// for a new name and migrate the default state to the given named state.
-		destinationState, err = func() (statemgr.Full, error) {
-			log.Print("[TRACE] backendMigrateState: destination doesn't support a default workspace, so we must prompt for a new name")
-			name, err := m.promptNewWorkspaceName(opts.DestinationType)
-			if err != nil {
-				return nil, err
-			}
-
-			// Update the name of the destination state.
-			opts.destinationWorkspace = name
-
-			destinationState, sDiags := opts.Destination.StateMgr(opts.destinationWorkspace)
-			if sDiags.HasErrors() {
-				return nil, sDiags.Err()
-			}
-
-			// Ignore invalid workspace name as it is irrelevant in this context.
-			workspace, _ := m.Workspace()
-
-			// If the currently selected workspace is the default workspace, then set
-			// the named workspace as the new selected workspace.
-			if workspace == backend.DefaultStateName {
-				if err := m.SetWorkspace(opts.destinationWorkspace); err != nil {
-					return nil, fmt.Errorf("Failed to set new workspace: %s", err)
+	if sDiags.HasErrors() {
+		if sDiags.Err().Error() == backend.ErrDefaultWorkspaceNotSupported.Error() {
+			// If the backend doesn't support using the default state, we ask the user
+			// for a new name and migrate the default state to the given named state.
+			destinationState, err = func() (statemgr.Full, error) {
+				log.Print("[TRACE] backendMigrateState: destination doesn't support a default workspace, so we must prompt for a new name")
+				name, err := m.promptNewWorkspaceName(opts.DestinationType)
+				if err != nil {
+					return nil, err
 				}
-			}
 
-			return destinationState, nil
-		}()
+				// Update the name of the destination state.
+				opts.destinationWorkspace = name
+
+				destinationState, sDiags := opts.Destination.StateMgr(opts.destinationWorkspace)
+				if sDiags.HasErrors() {
+					return nil, sDiags.Err()
+				}
+
+				// Ignore invalid workspace name as it is irrelevant in this context.
+				workspace, _ := m.Workspace()
+
+				// If the currently selected workspace is the default workspace, then set
+				// the named workspace as the new selected workspace.
+				if workspace == backend.DefaultStateName {
+					if err := m.SetWorkspace(opts.destinationWorkspace); err != nil {
+						return nil, fmt.Errorf("Failed to set new workspace: %s", err)
+					}
+				}
+
+				return destinationState, nil
+			}()
+		} else {
+			// For any other error, return it immediately to avoid nil pointer dereference
+			return fmt.Errorf(strings.TrimSpace(
+				errMigrateSingleLoadDefault), opts.DestinationType, sDiags.Err())
+		}
 	}
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf(strings.TrimSpace(