XY problem

The XY problem is a communication problem encountered in help desk and similar
situations in which the person asking for help obscures the real issue, (X),
because instead of asking directly about issue X, they ask how to solve a
secondary issue, Y, which they believe will allow them to resolve issue X.
However, resolving issue Y often does not resolve issue X, or is a poor way to
resolve it, and the obscuring of the real issue and the introduction of the
potentially strange secondary issue can lead to the person trying to help having
unnecessary difficulties in communication and/or offering poor solutions.