NoClassDefFoundError/ExceptionInInitializerError on Android 2.3.3 and Jackson 2.9.0

I discovered a NoClassDefFoundError/ExceptionInInitializerError when I run this Android app in the following environment:

• Samsung GT-I9000
• Android 2.3.3 (API level 8, Froyo)
• no Google Play Services installed
• com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:2.9.0 - 2.9.2
• crash happens for DEBUG and RELEASE builds

Here is the excerpt which causes the crash. The full source code can be found here (commit: 4da721846ad4c9bca030fc1167aff3d8754abb72).

111 SimpleModule module = new SimpleModule();
112 module.addDeserializer(Circuit.class, new CircuitDeserializer());
113 ObjectMapper objectMapper = new ObjectMapper(); // <-- crash
114 objectMapper.registerModule(module);

The following stacktrace is generated when I open the FaqActivity from the toolbar menu:

java.lang.ExceptionInInitializerError
    at com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper.<init>(ObjectMapper.java:577)
    at com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper.<init>(ObjectMapper.java:480)
    at de.avpptr.umweltzone.utils.ContentProvider.getContent(ContentProvider.java:113)
    at de.avpptr.umweltzone.utils.ContentProvider.getContent(ContentProvider.java:98)
    at de.avpptr.umweltzone.utils.ContentProvider.getFaqs(ContentProvider.java:68)
    at de.avpptr.umweltzone.faqs.FaqActivity.onCreate(FaqActivity.java:40)
    at android.app.Instrumentation.callActivityOnCreate(Instrumentation.java:1047)
    at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1615)
    ...
Caused by: java.lang.ExceptionInInitializerError
    at com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.deser.BasicDeserializerFactory.<clinit>(BasicDeserializerFactory.java:49)
    ... 19 more
Caused by: java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.util.ClassUtil
    at com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.PropertyName.<init>(PropertyName.java:66)
    at com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.PropertyName.<clinit>(PropertyName.java:29)
    ... 20 more

Findings

• The crash can be reproduced with the system-images;android-10;google_apis;x86 emulator image (Android 2.3.3, Google APIs)
• The crash does not occur when I use jackson-databind:2.8.10.
• The crash does not happen on another device: Nexus 5, Android 6.0.1, Google Play Services installed.
• The crash does not occur on Android 4.1, API level 16 (tested with system-images;android-16;google_apis;x86 emulator).

Related issues

• #216 - ExceptionInInitializerError for Android API level 8

[cowtowncoder]

@johnjohndoe Yes, there’s diminishing return on back-porting, and Google does tend to push for newer versions (since older versions are costly to support for them too).

And yes, security issues are a class of problems for which new versions are theoretically possible for even otherwise closed branches. 2.8 is not yet officially closed, however, and I suspect I will be doing full 2.8.11 release at some point. Beyond this, micro-patches are a possibility. As to major bugs, perhaps, depends on type of bug in question. I don’t think I have done that yet for a closed minor branch (unlike security patch or two), but I would not rule that out.

[joelittlejohn]

@johnjohndoe ☝️