jamesfredley opened a new issue, #16124:
URL: https://github.com/apache/grails-core/issues/16124
### Summary
A Grails 8 web application fails to start with `NoClassDefFoundError:
com/fasterxml/jackson/databind/exc/InvalidDefinitionException` as soon as any
dependency puts **Jackson 2 `jackson-core` / `jackson-annotations` on the
runtime classpath without Jackson 2 `jackson-databind`**.
Grails 8 ships Jackson 3 for databind (`tools.jackson`), but the managed
platform still supplies Jackson 2 `jackson-core`, `jackson-annotations`, and
the Jackson 2 dataformat artifacts. When a plugin or library pulls in Jackson 2
core, the resulting classpath has "half of Jackson 2": Spring Framework 7's
`DefaultHttpMessageConverters.detectMessageConverters()` concludes Jackson 2 is
available and then hard-references a `jackson-databind` 2.x class that is not
present.
The failure happens while creating `OrderedFormContentFilter`, so **Tomcat
never starts and the whole application is dead**, regardless of whether the app
itself uses Jackson at all.
Found while testing released Grails 7 plugins against `8.0.0-M5`.
### Grails Version
8.0.0-M5
### Java / Groovy Version
Java 21.0.11 (Corretto), Groovy 5.0.8, Spring Boot 4.1.0, Spring Framework
7.0.8
### Steps to Reproduce
1. Generate a stock web app with the published 8.0.0-M5 distribution:
```
grails create-app elasticsearch --profile=web
```
2. Add a single dependency that transitively brings Jackson 2 core. Any such
dependency reproduces it; the one used here is a released Grails 7 plugin:
```groovy
implementation "org.grails.plugins:grails-elasticsearch:5.1.0"
```
3. Run `gradlew test integrationTest bootJar`, or simply boot the app.
### Actual Behaviour
```
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.BeanInstantiationException: Failed to
instantiate
[org.springframework.boot.servlet.filter.OrderedFormContentFilter]:
Factory method 'formContentFilter' threw exception with message:
com/fasterxml/jackson/databind/exc/InvalidDefinitionException
Caused by: java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError:
com/fasterxml/jackson/databind/exc/InvalidDefinitionException
at
org.springframework.http.converter.DefaultHttpMessageConverters$DefaultBuilder.detectMessageConverters(DefaultHttpMessageConverters.java:334)
at
org.springframework.http.converter.DefaultHttpMessageConverters$DefaultClientBuilder.build(DefaultHttpMessageConverters.java:468)
at
org.springframework.http.converter.support.AllEncompassingFormHttpMessageConverter.<init>(AllEncompassingFormHttpMessageConverter.java:42)
at
org.springframework.web.filter.FormContentFilter.<init>(FormContentFilter.java:61)
at
org.springframework.boot.servlet.filter.OrderedFormContentFilter.<init>(OrderedFormContentFilter.java:29)
at
org.springframework.boot.webmvc.autoconfigure.WebMvcAutoConfiguration.formContentFilter(WebMvcAutoConfiguration.java:189)
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException:
com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.exc.InvalidDefinitionException
```
Wrapped in `WebServerException` from `TomcatWebServer.initialize`, so the
context never refreshes.
### Root cause evidence
Contents of `BOOT-INF/lib` in the built `bootJar` - note Jackson 2 core and
annotations are present, Jackson 3 databind is present, and **Jackson 2
databind is missing**:
```
BOOT-INF/lib/jackson-core-2.21.5.jar
BOOT-INF/lib/jackson-annotations-2.21.jar
BOOT-INF/lib/jackson-dataformat-cbor-2.21.4.jar
BOOT-INF/lib/jackson-dataformat-smile-2.21.4.jar
BOOT-INF/lib/jackson-dataformat-yaml-2.21.4.jar
BOOT-INF/lib/jackson-databind-3.1.5.jar
BOOT-INF/lib/jackson-core-3.1.5.jar
BOOT-INF/lib/spring-boot-jackson-4.1.0.jar
```
`dependencyInsight` shows the Jackson 2 core arriving transitively and being
upgraded by the managed platform:
```
com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core:2.14.2 -> 2.21.5
\--- org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch-x-content:7.17.29
\--- org.elasticsearch:elasticsearch:7.17.29
\--- org.grails.plugins:grails-elasticsearch:5.1.0
com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core:2.21.4 -> 2.21.5
\--- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-dependencies:4.1.0
```
### Confirmation of the diagnosis
Adding the missing Jackson 2 databind to the same app:
```groovy
runtimeOnly "com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:2.21.5"
```
makes the startup crash disappear entirely. The app then boots, the plugin
wires up, and the only remaining failure is the plugin's own `ConnectException`
reaching an Elasticsearch server - an unrelated, expected environmental error:
```
Caused by: org.elasticsearch.ElasticsearchException at
RestHighLevelClient.java:2695
Caused by: java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException at BaseFuture.java:257
Caused by: java.net.ConnectException at Net.java:694
```
So the startup failure is purely the incomplete Jackson 2 classpath, not the
plugin's behaviour.
### Expected Behaviour
Either the managed platform keeps Jackson 2 internally consistent (if
Jackson 2 `jackson-core` / `jackson-annotations` are managed and can reach the
runtime classpath, Jackson 2 `jackson-databind` should be managed and present
too), or Jackson 2 artifacts should not be able to reach the application
runtime classpath at all, so Spring's Jackson 2 detection never triggers.
Right now a user gets a hard, non-obvious startup crash in an unrelated
filter, with nothing pointing at the actual cause.
### Impact
This is not specific to one plugin. Any Grails 7 plugin or third-party
library that brings Jackson 2 core without databind - a very common shape,
since many libraries depend on `jackson-core` or a Jackson 2 dataformat only -
will take down a Grails 8 application at startup. The error message names
neither Grails nor the offending dependency.
### Suggested resolution
Options for discussion:
1. Manage `com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind` (2.x) in the Grails
platform alongside the Jackson 2 `jackson-core` / `jackson-annotations` /
dataformat entries so the Jackson 2 classpath is never half-present.
2. Alternatively, keep Jackson 2 fully off the application runtime classpath
and let Jackson 3 be the only Jackson present.
3. At minimum, document this failure mode and the `runtimeOnly
"com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:<2.x>"` workaround in the Grails 8
upgrade guide's Jackson section, since the stack trace gives no hint.
### Notes
Part of a compatibility sweep of released Grails 7 plugins against 8.0.0-M5.
Related plugin-compatibility issues found in the same sweep: #16122 and #16123.
Existing compatibility-shim precedents: #16011 and #16101.
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