Pipeline Maven Integration fails due to java.lang.AbstractMethodError

Issue

Suddenly all the Pipeline builds that use Maven Integration fail with errors that look like:

java.lang.AbstractMethodError: javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory.setFeature(Ljava/lang/String;Z)V
  at org.jenkinsci.plugins.pipeline.maven.MavenSpyLogProcessor.processMavenSpyLogs(MavenSpyLogProcessor.java:83)
  at org.jenkinsci.plugins.pipeline.maven.WithMavenStepExecution2$WithMavenStepExecutionCallBack.finished(WithMavenStepExecution2.java:1108)
  at org.jenkinsci.plugins.pipeline.maven.fix.jenkins49337.GeneralNonBlockingStepExecution$TailCall.lambda$onSuccess$0(GeneralNonBlockingStepExecution.java:142)

Caused: javax.xml.parsers.FactoryConfigurationError: Provider for class javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory cannot be created
  at javax.xml.parsers.FactoryFinder.findServiceProvider(FactoryFinder.java:311)
  at javax.xml.parsers.FactoryFinder.find(FactoryFinder.java:267)
  at javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance(DocumentBuilderFactory.java:120)
  at org.jenkinsci.plugins.pipeline.maven.MavenSpyLogProcessor.processMavenSpyLogs(MavenSpyLogProcessor.java:74)

Environment

CloudBees CI (CloudBees Core) on modern cloud platforms - Managed controller
CloudBees CI (CloudBees Core) on modern cloud platforms - Operations Center
CloudBees CI (CloudBees Core) on traditional platforms - Client controller
CloudBees CI (CloudBees Core) on traditional platforms - Operations Center
CloudBees Jenkins Enterprise - Managed controller
CloudBees Jenkins Enterprise - Operations center
Jenkins LTS

Resolution

Locate and uninstall the plugin that loads the outdated implementation of the Java API for XML Processing (JAXP), e.g., Xerces 2.6.

Known plugins that cause the issue:

Discard Old Build. No fix available. The plugin has not been updated for six years.
Fortify 360. This plugin is not maintained and not supported by the original maintainer. Please use Fortify plugin instead.

If neither of the plugins is installed you can either:

Search through the open file descriptors to locate all the xercesImpl-*.jar files. If you see any with version 2.6.x, they are most likely the cause. The plugin id is the part of the path right after the plugins directory.
```
 /tmp/jenkins/plugins/fortify360/WEB-INF/lib/xercesImpl-2.6.2.jar
 /tmp/jenkins/plugins/build-pipeline-plugin/WEB-INF/lib/xercesImpl-2.9.1.jar
 /tmp/jenkins/plugins/pipeline-aws/WEB-INF/lib/xercesImpl-2.12.0.jar
```

Use What Plugin is providing this class? to locate plugins loading the org.apache.xerces.jaxp.DocumentBuilderFactoryImpl class.

 Looking for: org/apache/xerces/jaxp/DocumentBuilderFactoryImpl.class

 Found in Plugin:pipeline-aws
 jar:file:/tmp/jenkins/plugins/pipeline-aws/WEB-INF/lib/xercesImpl-2.12.0.jar!/org/apache/xerces/jaxp/DocumentBuilderFactoryImpl.class

 Found in Plugin:discard-old-build
 jar:file:/tmp/jenkins/plugins/discard-old-build/WEB-INF/lib/xercesImpl-2.6.2.jar!/org/apache/xerces/jaxp/DocumentBuilderFactoryImpl.class

If you are a CloudBees customer and having doubts or issues with the above, please generate a support bundle and open a support ticket.

References

[JENKINS-47486] FactoryConfigurationError: Provider for class javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory cannot be created (was "Exceptions after running goals") [JENKINS-57833] All builds with maven pipeline plugin fail with java.lang.AbstractMethodError while parsing event spy log

This article is part of our Knowledge Base and is provided for guidance-based purposes only. The solutions or workarounds described here are not officially supported by CloudBees and may not be applicable in all environments. Use at your own discretion, and test changes in a safe environment before applying them to production systems.