# NullPointerException in S4248

**URL:** <https://community.sonarsource.com/t/nullpointerexception-in-s4248/4212>\
**Category:** SonarQube Server / Community Build\
**Tags:** sonarqube, java\
**Created:** [November 13, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://community.sonarsource.com/t/nullpointerexception-in-s4248/4212 "2018-11-13T13:22:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![fpavageau](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/sonarsource/user_avatar/community.sonarsource.com/fpavageau/32/1257_2.png) [@fpavageau](https://community.sonarsource.com/u/fpavageau)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://community.sonarsource.com/t/nullpointerexception-in-s4248/4212/1 "2018-11-13T13:22:43Z")

</div>

I’m hitting a NullPointerException in `RegexPatternsNeedlesslyCheck` which implements S4248, using SonarQube 7.4 and SonarJava 5.9.1 via the Gradle Plugin 2.6.2 (I’ve also been able to reproduce it with earlier versions of SonarJava, though the real project didn’t trigger until I upgraded last week):

```auto
org.gradle.api.tasks.TaskExecutionException: Execution failed for task ':sonarqube'.
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeActions(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:110)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.execute(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:77)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.OutputDirectoryCreatingTaskExecuter.execute(OutputDirectoryCreatingTaskExecuter.java:51)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipUpToDateTaskExecuter.execute(SkipUpToDateTaskExecuter.java:59)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ResolveTaskOutputCachingStateExecuter.execute(ResolveTaskOutputCachingStateExecuter.java:54)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ValidatingTaskExecuter.execute(ValidatingTaskExecuter.java:59)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipEmptySourceFilesTaskExecuter.execute(SkipEmptySourceFilesTaskExecuter.java:101)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.FinalizeInputFilePropertiesTaskExecuter.execute(FinalizeInputFilePropertiesTaskExecuter.java:44)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.CleanupStaleOutputsExecuter.execute(CleanupStaleOutputsExecuter.java:91)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ResolveTaskArtifactStateTaskExecuter.execute(ResolveTaskArtifactStateTaskExecuter.java:62)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipTaskWithNoActionsExecuter.execute(SkipTaskWithNoActionsExecuter.java:59)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipOnlyIfTaskExecuter.execute(SkipOnlyIfTaskExecuter.java:54)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteAtMostOnceTaskExecuter.execute(ExecuteAtMostOnceTaskExecuter.java:43)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.CatchExceptionTaskExecuter.execute(CatchExceptionTaskExecuter.java:34)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.EventFiringTaskExecuter$1.run(EventFiringTaskExecuter.java:51)
        at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:300)
        at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:292)
        at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:174)
        at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.run(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:90)
        at org.gradle.internal.operations.DelegatingBuildOperationExecutor.run(DelegatingBuildOperationExecutor.java:31)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.EventFiringTaskExecuter.execute(EventFiringTaskExecuter.java:46)
        at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.LocalTaskInfoExecutor.execute(LocalTaskInfoExecutor.java:42)
        at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskExecutionGraph$BuildOperationAwareWorkItemExecutor.execute(DefaultTaskExecutionGraph.java:277)
        at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskExecutionGraph$BuildOperationAwareWorkItemExecutor.execute(DefaultTaskExecutionGraph.java:262)
        at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$ExecutorWorker$1.execute(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:135)
        at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$ExecutorWorker$1.execute(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:130)
        at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$ExecutorWorker.execute(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:200)
        at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$ExecutorWorker.executeWithWork(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:191)
        at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$ExecutorWorker.run(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:130)
        at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ExecutorPolicy$CatchAndRecordFailures.onExecute(ExecutorPolicy.java:63)
        at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ManagedExecutorImpl$1.run(ManagedExecutorImpl.java:46)
        at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ThreadFactoryImpl$ManagedThreadRunnable.run(ThreadFactoryImpl.java:55)
Caused by: org.sonar.java.AnalysisException: SonarQube is unable to analyze file : '/Users/fpavageau/devs/oss/sonar-java-s4248-npe/src/main/java/com/ekino/PatternEnum.java'
        at org.sonar.java.ast.JavaAstScanner.simpleScan(JavaAstScanner.java:105)
        at org.sonar.java.ast.JavaAstScanner.scan(JavaAstScanner.java:68)
        at org.sonar.java.JavaSquid.scanSources(JavaSquid.java:116)
        at org.sonar.java.JavaSquid.scan(JavaSquid.java:110)
        at org.sonar.plugins.java.JavaSquidSensor.execute(JavaSquidSensor.java:93)
        at org.sonar.scanner.sensor.SensorWrapper.analyse(SensorWrapper.java:45)
        at org.sonar.scanner.phases.SensorsExecutor.execute(SensorsExecutor.java:88)
        at org.sonar.scanner.phases.SensorsExecutor.execute(SensorsExecutor.java:62)
        at org.sonar.scanner.phases.AbstractPhaseExecutor.execute(AbstractPhaseExecutor.java:74)
        at org.sonar.scanner.scan.ModuleScanContainer.doAfterStart(ModuleScanContainer.java:164)
        at org.sonar.core.platform.ComponentContainer.startComponents(ComponentContainer.java:136)
        at org.sonar.core.platform.ComponentContainer.execute(ComponentContainer.java:122)
        at org.sonar.scanner.scan.ProjectScanContainer.scan(ProjectScanContainer.java:319)
        at org.sonar.scanner.scan.ProjectScanContainer.scanRecursively(ProjectScanContainer.java:314)
        at org.sonar.scanner.scan.ProjectScanContainer.doAfterStart(ProjectScanContainer.java:288)
        at org.sonar.core.platform.ComponentContainer.startComponents(ComponentContainer.java:136)
        at org.sonar.core.platform.ComponentContainer.execute(ComponentContainer.java:122)
        at org.sonar.scanner.task.ScanTask.execute(ScanTask.java:48)
        at org.sonar.scanner.task.TaskContainer.doAfterStart(TaskContainer.java:82)
        at org.sonar.core.platform.ComponentContainer.startComponents(ComponentContainer.java:136)
        at org.sonar.core.platform.ComponentContainer.execute(ComponentContainer.java:122)
        at org.sonar.scanner.bootstrap.GlobalContainer.executeTask(GlobalContainer.java:131)
        at org.sonar.batch.bootstrapper.Batch.doExecuteTask(Batch.java:116)
        at org.sonar.batch.bootstrapper.Batch.executeTask(Batch.java:111)
        at org.sonarsource.scanner.api.internal.batch.BatchIsolatedLauncher.execute(BatchIsolatedLauncher.java:63)
        at org.sonarsource.scanner.api.internal.IsolatedLauncherProxy.invoke(IsolatedLauncherProxy.java:60)
        at com.sun.proxy.$Proxy556.execute(Unknown Source)
        at org.sonarsource.scanner.api.EmbeddedScanner.doExecute(EmbeddedScanner.java:233)
        at org.sonarsource.scanner.api.EmbeddedScanner.runAnalysis(EmbeddedScanner.java:151)
        at org.sonarqube.gradle.SonarQubeTask.run(SonarQubeTask.java:99)
        at org.gradle.internal.reflect.JavaMethod.invoke(JavaMethod.java:73)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.StandardTaskAction.doExecute(StandardTaskAction.java:46)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.StandardTaskAction.execute(StandardTaskAction.java:39)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.StandardTaskAction.execute(StandardTaskAction.java:26)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.AbstractTask$TaskActionWrapper.execute(AbstractTask.java:801)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.AbstractTask$TaskActionWrapper.execute(AbstractTask.java:768)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter$1.run(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:131)
        at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:300)
        at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:292)
        at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:174)
        at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.run(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:90)
        at org.gradle.internal.operations.DelegatingBuildOperationExecutor.run(DelegatingBuildOperationExecutor.java:31)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeAction(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:120)
        at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeActions(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:99)
        ... 31 more
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
        at org.sonar.java.checks.RegexPatternsNeedlesslyCheck.storedInStaticFinal(RegexPatternsNeedlesslyCheck.java:74)
        at org.sonar.java.checks.RegexPatternsNeedlesslyCheck.onMethodInvocationFound(RegexPatternsNeedlesslyCheck.java:67)
        at org.sonar.java.checks.methods.AbstractMethodDetection.checkInvocation(AbstractMethodDetection.java:54)
        at org.sonar.java.checks.methods.AbstractMethodDetection.visitNode(AbstractMethodDetection.java:45)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.lambda$visit$7(VisitorsBridge.java:293)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.visit(VisitorsBridge.java:296)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.visitChildren(VisitorsBridge.java:278)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.visit(VisitorsBridge.java:300)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.visitChildren(VisitorsBridge.java:278)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.visit(VisitorsBridge.java:300)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.visitChildren(VisitorsBridge.java:278)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.visit(VisitorsBridge.java:300)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.visitChildren(VisitorsBridge.java:278)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.visit(VisitorsBridge.java:300)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.visitChildren(VisitorsBridge.java:278)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.visit(VisitorsBridge.java:300)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge$ScannerRunner.run(VisitorsBridge.java:269)
        at org.sonar.java.model.VisitorsBridge.visitFile(VisitorsBridge.java:140)
        at org.sonar.java.ast.JavaAstScanner.simpleScan(JavaAstScanner.java:96)
        ... 74 more

```

I’ve set up a reproducer on [GitHub](https://github.com/fpavageau/sonar-java-s4248-npe) with detailed instructions.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sns-seb](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/sonarsource/user_avatar/community.sonarsource.com/sns-seb/32/4520_2.png) [@sns-seb](https://community.sonarsource.com/u/sns-seb)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 1:56pm UTC](https://community.sonarsource.com/t/nullpointerexception-in-s4248/4212/3 "2018-11-13T13:56:55Z")

</div>

Salut Frank! 😄

I let the java language team answer to your well crafted bug report

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Michael](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/sonarsource/user_avatar/community.sonarsource.com/michael/32/43_2.png) [@Michael](https://community.sonarsource.com/u/Michael)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://community.sonarsource.com/t/nullpointerexception-in-s4248/4212/4 "2018-11-13T14:12:01Z")

</div>

Hello Frank,

Thanks a lot for the feedback and the reproducer (first class github reproducer 👍). I created the following ticket to address the issue and fix the rule: [SONARJAVA-2966](https://jira.sonarsource.com/browse/SONARJAVA-2966)

Note that the rule has been introduced 7 months ago (in version 5.3 of SonarJava), so it sounds a bit strange that the issue only appeared a few days ago. Is it some new code?  
The rule is not enabled by default, so you maybe just turned it on as well.

Cheers,  
Michael

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![fpavageau](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/sonarsource/user_avatar/community.sonarsource.com/fpavageau/32/1257_2.png) [@fpavageau](https://community.sonarsource.com/u/fpavageau)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://community.sonarsource.com/t/nullpointerexception-in-s4248/4212/5 "2018-11-13T14:30:16Z")

</div>

The code hasn’t changed in a long time, so yes, I probably activated the rule recently and forgot about it. I regularly upgrade both SonarQube and the extensions, and review the new rules afterwards, but I may have missed this one when upgrading to 5.3 then activated it at the same time I upgraded to 5.9.