javax.xml.parsers.FactoryConfigurationError running JBoss AS 7.1 with Java 7 update 171

Question

Upgrading Java from 7u161 to 7u171 prevents JBoss AS 7.1.1.Final from starting. I know JBoss AS 7.1.1 is EOL but for compatibility reasons, we still need to run this version.

Very early in the startup, a NullPointerException occurs in some JBoss method. Following is the exception:

Exception in thread "main" javax.xml.parsers.FactoryConfigurationError: Provider __redirected.__SAXParserFactory could not be instantiated: java.lang.NullPointerException [...] Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException at __redirected.__RedirectedUtils.loadProvider(__RedirectedUtils.java:94) 

The full stack is here.

Answer 1

Could you try upgrading jboss-modules.jar (found in the root folder of the jboss-as binary distribution) to 1.1.5.GA? The version of jboss-modules which comes with jboss-7.1.1.Final is 1.1.1.GA and it has a few issues with initialisation order and multiple-initialisation which could be causing the issue.