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Published Sep. 10, 2025

After setting up Liferay DXP on a fresh application server via WAR file and dependencies, "java.lang.NullPointerException: entry" thrown on startup

Written By

Brian Suh

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Issue

  • I set up Liferay DXP on a fresh application server using the WAR file, dependencies and OSGi dependencies according to the Installing Liferay DXP on Tomcat guide, and the following errors are thrown on startup:
    • SEVERE [main] org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.listenerStart Exception sending context initialized event to listener instance of class [com.liferay.portal.spring.context.PortalContextLoaderListener]
      java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.NullPointerException: entry
      at com.liferay.portal.spring.context.PortalContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(PortalContextLoaderListener.java:250)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.listenerStart(StandardContext.java:4678)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.startInternal(StandardContext.java:5139)
      at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.start(LifecycleBase.java:183)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.addChildInternal(ContainerBase.java:717)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.addChild(ContainerBase.java:690)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost.addChild(StandardHost.java:706)
      at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.deployDirectory(HostConfig.java:1133)
      at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig$DeployDirectory.run(HostConfig.java:1866)
      at java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:511)
      at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:266)
      at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.InlineExecutorService.execute(InlineExecutorService.java:75)
      at java.util.concurrent.AbstractExecutorService.submit(AbstractExecutorService.java:112)
      at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.deployDirectories(HostConfig.java:1045)
      at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.deployApps(HostConfig.java:429)
      at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.start(HostConfig.java:1576)
      at org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig.lifecycleEvent(HostConfig.java:309)
      at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.fireLifecycleEvent(LifecycleBase.java:123)
      at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.setStateInternal(LifecycleBase.java:423)
      at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.setState(LifecycleBase.java:366)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.startInternal(ContainerBase.java:936)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost.startInternal(StandardHost.java:843)
      at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.start(LifecycleBase.java:183)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase$StartChild.call(ContainerBase.java:1384)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase$StartChild.call(ContainerBase.java:1374)
      at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:266)
      at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.InlineExecutorService.execute(InlineExecutorService.java:75)
      at java.util.concurrent.AbstractExecutorService.submit(AbstractExecutorService.java:134)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.startInternal(ContainerBase.java:909)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine.startInternal(StandardEngine.java:262)
      at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.start(LifecycleBase.java:183)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService.startInternal(StandardService.java:421)
      at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.start(LifecycleBase.java:183)
      at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardServer.startInternal(StandardServer.java:930)
      at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.start(LifecycleBase.java:183)
      at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.start(Catalina.java:772)
      at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
      at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
      at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
      at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498)
      at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.start(Bootstrap.java:342)
      at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.main(Bootstrap.java:473)
      Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: entry
      at java.util.zip.ZipFile.getInputStream(ZipFile.java:361)
      at com.liferay.portal.bootstrap.ModuleReadHookImpl.process(ModuleReadHookImpl.java:73)
      at org.eclipse.osgi.container.ModuleDatabase$Persistence.readModule(ModuleDatabase.java:1265)
      at org.eclipse.osgi.container.ModuleDatabase$Persistence.load(ModuleDatabase.java:1160)
      at org.eclipse.osgi.container.ModuleDatabase.load(ModuleDatabase.java:890)
      at org.eclipse.osgi.storage.Storage.<init>(Storage.java:235)
      at org.eclipse.osgi.storage.Storage.createStorage(Storage.java:151)
      at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.framework.EquinoxContainer.<init>(EquinoxContainer.java:69)
      at org.eclipse.osgi.launch.Equinox.<init>(Equinox.java:31)
      at org.eclipse.osgi.launch.EquinoxFactory.newFramework(EquinoxFactory.java:24)
      at com.liferay.portal.bootstrap.ModuleFrameworkImpl.initFramework(ModuleFrameworkImpl.java:280)
      at com.liferay.portal.module.framework.ModuleFrameworkUtilAdapter.initFramework(ModuleFrameworkUtilAdapter.java:64)
      at com.liferay.portal.spring.context.PortalContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(PortalContextLoaderListener.java:238)
      ... 41 more

Environment

  • Existing or new application server (e.g. Tomcat) using Liferay DXP WAR, dependencies and OSGi dependencies
  • Specifically identified in Liferay DXP 7.2 SP3

Resolution

  • The ZIP file containing the OSGi dependencies might contain a state directory. Please clear the contents of the state directory prior to starting up your application server.

 

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