NullPointerException when Selecting the User from the User Picker

Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian products on the Data Center platform.

Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.

*Except Fisheye and Crucible

Symptoms

Selecting users from the user picker throws a NullPointerException:

1 2 3 4 5 ERROR [500ErrorPage] Exception caught in 500 page java.lang.NullPointerException java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.NullPointerException at com.atlassian.jira.web.action.admin.user.UserPickerBrowser.getBrowsableItems(UserPickerBrowser.java:112) at com.atlassian.jira.web.action.admin.user.UserPickerBrowser.doExecute(UserPickerBrowser.java:62)

Cause

There are some users with null usernames in the database.

Resolution

Delete those users with NULL username in database:

1 2 DELETE FROM userbase WHERE id=<user_id>;

Make sure to take a sql dump or XML backup before making any changes to the database.

Updated on April 8, 2025

Still need help?

The Atlassian Community is here for you.