Unable to start Jira after upgrade due to java.lang.IllegalStateException: The class hierarchy being processed was [ oracle.net.aso.d ->oracle.net.aso.e - >java.lang.Object...]

Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian apps 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

Jira does not start after upgrading JIRA from 7.2.8 to 7.6.7. Catalina.out contains the following stack trace:

Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Unable to complete the scan for annotations for web application [] due to a StackOverflowError. Possible root causes include a too low setting for -Xss and illegal cyclic inheritance dependencies. The class hierarchy being processed was [ oracle.net.aso.d ->oracle.net.aso.e - >java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object->java.lang.Object] at org.apache.catalina.startup.ContextConfig.checkHandlesTypes(ContextConfig.java:2110) ... 6 more

Environment

  • JIRA with Oracle database

Cause

JIRA Software 7.6 and above now comes packaged with an Oracle driver. For previous JIRA Software versions, we had to download the driver from Oracle itself and place the driver in the $JIRA_Home/lib directory. JIRA is attempting to utilize both drivers from the /lib directory after upgrade.

Workaround

  • Remove the old jdbc oracle driver to make sure there is only one driver in the $JIRA_INSTALL/lib directory.

  • Restart Jira

Updated on April 21, 2026

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