Full Space PDF Export causing OutOfMemoryError

Issue Summary

Generating a PDF export of a large space can cause an OutOfMemoryError and causing the JVM to crash.

Environment

• Confluence Server

Steps to Reproduce

1. Navigate to a large space with lots of pages and attachments.
2. Generate a full Space PDF export.

Expected Results

The PDF export process completes without issues after some time.

Actual Results

The process starts consuming JVM memory over time, causing initial slowness then ultimately crashing the JVM due to OutOfMemoryError.

Notes

This behavior can be triggered by any user with the ability to generate space PDF exports and can cause outages in Production environments. Server downtime.

Workaround

Currently there is no known workaround for this behavior. A workaround will be added here when available.
A few things can be done to prevent the OOME:

1. Increase JVM heap size to allow the PDF export process to complete.
2. Break down a large Spaces into smaller Spaces.
3. Disable PDF exports altogether: How to disable PDF Export for Pages or Spaces.