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Type:
Bug
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Resolution: Unresolved
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Priority:
Low
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Affects Version/s: 11.3.8
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Component/s: Environment - Java
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None
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11.03
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Severity 3 - Minor
Issue Summary
According to Jira 11 Supported Platforms, only Java 21 is supported.
However, the initialization java check scripts (check-java.sh, check-java.bat) contain an inaccurate warning for the admin:
echo "****************************************************************************" echo "******* Wrong JVM version! Jira requires 17 or 21 to run. *******" echo "****************************************************************************"
This is misleading and can confuse admins who are trying to update Java to a compatible version for Jira 11.
If Java 17 is installed, this check will pass and Jira will start up, only to fail due to various errors, such as:
23-Jul-2026 19:10:04.654 SEVERE [main] org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.startInternal A child container failed during start
java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: org.apache.catalina.LifecycleException: Failed to start component [StandardEngine[Catalina].StandardHost[localhost].StandardContext[]]
...
Caused by: java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError: com/atlassian/jira/bc/JiraServiceContext has been compiled by a more recent version of the Java Runtime (class file version 65.0), this version of the Java Runtime only recognizes class file versions up to 61.0 (unable to load class [com.atlassian.jira.bc.JiraServiceContext])
Steps to Reproduce
- Install Jira with a version of Java below 17
- Jira does not initialize, and this java version check message is presented
- Install Jira with Java 17
- The Java version check is passed
- Jira does not initialize due to new initialization errors
Expected Results
The Java Version check only states that Java 21 is compatible.
Actual Results
Jira fails to initialize due to errors:
23-Jul-2026 19:10:04.654 SEVERE [main] org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.startInternal A child container failed during start
java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: org.apache.catalina.LifecycleException: Failed to start component [StandardEngine[Catalina].StandardHost[localhost].StandardContext[]]
...
Caused by: java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError: com/atlassian/jira/bc/JiraServiceContext has been compiled by a more recent version of the Java Runtime (class file version 65.0), this version of the Java Runtime only recognizes class file versions up to 61.0 (unable to load class [com.atlassian.jira.bc.JiraServiceContext])
Workaround
Follow the Supported Platforms and use Java 21 for Jira 11.