Asm classreader failed to parse class file – probably due to a new java class file version that isn’t supported yet

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When you encounter the error message “asm.ClassReader failed to parse class file – probably due to a new Java class file version that isn’t supported yet,” it means that the ASM library, which is commonly used for code analysis and bytecode manipulation in Java, is unable to read or understand a specific class file because it was compiled with a newer version of Java bytecode than what is supported by the ASM version you are using.

The ASM library supports specific versions of Java bytecode. If you try to analyze or manipulate a class file compiled with a higher version of Java bytecode than your ASM version supports, it will result in this error. To fix this issue, you have a few options:

  1. Upgrade ASM Version: If you are using an older version of ASM, you can try upgrading to a newer version that supports the Java class file version you are working with. Visit the official ASM website (asm.ow2.io) to check the supported versions and download the latest release.
  2. Downgrade Java Version: If upgrading ASM is not feasible, you can choose to downgrade the version of Java you are using to compile your class files to a version supported by your current ASM version. Keep in mind that this may not always be an ideal solution, especially if you are relying on the features and improvements introduced in newer Java versions.
  3. Recompile Class File: If you have access to the source code of the class file causing the issue, you can recompile it with a version of Java supported by your ASM version. You can specify the target version of bytecode while compiling using the “-target” flag. For example, if your ASM version supports bytecode version 55 (Java 11), you can compile using the command: javac -target 11 MyClass.java.

Here’s an example to illustrate the issue: Let’s say you have ASM version 7.2 and you are trying to analyze a class file compiled with Java 12 bytecode (class file version 56). In this case, you can either upgrade to a newer version of ASM that supports class file version 56 or recompile the class file using a lower version of Java bytecode (e.g., Java 11, class file version 55) that is supported by ASM 7.2.

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