apache / apache/maven-help-plugin
DescribeMojo.toLines() delegates to generated HelpMojo via fragile reflection
- Dominant language
- Java
- Stars
- 29
- Forks
- 42
- Avg merge
- 1d 12h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 6
Description
In src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/help/DescribeMojo.java:747-778:
Method m = HelpMojo.class.getDeclaredMethod("toLines", String.class, Integer.TYPE, Integer.TYPE, Integer.TYPE);
m.setAccessible(true);
List output = (List) m.invoke(HelpMojo.class, text, indent, indentSize, lineLength);
HelpMojo is generated by maven-plugin-tools at compile time (in target/generated-sources/). It IS available at runtime, but this reflection is brittle: any change in the generated code toLines signature silently breaks all describe output formatting. The HelpMojo.toLines internally calls repeat() with new StringBuilder(repeat * str.length()) — a classic integer overflow risk that can throw NegativeArraySizeException.
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Research direction
Start in src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/help/DescribeMojo.java:747-778 and inspect the generated HelpMojo.toLines and repeat implementations in target/generated-sources. Verify how describe output formatting is delegated and where integer overflow can occur. Done means describe formatting remains correct without brittle signature dependence or overflow failures.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- java
- Domain
- build-system, tooling
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 52/100