ApexNullPointerExceptionRule (Retired)

ApexNullPointerExceptionRule identifies Apex operations that dereference null objects and throw NullPointerExceptions. NullPointerExceptions generally indicate underlying problems in your code to address.

Definition

Source: @AuraEnabled-annotated methods. @InvocableMethod-annotated methods. @NamespaceAccessible-annotated methods. @RemoteAction-annotated methods. Any method returning a PageReference object. public-scoped methods on Visualforce Controllers. global-scoped methods on any class. Messaging.InboundEmailResult handleInboundEmail() methods on implementations of Messaging.InboundEmailHandler. Any method targeted during invocation.
Sink: Any object dereference is a potential sink because object dereferences are the places where a null pointer exception can be thrown. Example: x.someMethod() |
Sanitizer: Non-null initialization of variables and null checks before accessing. Examples: String s = 'abcde'; , if (s != null) {.

Interpreting Results

Match any violation message that you receive with this case to understand more about the violation.

Common Case

ApexNullPointerExceptionRule identifies Apex operations with a high likelihood of throwing a NullPointerException

The operation dereferences a null object and throws a NullPointerException. Review your code and add a null check.

Examples

In these examples, Apex Runtime throws a System.NullPointerException at the place where an operation is performed on a null object. The Graph Engine ApexNullPointerException rule preemptively identifies these operations.

1public void example1() {
2	Object myStr = null;
3	System.debug(myStr.toLowerCase());
4// throws System.NullPointerException
5// since method is invoked on null object.
6}
7
8public void example2(String myStr) {
9	if (myStr == null) {
10		// The following line throws System.NullPointerException, since the conditional confirms
11		// that myStr is null when it reaches here.
12		System.debug(myStr.toLowerCase());
13	}
14}
15
16public void example3() {
17	Integer i; // Not initialized
18	Integer y = i + 2;
19// throws System.NullPointerException since
20// binary operation is invoked on null object
21}

To fix NullPointerException issues, use one of these methods.

Check that the object is not-null before performing the operation.
Make sure that all variables are initialized.

Avoid initializing variables to null. If your logic demands initialization to null, make sure to reassign a value to your variable before you invoke an operation on it.

Retired

As of August 2025, Salesforce Code Analyzer v4 is retired and no longer supported. Use Code Analyzer v5 instead.