fix(convention): WW-4421 detect duplicate @Action names when execute() is annotated (#1579)

The duplicate @Action name detection in PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder
was embedded inside a conditional block that only ran when execute() was
NOT annotated with @Action. This meant two methods could map to the same
action name silently when execute() had an @Action annotation, with one
overwriting the other non-deterministically.

Extract the duplicate check to run unconditionally before the conditional
block, so it applies to all annotated methods regardless of whether
execute() is annotated.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Lukasz Lenart
2026-02-21 10:12:52 +01:00
committed by GitHub
parent fa34d2b02c
commit a9ce3e3c99
6 changed files with 375 additions and 37 deletions
@@ -738,42 +738,28 @@ public class PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder implements ActionConfigBuilder {
// Verify that the annotations have no errors and also determine if the default action
// configuration should still be built or not.
Map<String, List<Action>> map = getActionAnnotations(actionClass);
Set<String> actionNames = new HashSet<>();
Map<String, List<Action>> actionAnnotationsByMethod = getActionAnnotations(actionClass);
boolean hasDefaultMethod = ReflectionTools.containsMethod(actionClass, DEFAULT_METHOD);
if (!map.containsKey(DEFAULT_METHOD)
&& hasDefaultMethod
&& actionAnnotation == null && actionsAnnotation == null
&& (alwaysMapExecute || map.isEmpty())) {
boolean found = false;
for (List<Action> actions : map.values()) {
for (Action action : actions) {
// Check if there are duplicate action names in the annotations.
String actionName = action.value().equals(Action.DEFAULT_VALUE) ? defaultActionName : action.value();
if (actionNames.contains(actionName)) {
throw new ConfigurationException("The action class [" + actionClass +
"] contains two methods with an action name annotation whose value " +
"is the same (they both might be empty as well).");
} else {
actionNames.add(actionName);
}
// Check this annotation is the default action
if (action.value().equals(Action.DEFAULT_VALUE)) {
found = true;
}
// Check for duplicate action names across all annotated methods
Set<String> actionNames = new HashSet<>();
for (List<Action> actions : actionAnnotationsByMethod.values()) {
for (Action action : actions) {
String actionName = action.value().equals(Action.DEFAULT_VALUE) ? defaultActionName : action.value();
if (!actionNames.add(actionName)) {
throw new ConfigurationException("The action class [" + actionClass +
"] contains two methods with an action name annotation whose value " +
"is the same (they both might be empty as well).");
}
}
// Build the default
if (!found) {
createActionConfig(defaultPackageConfig, actionClass, defaultActionName, DEFAULT_METHOD, null, allowedMethods);
}
}
if (shouldMapDefaultExecuteMethod(actionAnnotationsByMethod, hasDefaultMethod, actionAnnotation, actionsAnnotation)) {
createActionConfig(defaultPackageConfig, actionClass, defaultActionName, DEFAULT_METHOD, null, allowedMethods);
}
// Build the actions for the annotations
for (Map.Entry<String, List<Action>> entry : map.entrySet()) {
for (Map.Entry<String, List<Action>> entry : actionAnnotationsByMethod.entrySet()) {
String method = entry.getKey();
List<Action> actions = entry.getValue();
for (Action action : actions) {
@@ -789,7 +775,7 @@ public class PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder implements ActionConfigBuilder {
// some actions will not have any @Action or a default method, like the rest actions
// where the action mapper is the one that finds the right method at runtime
if (map.isEmpty() && mapAllMatches && actionAnnotation == null && actionsAnnotation == null) {
if (actionAnnotationsByMethod.isEmpty() && mapAllMatches && actionAnnotation == null && actionsAnnotation == null) {
createActionConfig(defaultPackageConfig, actionClass, defaultActionName, null, actionAnnotation, allowedMethods);
}
@@ -840,6 +826,38 @@ public class PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder implements ActionConfigBuilder {
(actionClass.getModifiers() & Modifier.ABSTRACT) != 0 || actionClass.isAnonymousClass();
}
/**
* Determines whether the default {@code execute()} method should be automatically mapped as an action.
* This is the case when no explicit mapping exists for the default method, the class has an execute method,
* there are no class-level @Action/@Actions annotations, and no other method already maps to the default action name.
*
* @param actionAnnotationsByMethod the map of method names to their @Action annotations
* @param hasDefaultMethod whether the action class has an execute() method
* @param classAction the class-level @Action annotation, or null
* @param classActions the class-level @Actions annotation, or null
* @return true if the default execute method should be mapped
*/
protected boolean shouldMapDefaultExecuteMethod(Map<String, List<Action>> actionAnnotationsByMethod, boolean hasDefaultMethod,
Action classAction, Actions classActions) {
if (actionAnnotationsByMethod.containsKey(DEFAULT_METHOD) || !hasDefaultMethod) {
return false;
}
if (classAction != null || classActions != null) {
return false;
}
if (!alwaysMapExecute && !actionAnnotationsByMethod.isEmpty()) {
return false;
}
for (List<Action> actions : actionAnnotationsByMethod.values()) {
for (Action action : actions) {
if (action.value().equals(Action.DEFAULT_VALUE)) {
return false;
}
}
}
return true;
}
/**
* Determines the namespace(s) for the action based on the action class. If there is a {@link Namespace}
* annotation on the class (including parent classes) or on the package that the class is in, than
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import org.apache.struts2.FileManager;
import org.apache.struts2.FileManagerFactory;
import org.apache.struts2.ObjectFactory;
import org.apache.struts2.config.Configuration;
import org.apache.struts2.config.ConfigurationException;
import org.apache.struts2.config.entities.ActionConfig;
import org.apache.struts2.config.entities.ExceptionMappingConfig;
import org.apache.struts2.config.entities.InterceptorConfig;
@@ -249,6 +250,103 @@ public class PackageBasedActionConfigBuilderTest extends TestCase {
assertFalse("ClassNotFoundException should be caught and class should be excluded", result);
}
/**
* Tests that duplicate @Action name detection works when execute() is annotated with @Action.
* Before the fix for WW-4421, the duplicate check was inside a conditional block that was
* skipped when execute() had an @Action annotation, allowing duplicate action names silently.
*
* @see <a href="https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/WW-4421">WW-4421</a>
*/
public void testDuplicateActionNameWithAnnotatedExecute() {
ResultTypeConfig defaultResult = new ResultTypeConfig.Builder("dispatcher",
ServletDispatcherResult.class.getName()).defaultResultParam("location").build();
PackageConfig strutsDefault = makePackageConfig("struts-default", null, null, "dispatcher",
new ResultTypeConfig[]{defaultResult}, null, null, null, true);
final DummyContainer mockContainer = new DummyContainer();
Configuration configuration = new DefaultConfiguration() {
@Override
public Container getContainer() {
return mockContainer;
}
};
configuration.addPackageConfig("struts-default", strutsDefault);
ActionNameBuilder actionNameBuilder = new SEOActionNameBuilder("true", "-");
ObjectFactory of = new ObjectFactory();
of.setContainer(mockContainer);
mockContainer.setActionNameBuilder(actionNameBuilder);
mockContainer.setConventionsService(new ConventionsServiceImpl(""));
PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder builder = new PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder(
configuration, mockContainer, of, "false", "struts-default", "false");
builder.setActionPackages("org.apache.struts2.convention.duplicate.annotatedexecute");
builder.setActionSuffix("Action");
DefaultFileManagerFactory fileManagerFactory = new DefaultFileManagerFactory();
fileManagerFactory.setContainer(ActionContext.getContext().getContainer());
fileManagerFactory.setFileManager(new DefaultFileManager());
builder.setFileManagerFactory(fileManagerFactory);
builder.setProviderAllowlist(new ProviderAllowlist());
try {
builder.buildActionConfigs();
fail("Expected ConfigurationException for duplicate action names");
} catch (ConfigurationException e) {
assertTrue("Exception message should mention duplicate action names",
e.getMessage().contains("two methods with an action name annotation whose value is the same"));
}
}
/**
* Tests that duplicate @Action name detection works when execute() is NOT annotated with @Action.
* This is a regression guard for WW-4421 — this case was already detected before the fix.
*
* @see <a href="https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/WW-4421">WW-4421</a>
*/
public void testDuplicateActionNameWithoutAnnotatedExecute() throws Exception {
ResultTypeConfig defaultResult = new ResultTypeConfig.Builder("dispatcher",
ServletDispatcherResult.class.getName()).defaultResultParam("location").build();
PackageConfig strutsDefault = makePackageConfig("struts-default", null, null, "dispatcher",
new ResultTypeConfig[]{defaultResult}, null, null, null, true);
final DummyContainer mockContainer = new DummyContainer();
Configuration configuration = new DefaultConfiguration() {
@Override
public Container getContainer() {
return mockContainer;
}
};
configuration.addPackageConfig("struts-default", strutsDefault);
ActionNameBuilder actionNameBuilder = new SEOActionNameBuilder("true", "-");
ObjectFactory of = new ObjectFactory();
of.setContainer(mockContainer);
mockContainer.setActionNameBuilder(actionNameBuilder);
mockContainer.setConventionsService(new ConventionsServiceImpl(""));
PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder builder = new PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder(
configuration, mockContainer, of, "false", "struts-default", "false");
builder.setActionPackages("org.apache.struts2.convention.duplicate.unannotatedexecute");
builder.setActionSuffix("Action");
DefaultFileManagerFactory fileManagerFactory = new DefaultFileManagerFactory();
fileManagerFactory.setContainer(ActionContext.getContext().getContainer());
fileManagerFactory.setFileManager(new DefaultFileManager());
builder.setFileManagerFactory(fileManagerFactory);
builder.setProviderAllowlist(new ProviderAllowlist());
try {
builder.buildActionConfigs();
fail("Expected ConfigurationException for duplicate action names");
} catch (ConfigurationException e) {
assertTrue("Exception message should mention duplicate action names",
e.getMessage().contains("two methods with an action name annotation whose value is the same"));
}
}
public void testActionPackages() throws MalformedURLException {
run("org.apache.struts2.convention.actions", null, null);
}
@@ -544,7 +642,7 @@ public class PackageBasedActionConfigBuilderTest extends TestCase {
expect(resultMapBuilder.build(GlobalResultAction.class, null, "global-result", globalResultPkg)).andReturn(results);
expect(resultMapBuilder.build(GlobalResultOverrideAction.class, null, "global-result-override", globalResultPkg)).andReturn(results);
expect(resultMapBuilder.build(ActionLevelResultsNamesAction.class, getAnnotation(ActionLevelResultsNamesAction.class, "execute", Action.class), "action-level-results-names", resultPkg)).andReturn(results);
expect(resultMapBuilder.build(ActionLevelResultsNamesAction.class, getAnnotation(ActionLevelResultsNamesAction.class, "noname", Action.class), "action-level-results-names", resultPkg)).andReturn(results);
expect(resultMapBuilder.build(ActionLevelResultsNamesAction.class, getAnnotation(ActionLevelResultsNamesAction.class, "noname", Action.class), "action-level-results-names-noname", resultPkg)).andReturn(results);
/* org.apache.struts2.convention.actions.resultpath */
expect(resultMapBuilder.build(ClassLevelResultPathAction.class, null, "class-level-result-path", resultPathPkg)).andReturn(results);
@@ -854,11 +952,12 @@ public class PackageBasedActionConfigBuilderTest extends TestCase {
pkgConfig = configuration.getPackageConfig("org.apache.struts2.convention.actions.result#struts-default#/result");
assertNotNull(pkgConfig);
checkSmiValue(pkgConfig, strutsDefault, isSmiInheritanceEnabled);
assertEquals(7, pkgConfig.getActionConfigs().size());
assertEquals(8, pkgConfig.getActionConfigs().size());
verifyActionConfig(pkgConfig, "class-level-result", ClassLevelResultAction.class, "execute", pkgConfig.getName());
verifyActionConfig(pkgConfig, "class-level-results", ClassLevelResultsAction.class, "execute", pkgConfig.getName());
verifyActionConfig(pkgConfig, "action-level-result", ActionLevelResultAction.class, "execute", pkgConfig.getName());
verifyActionConfig(pkgConfig, "action-level-results", ActionLevelResultsAction.class, "execute", pkgConfig.getName());
verifyActionConfig(pkgConfig, "action-level-results-names-noname", ActionLevelResultsNamesAction.class, "noname", pkgConfig.getName());
verifyActionConfig(pkgConfig, "inherited-result-extends", InheritedResultExtends.class, "execute", pkgConfig.getName());
/* org.apache.struts2.convention.actions.resultpath */
@@ -28,16 +28,16 @@ import org.apache.struts2.convention.annotation.Result;
*/
public class ActionLevelResultsNamesAction {
@Action(results = {
@Result(name={"error", "input"}, location="error.jsp"),
@Result(name="success", location="/WEB-INF/location/namespace/action-success.jsp"),
@Result(name="failure", location="/WEB-INF/location/namespace/action-failure.jsp")
@Result(name = {"error", "input"}, location = "error.jsp"),
@Result(name = "success", location = "/WEB-INF/location/namespace/action-success.jsp"),
@Result(name = "failure", location = "/WEB-INF/location/namespace/action-failure.jsp")
})
public String execute() {
return null;
}
@Action(results = {
@Result(location="/WEB-INF/location/namespace/action-success.jsp")
@Action(value = "action-level-results-names-noname", results = {
@Result(location = "/WEB-INF/location/namespace/action-success.jsp")
})
public String noname() {
return null;
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
/*
* Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
* or more contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file
* distributed with this work for additional information
* regarding copyright ownership. The ASF licenses this file
* to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
* "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
* with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
* software distributed under the License is distributed on an
* "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
* KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the
* specific language governing permissions and limitations
* under the License.
*/
package org.apache.struts2.convention.duplicate.annotatedexecute;
import org.apache.struts2.convention.annotation.Action;
/**
* Test action with duplicate @Action names where execute() is annotated.
* This is the case that was previously not detected (WW-4421).
*/
public class DuplicateActionNameWithExecuteAnnotationAction {
@Action("duplicate")
public String execute() {
return "success";
}
@Action("duplicate")
public String anotherMethod() {
return "success";
}
}
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
/*
* Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
* or more contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file
* distributed with this work for additional information
* regarding copyright ownership. The ASF licenses this file
* to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
* "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
* with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
* software distributed under the License is distributed on an
* "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
* KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the
* specific language governing permissions and limitations
* under the License.
*/
package org.apache.struts2.convention.duplicate.unannotatedexecute;
import org.apache.struts2.convention.annotation.Action;
/**
* Test action with duplicate @Action names where execute() is NOT annotated.
* This is the case that was already detected before the fix (regression guard for WW-4421).
*/
public class DuplicateActionNameWithoutExecuteAnnotationAction {
public String execute() {
return "success";
}
@Action("duplicate")
public String method1() {
return "success";
}
@Action("duplicate")
public String method2() {
return "success";
}
}
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
---
date: 2026-02-15T12:00:00+01:00
topic: "WW-4421: Duplicate @Action value annotation check skipped"
tags: [research, codebase, convention-plugin, annotations, duplicate-detection]
status: complete
git_commit: fd874258631e999f5bd5ffc3fea8c0e416c61962
---
# Research: WW-4421 - Duplicate @Action value annotation check skipped
**Date**: 2026-02-15
**JIRA**: [WW-4421](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/WW-4421)
## Research Question
Investigate the core issue behind duplicate @Action annotation detection being bypassed in the Convention plugin.
## Summary
The duplicate @Action name detection logic in `PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.buildConfiguration` is **guarded by a conditional that excludes the most common case**: when the `execute()` method is annotated with `@Action`. The duplicate check only runs when `!map.containsKey(DEFAULT_METHOD)` — meaning if the class overrides `execute()` and decorates it with `@Action`, the entire duplicate detection block is skipped.
Additionally, the code uses `Class.getMethods()` and `HashMap` — both with **non-deterministic ordering** — making the behavior inconsistent across JVM versions.
## Detailed Findings
### The Bug: Conditional Guard Excludes Common Case
**File**: [`PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java:744-747`](https://github.com/apache/struts/blob/fd874258631e999f5bd5ffc3fea8c0e416c61962/plugins/convention/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/convention/PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java#L744-L747)
```java
if (!map.containsKey(DEFAULT_METHOD) // <-- THE BUG
&& hasDefaultMethod
&& actionAnnotation == null && actionsAnnotation == null
&& (alwaysMapExecute || map.isEmpty())) {
// ... duplicate detection code is INSIDE this block ...
Set<String> actionNames = new HashSet<>();
for (List<Action> actions : map.values()) {
for (Action action : actions) {
String actionName = action.value().equals(Action.DEFAULT_VALUE) ? defaultActionName : action.value();
if (actionNames.contains(actionName)) {
throw new ConfigurationException("The action class [" + actionClass +
"] contains two methods with an action name annotation whose value " +
"is the same (they both might be empty as well).");
} else {
actionNames.add(actionName);
}
}
}
}
```
The condition `!map.containsKey(DEFAULT_METHOD)` means:
- **If `execute()` has an `@Action` annotation** → `map` contains key `"execute"` → condition is `false`**duplicate check is SKIPPED entirely**
- **If `execute()` does NOT have an `@Action` annotation** → condition can be `true` → duplicate check runs
This is backwards from what you'd expect. The most common pattern — overriding `execute()` with `@Action` — is exactly the case that bypasses validation.
### Scenario: When Duplicate Detection Fails
```java
// This class will NOT trigger the duplicate detection error:
public class MethodCheckSkippedOnStartup extends ActionSupport {
@Action("myAction") // <-- annotated execute() puts "execute" in the map
public String execute() {
return SUCCESS;
}
@Action("myAction") // <-- duplicate name, but no error thrown!
public String anotherMethod() {
return SUCCESS;
}
}
```
```java
// This class WILL trigger the duplicate detection error:
public class MethodCheckFailsOnStartup extends ActionSupport {
// execute() is NOT annotated — not in the map
public String execute() {
return SUCCESS;
}
@Action("myAction")
public String method1() {
return SUCCESS;
}
@Action("myAction") // <-- duplicate detected, throws ConfigurationException
public String method2() {
return SUCCESS;
}
}
```
### Secondary Issue: Non-Deterministic Method Ordering
**File**: [`PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java:943-944`](https://github.com/apache/struts/blob/fd874258631e999f5bd5ffc3fea8c0e416c61962/plugins/convention/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/convention/PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java#L943-L944)
```java
Method[] methods = actionClass.getMethods(); // no guaranteed order
Map<String, List<Action>> map = new HashMap<>(); // no guaranteed iteration order
```
- `Class.getMethods()` returns methods in **no particular order** (JVM spec does not guarantee ordering)
- Results are stored in a `HashMap`, which also has **no guaranteed iteration order**
- This means the second `@Action` annotation that "wins" (overwrites the mapping) is non-deterministic
- Java 7 and Java 8 had different internal `HashMap` implementations, causing different behavior across versions
### The Duplicate Check Should Be Independent
The duplicate detection logic (lines 748-760) is embedded inside a block that also handles default `execute()` method mapping. These are **two separate concerns**:
1. **Should we auto-create an action config for `execute()`?** — This depends on `!map.containsKey(DEFAULT_METHOD)`
2. **Are there duplicate action names across annotated methods?** — This should ALWAYS be checked
The fix should extract the duplicate detection loop so it runs unconditionally (or at least independently of whether `execute()` is in the annotation map).
## Code References
- [`PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java:87`](https://github.com/apache/struts/blob/fd874258631e999f5bd5ffc3fea8c0e416c61962/plugins/convention/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/convention/PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java#L87) — `DEFAULT_METHOD = "execute"`
- [`PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java:741-773`](https://github.com/apache/struts/blob/fd874258631e999f5bd5ffc3fea8c0e416c61962/plugins/convention/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/convention/PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java#L741-L773) — The buggy block with embedded duplicate check
- [`PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java:776-788`](https://github.com/apache/struts/blob/fd874258631e999f5bd5ffc3fea8c0e416c61962/plugins/convention/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/convention/PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java#L776-L788) — Action config creation loop (no duplicate check here)
- [`PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java:942-959`](https://github.com/apache/struts/blob/fd874258631e999f5bd5ffc3fea8c0e416c61962/plugins/convention/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/convention/PackageBasedActionConfigBuilder.java#L942-L959) — `getActionAnnotations()` with non-deterministic ordering
- [`ReflectionTools.java:38-45`](https://github.com/apache/struts/blob/fd874258631e999f5bd5ffc3fea8c0e416c61962/plugins/convention/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/convention/ReflectionTools.java#L38-L45) — `containsMethod()` helper
## Architecture Insights
1. **Separation of concerns violation**: Duplicate detection is tangled with default-execute-mapping logic inside the same conditional block
2. **Non-deterministic reflection**: Using `getMethods()` + `HashMap` means behavior varies across JVMs
3. **Silent failure mode**: When the check is skipped, one action config silently overwrites another — no error, no warning, just undefined behavior at runtime
## Suggested Fix Direction
1. **Extract duplicate detection** out of the `!map.containsKey(DEFAULT_METHOD)` conditional so it runs for ALL annotated action classes
2. **Also check class-level annotations** (`actionAnnotation`/`actionsAnnotation`) against method-level annotations for name conflicts
3. **Consider using `LinkedHashMap`** or sorting methods for deterministic processing order
## Open Questions
1. Should duplicate detection also consider action names across different classes in the same namespace?
2. Should a warning be issued instead of a `ConfigurationException` to allow intentional overrides?
3. Are there backward-compatibility concerns if we start detecting duplicates that were previously silently ignored?