NullPointerException when constructing a PDJPeg using a BufferedImage

In pdfbox 1.8.2 and 1.8.3, the constructor of PDJPeg class that takes a BufferedImage throws java.lang.NullPointerException:

BufferedImage bi = ImageIO.read(this.getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("images/icon.png"));

PDJpeg icon = new PDJpeg(pdf, bi);

The stack trace is:

java.lang.NullPointerException
at org.apache.pdfbox.util.ImageIOUtil.addResolution(ImageIOUtil.java:211)
at org.apache.pdfbox.util.ImageIOUtil.createMetadata(ImageIOUtil.java:204)
at org.apache.pdfbox.util.ImageIOUtil.writeImage(ImageIOUtil.java:158)
at org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.graphics.xobject.PDJpeg.createImageStream(PDJpeg.java:171)
at org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.graphics.xobject.PDJpeg.<init>(PDJpeg.java:133)

The culprit is in this method in the ImageIOUtil:

private static IIOMetadata createMetadata(RenderedImage image, ImageWriter imageWriter,
ImageWriteParam writerParams, int resolution)

{ ..... IIOMetadata meta = imageWriter.getDefaultImageMetadata( type, writerParams ); return (addResolution(meta, resolution) ? meta : null); }

One of the JPG image writer in our environment is com.sun.media.imageioimpl.plugins.jpeg.CLibJPEGImageWriter, its implementation of getDefaultImageMetadata() returns null:

public IIOMetadata getDefaultImageMetadata(ImageTypeSpecifier imageType, ImageWriteParam param)

{ return null; }

this causes the NullPointerException at the first line of the addResolution() method:

if (!meta.isReadOnly() && meta.isStandardMetadataFormatSupported())

I suggest that null checks be added at the following places:

1. ImageIOUtil.addResolution():

if (!meta.isReadOnly() && meta.isStandardMetadataFormatSupported())

==>

if (meta != null && meta.isReadOnly() && meta.isStandardMetadataFormatSupported())

2. ImageIOUtil.writeImage():

IIOMetadata meta = createMetadata( image, imageWriter, writerParams, resolution);
imageWriter.setOutput( output );
imageWriter.write( null, new IIOImage( image, null, meta ), writerParams );
foundWriter = true;

==>

IIOMetadata meta = createMetadata( image, imageWriter, writerParams, resolution);
if (meta != null)

{ imageWriter.setOutput( output ); imageWriter.write( null, new IIOImage( image, null, meta ), writerParams ); foundWriter = true; }