[FIXED] java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Malformed \uxxxx encoding in windows

Issue

When I'm doing the building the maven project it is throwing the below error. I checked all my code no where \ or \u present in code. While a lot of answers and resources point out errors in / vs , I want to mention that I have no local changes and this repo just works fine for others in my team. It worked fine for me as well before.

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Malformed \uxxxx encoding.
    at java.util.Properties.loadConvert (Properties.java:667)
    at java.util.Properties.load0 (Properties.java:456)
    at java.util.Properties.load (Properties.java:408)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.TrackingFileManager.read (TrackingFileManager.java:64)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.DefaultUpdateCheckManager.read (DefaultUpdateCheckManager.java:511)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.DefaultUpdateCheckManager.checkMetadata (DefaultUpdateCheckManager.java:252)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.DefaultMetadataResolver.resolve (DefaultMetadataResolver.java:302)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.DefaultMetadataResolver.resolveMetadata (DefaultMetadataResolver.java:181)
    at org.apache.maven.repository.internal.DefaultVersionResolver.resolveVersion (DefaultVersionResolver.java:213)
    at org.apache.maven.repository.internal.DefaultArtifactDescriptorReader.loadPom (DefaultArtifactDescriptorReader.java:204)
    at org.apache.maven.repository.internal.DefaultArtifactDescriptorReader.readArtifactDescriptor (DefaultArtifactDescriptorReader.java:171)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.collect.DefaultDependencyCollector.resolveCachedArtifactDescriptor (DefaultDependencyCollector.java:541)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.collect.DefaultDependencyCollector.getArtifactDescriptorResult (DefaultDependencyCollector.java:524)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.collect.DefaultDependencyCollector.processDependency (DefaultDependencyCollector.java:412)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.collect.DefaultDependencyCollector.processDependency (DefaultDependencyCollector.java:365)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.collect.DefaultDependencyCollector.process (DefaultDependencyCollector.java:352)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.collect.DefaultDependencyCollector.collectDependencies (DefaultDependencyCollector.java:254)
    at org.eclipse.aether.internal.impl.DefaultRepositorySystem.collectDependencies (DefaultRepositorySystem.java:284)
    at org.apache.maven.project.DefaultProjectDependenciesResolver.resolve (DefaultProjectDependenciesResolver.java:169)
    at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.LifecycleDependencyResolver.getDependencies (LifecycleDependencyResolver.java:243)
    at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.LifecycleDependencyResolver.resolveProjectDependencies (LifecycleDependencyResolver.java:147)
    at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.MojoExecutor.ensureDependenciesAreResolved (MojoExecutor.java:248)
    at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.MojoExecutor.execute (MojoExecutor.java:202)
    at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.MojoExecutor.execute (MojoExecutor.java:156)
    at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.MojoExecutor.execute (MojoExecutor.java:148)
    at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.LifecycleModuleBuilder.buildProject (LifecycleModuleBuilder.java:117)
    at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.LifecycleModuleBuilder.buildProject (LifecycleModuleBuilder.java:81)
    at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.builder.singlethreaded.SingleThreadedBuilder.build (SingleThreadedBuilder.java:56)
    at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.LifecycleStarter.execute (LifecycleStarter.java:128)
    at org.apache.maven.DefaultMaven.doExecute (DefaultMaven.java:305)
    at org.apache.maven.DefaultMaven.doExecute (DefaultMaven.java:192)
    at org.apache.maven.DefaultMaven.execute (DefaultMaven.java:105)
    at org.apache.maven.cli.MavenCli.execute (MavenCli.java:957)
    at org.apache.maven.cli.MavenCli.doMain (MavenCli.java:289)
    at org.apache.maven.cli.MavenCli.main (MavenCli.java:193)
    at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0 (Native Method)
    at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke (NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
    at jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke (DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke (Method.java:566)
    at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.launchEnhanced (Launcher.java:282)
    at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.launch (Launcher.java:225)
    at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.mainWithExitCode (Launcher.java:406)
    at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.main (Launcher.java:347)

I have already tried the following:

1. Reinstalled java on my mac
2. Reinstalled maven Tried to invalidate
3. Tried to invalidate cache and restart IntelliJ multiple times.

Can some please help me on this.

Solution

I found one of my third party library is having property file inside .m2/repository folder.

That property file is causing the issue. So, I fixed the issue by deleting .m2/repository folder and updating the library with proper syntax.

Answered By - Mahesh Yadav
Answer Checked By - Candace Johnson (JavaFixing Volunteer)