[Bug]: getPermissionStates causes app crash

[zovi-code]

Capacitor Version

Latest Dependencies:

@capacitor/cli: 8.2.0
@capacitor/core: 8.2.0
@capacitor/android: 8.2.0
@capacitor/ios: 8.2.0

Installed Dependencies:

@capacitor/cli: 8.0.1
@capacitor/core: 8.2.0
@capacitor/android: 8.2.0
@capacitor/ios: 8.2.0

[success] iOS looking great! 👌
[success] Android looking great! 👌

Other API Details

npm --version: 10.9.2
node --version: v23.11.0

Platforms Affected

• iOS
• Android
• Web

Current Behavior

Production problem

I've released the app on the Play Store month ago and it has ~150 downloads and ~80 uninstall events. Reason for every uninstall event is the application crash that happens due to crash from the attached image. I got two reviews with ratings 1 that reported crash.

JS code

 try {
    const permStatus = await FirebaseMessaging.checkPermissions();
    // Logic for storing `permStatus.receive` in react state...
  } catch {}

Expected Behavior

I'd expect it not to crash 😅

Project Reproduction

Capcrash repository

Additional Information

This happens on some Android devices and on other it works. Crash rate is ~50%.
From Crashlytics, the most recent problematic devices are: Galaxy A15 (Android 16), Galaxy S25+ (Android 16), Galaxy A22 5G (Android 13).

I used @capacitor/push-notifications and this crash was happening. After that I completely refactored my code to use @capacitor-firebase/messaging and exact same thing is happening.

I wrote to support and Robin Genz responded me with this:

This is a bug in Capacitor Core/Android. Please install the latest Capacitor Core and Android version and check if it’s still an issue there. If it’s still an issue, please create a bug report in https://github.com/ionic-team/capacitor.

I have following packages installed as well:

"@capacitor-community/safe-area": "^8.0.1",
"@capacitor-firebase/authentication": "^8.1.0",
"@capacitor-firebase/crashlytics": "^8.1.0",
"@capacitor-firebase/messaging": "^8.1.0",
"@capacitor/app": "^8.0.1",
"@capacitor/preferences": "^8.0.1",
"@capacitor/splash-screen": "^8.0.1",
"@capgo/capacitor-app-tracking-transparency": "^8.1.5",

[jcesarmobile]

The crash comes from firebase messaging plugin, so you should contact Robin again

[zovi-code]

@jcesarmobile In case you haven't read complete report, I wrote this as well :)

I used @capacitor/push-notifications and this crash was happening. After that I completely refactored my code to use @capacitor-firebase/messaging and exact same thing is happening.

[jcesarmobile]

In that case you should report it in https://github.com/ionic-team/capacitor-plugins

Still, if you won't provide a sample app, there isn't much we can do and will end up closed too.

[zovi-code]

@jcesarmobile Thanks for the feedback. I wrote back to Robin again. I will create a sample app and add it during the day.
But again.. it happens on specific devices..

[robingenz]

@jcesarmobile The crash is triggered by the Firebase Messaging plugin calling checkPermissions, but the root cause seems to be in the Capacitor Android core. Bridge.getPermissionStates() doesn't null-check getPluginAnnotation() before iterating over its permissions, even though the same null check is already implemented in Plugin.isPermissionDeclared() (see here). I submitted a fix in #8400. Let me know if I'm wrong or if you want me to update the PR.

EDIT: Just saw your comment.

@zovi-code It would be great if you could install this patch in your app to verify the fix.

[zovi-code]

@robingenz MAN, I LOVE YOU.

I was literally almost crying over this issue as I was helpless for over a month.
If this is a real fix, please provide me with how I can contribute to you as a sign of gratitude.

Regarding installing patch, its a little complex to verify it that way as I need to push it to production and wait for it to happen. On my 5 android devices it could never be reproduced but in production it sometimes happens and I see it in Crashlytics.

Love you!

[zovi-code]

@jcesarmobile @robingenz

Here's minimal reproducible example

EDIT: In the meantime, just in last 5 hours I can see the result from the image. And I added crashlytics to the project just today.