Fixing Snowflake connection failure caused by JDBC driver NullPointerException [Linux]
Introduction
Resolve the Snowflake JDBC driver "HTTP request: null" communication error in Sisense (Cloud and On-Premises). This guide outlines how to upgrade the Snowflake JDBC driver to version 3.24.2 or later to bypass a known NullPointerException bug.
Step-by-Step Guide
Symptom
When attempting to connect to Snowflake, the connection fails, and the logs display the following error message:
Code Type: Error Message
JDBC driver encountered communication error. Message: Exception encountered for HTTP request: null.
This behavior stems from a known issue within the Snowflake JDBC driver itself (SNOW-1958601: NullPointerException for cacheFile in net.snowflake:snowflake-jdbc:3.23.0). The issue is resolved in connector version 3.23.2 and later or upgrade to Sisense version 2026.2.1+. To completely safeguard your environment, follow the steps below to upgrade to version 3.24.2.
Step 1: Download the Updated JDBC Driver
Download the stable snowflake-jdbc-3.24.2.jar file or later directly from the official Snowflake repository or Maven Central.
Maven repository: download driver
Step 2: Upload the Driver to File Management
Navigate to the File Management section on your Sisense server and upload the newly downloaded .jar file to the target Snowflake connector directory.
[Screenshot: Sisense File Management interface showing the SnowflakeJDBC directory] Description: The image shows the Sisense File Management browser with the snowflake-jdbc-3.24.2.jar file successfully uploaded into the connectors framework directory.
Step 3: Update the Connector Configuration
Open the Sisense Admin portal.
Navigate to Service Configuration → Manage Connectors → SnowflakeJDBC.
Update the configuration properties to point directly to the new driver version (3.24.2).
[Screenshot: Service Configuration UI for Manage Connectors] Description: This screenshot highlights the driver version field within the SnowflakeJDBC configuration menu where the version number needs to be updated.
Step 4: Restart the Query Service
To apply the changes and force Sisense to initialize the new JDBC driver, restart the Query service.
Conclusion
A known NullPointerException bug in the 3.23.0 Snowflake JDBC driver causes connection handshakes to fail with a generic null HTTP request error. Upgrading your Sisense environment to use the 3.24.2 driver patch (or later) via Service Configuration and executing a Query service restart successfully resolves the communication roadblock.
References/Related Content
Maven repository: download driver
GitHub Issue #2105: snowflakedb/snowflake-jdbc NullPointerException
