Raise GraalVM baseline to 25

This also removes the 'requiredVersion' setting from the
native-maven-plugin configuration, as this is deprecated in the native
build tools.

Close gh-47433

build-plugin/spring-boot-gradle-plugin/src/docs/antora/modules/gradle-plugin/pages/reacting.adoc

@@ -87,7 +87,6 @@ When the {url-native-build-tools-docs-gradle-plugin}[GraalVM Native Image plugin
 . Adds the output of the `aot` source set to the classpath of the `main` GraalVM native binary.
 . Adds the output of the `aotTest` source set to the classpath of the `test` GraalVM native binary.
 . Configures the GraalVM extension to disable Toolchain detection.
-. Configures each GraalVM native binary to require GraalVM 22.3 or later.
 . Configures the `bootJar` task to include the reachability metadata produced by the `collectReachabilityMetadata` task in its jar.
 . Configures the `bootJar` task to add the `Spring-Boot-Native-Processed: true` manifest entry.
 

core/spring-boot/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/SpringApplication.java

@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ import org.springframework.boot.context.properties.bind.Binder;
 import org.springframework.boot.context.properties.source.ConfigurationPropertySources;
 import org.springframework.boot.convert.ApplicationConversionService;
 import org.springframework.boot.env.DefaultPropertiesPropertySource;
+import org.springframework.boot.system.JavaVersion;
 import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;
 import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContextInitializer;
 import org.springframework.context.ApplicationListener;
@@ -418,6 +419,9 @@ public class SpringApplication {
 	}
 
 	private void addAotGeneratedInitializerIfNecessary(List<ApplicationContextInitializer<?>> initializers) {
+		if (NativeDetector.inNativeImage()) {
+			checkNativeImageVersion();
+		}
 		if (AotDetector.useGeneratedArtifacts()) {
 			List<ApplicationContextInitializer<?>> aotInitializers = new ArrayList<>(
 					initializers.stream().filter(AotApplicationContextInitializer.class::isInstance).toList());
@@ -434,6 +438,15 @@ public class SpringApplication {
 		}
 	}
 
+	private void checkNativeImageVersion() {
+		JavaVersion minRequiredJavaVersion = JavaVersion.TWENTY_FIVE;
+		if (JavaVersion.getJavaVersion().isOlderThan(minRequiredJavaVersion)) {
+			throw new NativeImageRequirementsNotMetException(
+					"Native Image requirements not met, please upgrade it. Native Image must support at least Java %s"
+						.formatted(minRequiredJavaVersion));
+		}
+	}
+
 	private void refreshContext(ConfigurableApplicationContext context) {
 		if (this.properties.isRegisterShutdownHook()) {
 			shutdownHook.registerApplicationContext(context);
@@ -1645,6 +1658,21 @@ public class SpringApplication {
 
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Exception which is thrown if GraalVM's native-image requirements aren't met.
+	 */
+	private static final class NativeImageRequirementsNotMetException extends RuntimeException {
+
+		/**
+		 * Creates a new {@link NativeImageRequirementsNotMetException} instance.
+		 * @param message the message
+		 */
+		private NativeImageRequirementsNotMetException(String message) {
+			super(message);
+		}
+
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * {@link SpringApplicationHook} decorator that ensures the hook is only used once.
 	 */

documentation/spring-boot-docs/src/docs/antora/modules/how-to/pages/native-image/developing-your-first-application.adoc

@@ -175,8 +175,8 @@ Get SDKMAN! from https://sdkman.io and install the Liberica GraalVM distribution
 
 [source,shell,subs="verbatim,attributes"]
 ----
-$ sdk install java {version-graal}.r17-nik
-$ sdk use java {version-graal}.r17-nik
+$ sdk install java 25.r25-nik
+$ sdk use java 25.r25-nik
 ----
 
 Verify that the correct version has been configured by checking the output of `java -version`:
@@ -184,9 +184,9 @@ Verify that the correct version has been configured by checking the output of `j
 [source,shell,subs="verbatim,attributes"]
 ----
 $ java -version
-openjdk version "17.0.5" 2022-10-18 LTS
-OpenJDK Runtime Environment GraalVM 22.3.0 (build 17.0.5+8-LTS)
-OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM GraalVM 22.3.0 (build 17.0.5+8-LTS, mixed mode)
+openjdk version "25" 2025-09-16 LTS
+OpenJDK Runtime Environment Liberica-NIK-25.0.0-1 (build 25+37-LTS)
+OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Liberica-NIK-25.0.0-1 (build 25+37-LTS, mixed mode, sharing)
 ----
 
 

gradle.properties

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx2g -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8
 assertjVersion=3.27.6
 checkstyleToolVersion=10.12.4
 commonsCodecVersion=1.19.0
-graalVersion=22.3
+graalVersion=25
 hamcrestVersion=3.0
 jackson2Version=2.20.0
 jacksonVersion=3.0.0

starter/spring-boot-starter-parent/build.gradle

@@ -297,7 +297,6 @@ publishing.publications.withType(MavenPublication) {
 									delegate.artifactId('native-maven-plugin')
 									configuration {
 										delegate.classesDirectory('${project.build.outputDirectory}')
-										delegate.requiredVersion('22.3')
 										exclusions {
 											exclusion {
 												delegate.groupId('org.springframework.boot')
@@ -347,7 +346,6 @@ publishing.publications.withType(MavenPublication) {
 									delegate.artifactId('native-maven-plugin')
 									configuration {
 										delegate.classesDirectory('${project.build.outputDirectory}')
-										delegate.requiredVersion('22.3')
 										exclusions {
 											exclusion {
 												delegate.groupId('org.springframework.boot')