diff --git a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/HttpExceptionUtils.java b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/HttpExceptionUtils.java
index 3cc7a4bb4ea5b..43441a5560a33 100644
--- a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/HttpExceptionUtils.java
+++ b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/HttpExceptionUtils.java
@@ -26,7 +26,9 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.io.Writer;
-import java.lang.reflect.Constructor;
+import java.lang.invoke.MethodHandle;
+import java.lang.invoke.MethodHandles;
+import java.lang.invoke.MethodType;
 import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
@@ -54,6 +56,10 @@ public class HttpExceptionUtils {
 
   private static final String ENTER = System.getProperty("line.separator");
 
+  private static final MethodHandles.Lookup PUBLIC_LOOKUP = MethodHandles.publicLookup();
+  private static final MethodType EXCEPTION_CONSTRUCTOR_TYPE =
+          MethodType.methodType(void.class, String.class);
+
   /**
    * Creates a HTTP servlet response serializing the exception in it as JSON.
    *
@@ -150,9 +156,12 @@ public static void validateResponse(HttpURLConnection conn,
           try {
             ClassLoader cl = HttpExceptionUtils.class.getClassLoader();
             Class klass = cl.loadClass(exClass);
-            Constructor constr = klass.getConstructor(String.class);
-            toThrow = (Exception) constr.newInstance(exMsg);
-          } catch (Exception ex) {
+            Preconditions.checkState(Exception.class.isAssignableFrom(klass),
+                "Class [%s] is not a subclass of Exception", klass);
+            MethodHandle methodHandle = PUBLIC_LOOKUP.findConstructor(
+                    klass, EXCEPTION_CONSTRUCTOR_TYPE);
+            toThrow = (Exception) methodHandle.invoke(exMsg);
+          } catch (Throwable t) {
             toThrow = new IOException(String.format(
                 "HTTP status [%d], exception [%s], message [%s], URL [%s]",
                 conn.getResponseCode(), exClass, exMsg, conn.getURL()));
diff --git a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/impl/prefetch/TestBlockCache.java b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/impl/prefetch/TestBlockCache.java
index a0c83a63c2248..26f507b2c7305 100644
--- a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/impl/prefetch/TestBlockCache.java
+++ b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/impl/prefetch/TestBlockCache.java
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ public void testArgChecks() throws Exception {
         () -> cache.put(42, null, null, null));
 
 
-    intercept(NullPointerException.class, null,
+    intercept(NullPointerException.class,
         () -> new SingleFilePerBlockCache(null, 2, null));
 
   }
diff --git a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/test/LambdaTestUtils.java b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/test/LambdaTestUtils.java
index b968fecf4805c..0c55871cfd7e9 100644
--- a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/test/LambdaTestUtils.java
+++ b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/test/LambdaTestUtils.java
@@ -18,16 +18,17 @@
 
 package org.apache.hadoop.test;
 
-import org.apache.hadoop.util.Preconditions;
 import org.junit.Assert;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
 import org.apache.hadoop.security.UserGroupInformation;
+import org.apache.hadoop.util.Preconditions;
 import org.apache.hadoop.util.Time;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.security.PrivilegedExceptionAction;
+import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.concurrent.Callable;
 import java.util.concurrent.CancellationException;
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.Future;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 
 /**
  * Class containing methods and associated classes to make the most of Lambda
@@ -476,7 +478,7 @@ public static <T, E extends Throwable> E intercept(
    * <i>or a subclass</i>.
    * @param contained string which must be in the {@code toString()} value
    * of the exception
-   * @param message any message tho include in exception/log messages
+   * @param message any message to include in exception/log messages
    * @param eval expression to eval
    * @param <T> return type of expression
    * @param <E> exception class
@@ -528,7 +530,7 @@ public static <E extends Throwable> E intercept(
       throws Exception {
     return intercept(clazz, contained,
         "Expecting " + clazz.getName()
-        + (contained != null? (" with text " + contained) : "")
+        + (contained != null ? (" with text " + contained) : "")
         + " but got ",
         () -> {
           eval.call();
@@ -543,7 +545,7 @@ public static <E extends Throwable> E intercept(
    * <i>or a subclass</i>.
    * @param contained string which must be in the {@code toString()} value
    * of the exception
-   * @param message any message tho include in exception/log messages
+   * @param message any message to include in exception/log messages
    * @param eval expression to eval
    * @param <E> exception class
    * @return the caught exception if it was of the expected type
@@ -563,6 +565,105 @@ public static <E extends Throwable> E intercept(
         });
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Intercept an exception; throw an {@code AssertionError} if one not raised.
+   * The caught exception is rethrown if it is of the wrong class or
+   * does not contain the text defined in {@code contained}.
+   * <p>
+   * Example: expect deleting a nonexistent file to raise a
+   * {@code FileNotFoundException} with the {@code toString()} value
+   * containing the text {@code "missing"}.
+   * <pre>
+   * FileNotFoundException ioe = interceptAndValidateMessageContains(
+   *   FileNotFoundException.class,
+   *   "missing",
+   *   "path should not be found",
+   *   () -> {
+   *     filesystem.delete(new Path("/missing"), false);
+   *   });
+   * </pre>
+   *
+   * @param clazz class of exception; the raised exception must be this class
+   * <i>or a subclass</i>.
+   * @param contains strings which must be in the {@code toString()} value
+   * of the exception (order does not matter)
+   * @param eval expression to eval
+   * @param <T> return type of expression
+   * @param <E> exception class
+   * @return the caught exception if it was of the expected type and contents
+   * @throws Exception any other exception raised
+   * @throws AssertionError if the evaluation call didn't raise an exception.
+   * The error includes the {@code toString()} value of the result, if this
+   * can be determined.
+   * @see GenericTestUtils#assertExceptionContains(String, Throwable)
+   */
+  public static <T, E extends Throwable> E interceptAndValidateMessageContains(
+          Class<E> clazz,
+          Collection<String> contains,
+          VoidCallable eval)
+          throws Exception {
+    String message = "Expecting " + clazz.getName()
+            + (contains.isEmpty() ? "" : (" with text values " + toString(contains)))
+            + " but got ";
+    return interceptAndValidateMessageContains(clazz, contains, message, eval);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Intercept an exception; throw an {@code AssertionError} if one not raised.
+   * The caught exception is rethrown if it is of the wrong class or
+   * does not contain the text defined in {@code contained}.
+   * <p>
+   * Example: expect deleting a nonexistent file to raise a
+   * {@code FileNotFoundException} with the {@code toString()} value
+   * containing the text {@code "missing"}.
+   * <pre>
+   * FileNotFoundException ioe = interceptAndValidateMessageContains(
+   *   FileNotFoundException.class,
+   *   "missing",
+   *   "path should not be found",
+   *   () -> {
+   *     filesystem.delete(new Path("/missing"), false);
+   *   });
+   * </pre>
+   *
+   * @param clazz class of exception; the raised exception must be this class
+   * <i>or a subclass</i>.
+   * @param contains strings which must be in the {@code toString()} value
+   * of the exception (order does not matter)
+   * @param message any message to include in exception/log messages
+   * @param eval expression to eval
+   * @param <T> return type of expression
+   * @param <E> exception class
+   * @return the caught exception if it was of the expected type and contents
+   * @throws Exception any other exception raised
+   * @throws AssertionError if the evaluation call didn't raise an exception.
+   * The error includes the {@code toString()} value of the result, if this
+   * can be determined.
+   * @see GenericTestUtils#assertExceptionContains(String, Throwable)
+   */
+  public static <T, E extends Throwable> E interceptAndValidateMessageContains(
+          Class<E> clazz,
+          Collection<String> contains,
+          String message,
+          VoidCallable eval)
+          throws Exception {
+    E ex;
+    try {
+      eval.call();
+      throw new AssertionError(message);
+    } catch (Throwable e) {
+      if (!clazz.isAssignableFrom(e.getClass())) {
+        throw e;
+      } else {
+        ex = (E) e;
+      }
+    }
+    for (String contained : contains) {
+      GenericTestUtils.assertExceptionContains(contained, ex, message);
+    }
+    return ex;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Robust string converter for exception messages; if the {@code toString()}
    * method throws an exception then that exception is caught and logged,
@@ -607,7 +708,6 @@ public static <T> void assertOptionalEquals(String message,
    * Assert that an optional value matches an expected one;
    * checks include null and empty on the actual value.
    * @param message message text
-   * @param expected expected value
    * @param actual actual optional value
    * @param <T> type
    */
@@ -641,7 +741,6 @@ public static <T> T eval(Callable<T> closure) {
    * Invoke a callable; wrap all checked exceptions with an
    * AssertionError.
    * @param closure closure to execute
-   * @return the value of the closure
    * @throws AssertionError if the operation raised an IOE or
    * other checked exception.
    */
@@ -823,6 +922,11 @@ public static <E extends Throwable> E verifyCause(
     }
   }
 
+  private static String toString(Collection<String> strings) {
+    return strings.stream()
+        .collect(Collectors.joining(",", "[", "]"));
+  }
+
   /**
    * Returns {@code TimeoutException} on a timeout. If
    * there was a inner class passed in, includes it as the
@@ -1037,3 +1141,4 @@ public Void run() throws Exception {
     }
   }
 }
+
diff --git a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/TestHttpExceptionUtils.java b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/TestHttpExceptionUtils.java
index 1e29a3014a0eb..b6d5fef31c989 100644
--- a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/TestHttpExceptionUtils.java
+++ b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/TestHttpExceptionUtils.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 package org.apache.hadoop.util;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import org.apache.hadoop.test.LambdaTestUtils;
 import org.junit.Assert;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.mockito.Mockito;
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@
 import java.io.PrintWriter;
 import java.io.StringWriter;
 import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
@@ -82,40 +84,34 @@ public void testCreateJerseyException() throws IOException {
   @Test
   public void testValidateResponseOK() throws IOException {
     HttpURLConnection conn = Mockito.mock(HttpURLConnection.class);
-    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseCode()).thenReturn(
-        HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED);
+    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseCode()).thenReturn(HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED);
     HttpExceptionUtils.validateResponse(conn, HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED);
   }
 
-  @Test(expected = IOException.class)
-  public void testValidateResponseFailNoErrorMessage() throws IOException {
+  @Test
+  public void testValidateResponseFailNoErrorMessage() throws Exception {
     HttpURLConnection conn = Mockito.mock(HttpURLConnection.class);
-    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseCode()).thenReturn(
-        HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST);
-    HttpExceptionUtils.validateResponse(conn, HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED);
+    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseCode()).thenReturn(HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST);
+    LambdaTestUtils.intercept(IOException.class,
+        () -> HttpExceptionUtils.validateResponse(conn, HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED));
   }
 
   @Test
-  public void testValidateResponseNonJsonErrorMessage() throws IOException {
+  public void testValidateResponseNonJsonErrorMessage() throws Exception {
     String msg = "stream";
-    InputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream(msg.getBytes());
+    InputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream(msg.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
     HttpURLConnection conn = Mockito.mock(HttpURLConnection.class);
     Mockito.when(conn.getErrorStream()).thenReturn(is);
     Mockito.when(conn.getResponseMessage()).thenReturn("msg");
-    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseCode()).thenReturn(
-        HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST);
-    try {
-      HttpExceptionUtils.validateResponse(conn, HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED);
-      Assert.fail();
-    } catch (IOException ex) {
-      Assert.assertTrue(ex.getMessage().contains("msg"));
-      Assert.assertTrue(ex.getMessage().contains("" +
-          HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST));
-    }
+    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseCode()).thenReturn(HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST);
+    LambdaTestUtils.interceptAndValidateMessageContains(IOException.class,
+        Arrays.asList(Integer.toString(HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST), "msg",
+          "com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParseException"),
+        () -> HttpExceptionUtils.validateResponse(conn, HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED));
   }
 
   @Test
-  public void testValidateResponseJsonErrorKnownException() throws IOException {
+  public void testValidateResponseJsonErrorKnownException() throws Exception {
     Map<String, Object> json = new HashMap<String, Object>();
     json.put(HttpExceptionUtils.ERROR_EXCEPTION_JSON, IllegalStateException.class.getSimpleName());
     json.put(HttpExceptionUtils.ERROR_CLASSNAME_JSON, IllegalStateException.class.getName());
@@ -124,23 +120,19 @@ public void testValidateResponseJsonErrorKnownException() throws IOException {
     response.put(HttpExceptionUtils.ERROR_JSON, json);
     ObjectMapper jsonMapper = new ObjectMapper();
     String msg = jsonMapper.writeValueAsString(response);
-    InputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream(msg.getBytes());
+    InputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream(msg.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
     HttpURLConnection conn = Mockito.mock(HttpURLConnection.class);
     Mockito.when(conn.getErrorStream()).thenReturn(is);
     Mockito.when(conn.getResponseMessage()).thenReturn("msg");
-    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseCode()).thenReturn(
-        HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST);
-    try {
-      HttpExceptionUtils.validateResponse(conn, HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED);
-      Assert.fail();
-    } catch (IllegalStateException ex) {
-      Assert.assertEquals("EX", ex.getMessage());
-    }
+    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseCode()).thenReturn(HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST);
+    LambdaTestUtils.intercept(IllegalStateException.class,
+        "EX",
+        () -> HttpExceptionUtils.validateResponse(conn, HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED));
   }
 
   @Test
   public void testValidateResponseJsonErrorUnknownException()
-      throws IOException {
+      throws Exception {
     Map<String, Object> json = new HashMap<String, Object>();
     json.put(HttpExceptionUtils.ERROR_EXCEPTION_JSON, "FooException");
     json.put(HttpExceptionUtils.ERROR_CLASSNAME_JSON, "foo.FooException");
@@ -149,19 +141,36 @@ public void testValidateResponseJsonErrorUnknownException()
     response.put(HttpExceptionUtils.ERROR_JSON, json);
     ObjectMapper jsonMapper = new ObjectMapper();
     String msg = jsonMapper.writeValueAsString(response);
-    InputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream(msg.getBytes());
+    InputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream(msg.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
     HttpURLConnection conn = Mockito.mock(HttpURLConnection.class);
     Mockito.when(conn.getErrorStream()).thenReturn(is);
     Mockito.when(conn.getResponseMessage()).thenReturn("msg");
-    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseCode()).thenReturn(
-        HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST);
-    try {
-      HttpExceptionUtils.validateResponse(conn, HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED);
-      Assert.fail();
-    } catch (IOException ex) {
-      Assert.assertTrue(ex.getMessage().contains("EX"));
-      Assert.assertTrue(ex.getMessage().contains("foo.FooException"));
-    }
+    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseCode()).thenReturn(HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST);
+    LambdaTestUtils.interceptAndValidateMessageContains(IOException.class,
+        Arrays.asList(Integer.toString(HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST),
+          "foo.FooException", "EX"),
+        () -> HttpExceptionUtils.validateResponse(conn, HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED));
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testValidateResponseJsonErrorNonException() throws Exception {
+    Map<String, Object> json = new HashMap<String, Object>();
+    json.put(HttpExceptionUtils.ERROR_EXCEPTION_JSON, "invalid");
+    // test case where the exception classname is not a valid exception class
+    json.put(HttpExceptionUtils.ERROR_CLASSNAME_JSON, String.class.getName());
+    json.put(HttpExceptionUtils.ERROR_MESSAGE_JSON, "EX");
+    Map<String, Object> response = new HashMap<String, Object>();
+    response.put(HttpExceptionUtils.ERROR_JSON, json);
+    ObjectMapper jsonMapper = new ObjectMapper();
+    String msg = jsonMapper.writeValueAsString(response);
+    InputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream(msg.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
+    HttpURLConnection conn = Mockito.mock(HttpURLConnection.class);
+    Mockito.when(conn.getErrorStream()).thenReturn(is);
+    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseMessage()).thenReturn("msg");
+    Mockito.when(conn.getResponseCode()).thenReturn(HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST);
+    LambdaTestUtils.interceptAndValidateMessageContains(IOException.class,
+        Arrays.asList(Integer.toString(HttpURLConnection.HTTP_BAD_REQUEST),
+          "java.lang.String", "EX"),
+        () -> HttpExceptionUtils.validateResponse(conn, HttpURLConnection.HTTP_CREATED));
+  }
 }
diff --git a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/TestPreconditions.java b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/TestPreconditions.java
index 4a11555535515..62e033e1e0452 100644
--- a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/TestPreconditions.java
+++ b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/TestPreconditions.java
@@ -73,7 +73,6 @@ public void testCheckNotNullFailure() throws Exception {
 
     // failure with Null message
     LambdaTestUtils.intercept(NullPointerException.class,
-        null,
         () -> Preconditions.checkNotNull(null, errorMessage));
 
     // failure with message format
@@ -162,7 +161,6 @@ public void testCheckArgumentWithFailure() throws Exception {
     errorMessage = null;
     // failure with Null message
     LambdaTestUtils.intercept(IllegalArgumentException.class,
-        null,
         () -> Preconditions.checkArgument(false, errorMessage));
     // failure with message
     errorMessage = EXPECTED_ERROR_MSG;
@@ -200,7 +198,6 @@ public void testCheckArgumentWithFailure() throws Exception {
     // failure with Null supplier
     final Supplier<String> nullSupplier = null;
     LambdaTestUtils.intercept(IllegalArgumentException.class,
-        null,
         () -> Preconditions.checkArgument(false, nullSupplier));
 
     // ignore illegal format in supplier
@@ -262,7 +259,6 @@ public void testCheckStateWithFailure() throws Exception {
     errorMessage = null;
     // failure with Null message
     LambdaTestUtils.intercept(IllegalStateException.class,
-        null,
         () -> Preconditions.checkState(false, errorMessage));
     // failure with message
     errorMessage = EXPECTED_ERROR_MSG;
@@ -300,7 +296,6 @@ public void testCheckStateWithFailure() throws Exception {
     // failure with Null supplier
     final Supplier<String> nullSupplier = null;
     LambdaTestUtils.intercept(IllegalStateException.class,
-        null,
         () -> Preconditions.checkState(false, nullSupplier));
 
     // ignore illegal format in supplier