java.lang.NullPointerException | at org.jboss.metadata.ejb.jboss.JBossAssemblyDescriptorMetaData.getPrincipalVersusRolesMap(JBossAssemblyDescriptorMetaData.java:360) | at org.jboss.ejb3.security.RoleBasedAuthorizationInterceptorv2.invoke(RoleBasedAuthorizationInterceptorv2.java:159) | Code with an explicit check on null is twice as fast. So I would save 1ms for every ~100000 calls. :-) Seriously: the code in getPrincipalVersusRolesMap is too slow for per EJB call usage. I would rather see the reversed mapping being dynamically maintained in SecurityRolesMetaData. View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=4104894#... Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&a...