diff --git a/bookkeeper-common/pom.xml b/bookkeeper-common/pom.xml
index d586c50fabc..29478227827 100644
--- a/bookkeeper-common/pom.xml
+++ b/bookkeeper-common/pom.xml
@@ -130,12 +130,13 @@
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-javadoc-plugin.version}</version>
         <configuration>
           <sourcepath>${src.dir}</sourcepath>
           <!-- Avoid for missing javadoc comments to be marked as errors -->
           <doclint>none</doclint>
+          <!--
           <subpackages>org.apache.bookkeeper.common.annotation</subpackages>
+          -->
           <groups>
             <group>
               <title>Bookkeeper Client</title>
diff --git a/bookkeeper-server/pom.xml b/bookkeeper-server/pom.xml
index 0551cdf5c07..0b7cdf45452 100644
--- a/bookkeeper-server/pom.xml
+++ b/bookkeeper-server/pom.xml
@@ -288,12 +288,13 @@
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-javadoc-plugin.version}</version>
         <configuration>
           <sourcepath>${src.dir}</sourcepath>
           <!-- Avoid for missing javadoc comments to be marked as errors -->
           <doclint>none</doclint>
+          <!--
           <subpackages>org.apache.bookkeeper.client:org.apache.bookkeeper.conf:org.apache.bookkeeper.feature</subpackages>
+          -->
           <groups>
             <group>
               <title>Bookkeeper</title>
diff --git a/circe-checksum/pom.xml b/circe-checksum/pom.xml
index 1e5653d474e..7100f4da6b0 100644
--- a/circe-checksum/pom.xml
+++ b/circe-checksum/pom.xml
@@ -63,19 +63,6 @@
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
-        <configuration>
-          <source>1.8</source>
-          <target>1.8</target>
-          <compilerArgs>
-            <!-- Object.finalize() is deprecated at java 9 -->
-            <!-- <compilerArg>-Werror</compilerArg> -->
-            <compilerArg>-Xlint:deprecation</compilerArg>
-            <compilerArg>-Xlint:unchecked</compilerArg>
-            <!-- https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MCOMPILER-205 -->
-            <compilerArg>-Xpkginfo:always</compilerArg>
-          </compilerArgs>
-        </configuration>
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
         <groupId>com.github.maven-nar</groupId>
@@ -154,17 +141,8 @@
           <plugin>
              <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
              <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-             <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
              <configuration>
-                <source>1.8</source>
-                <target>1.8</target>
                 <compilerArgs>
-                  <!-- Object.finalize() is deprecated at java 9 -->
-                  <!-- <compilerArg>-Werror</compilerArg> -->
-                  <compilerArg>-Xlint:deprecation</compilerArg>
-                  <compilerArg>-Xlint:unchecked</compilerArg>
-                   <!-- https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MCOMPILER-205 -->
-                  <compilerArg>-Xpkginfo:always</compilerArg>
                   <!-- add -h flag to javac -->
                   <compilerArg>-h</compilerArg>
                   <compilerArg>${project.build.directory}/nar/javah-include</compilerArg>
diff --git a/cpu-affinity/pom.xml b/cpu-affinity/pom.xml
index c78e5f1ea9f..a80b7125875 100644
--- a/cpu-affinity/pom.xml
+++ b/cpu-affinity/pom.xml
@@ -48,18 +48,6 @@
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-        <configuration>
-          <source>1.8</source>
-          <target>1.8</target>
-          <compilerArgs>
-            <!-- Object.finalize() is deprecated at java 9 -->
-            <!-- <compilerArg>-Werror</compilerArg> -->
-            <compilerArg>-Xlint:deprecation</compilerArg>
-            <compilerArg>-Xlint:unchecked</compilerArg>
-            <!-- https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MCOMPILER-205 -->
-            <compilerArg>-Xpkginfo:always</compilerArg>
-          </compilerArgs>
-        </configuration>
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
         <groupId>com.github.maven-nar</groupId>
@@ -129,17 +117,8 @@
           <plugin>
              <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
              <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-             <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
              <configuration>
-                <source>1.8</source>
-                <target>1.8</target>
                 <compilerArgs>
-                  <!-- Object.finalize() is deprecated at java 9 -->
-                  <!-- <compilerArg>-Werror</compilerArg> -->
-                  <compilerArg>-Xlint:deprecation</compilerArg>
-                  <compilerArg>-Xlint:unchecked</compilerArg>
-                   <!-- https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MCOMPILER-205 -->
-                  <compilerArg>-Xpkginfo:always</compilerArg>
                   <!-- add -h flag to javac -->
                   <compilerArg>-h</compilerArg>
                   <compilerArg>${project.build.directory}/nar/javah-include</compilerArg>
diff --git a/native-io/pom.xml b/native-io/pom.xml
index a5e8774f942..fd64b4f0ca7 100644
--- a/native-io/pom.xml
+++ b/native-io/pom.xml
@@ -45,18 +45,6 @@
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-        <configuration>
-          <source>1.8</source>
-          <target>1.8</target>
-          <compilerArgs>
-            <!-- Object.finalize() is deprecated at java 9 -->
-            <!-- <compilerArg>-Werror</compilerArg> -->
-            <compilerArg>-Xlint:deprecation</compilerArg>
-            <compilerArg>-Xlint:unchecked</compilerArg>
-            <!-- https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MCOMPILER-205 -->
-            <compilerArg>-Xpkginfo:always</compilerArg>
-          </compilerArgs>
-        </configuration>
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
         <groupId>com.github.maven-nar</groupId>
@@ -120,17 +108,8 @@
           <plugin>
              <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
              <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-             <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
              <configuration>
-                <source>1.8</source>
-                <target>1.8</target>
                 <compilerArgs>
-                  <!-- Object.finalize() is deprecated at java 9 -->
-                  <!-- <compilerArg>-Werror</compilerArg> -->
-                  <compilerArg>-Xlint:deprecation</compilerArg>
-                  <compilerArg>-Xlint:unchecked</compilerArg>
-                   <!-- https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MCOMPILER-205 -->
-                  <compilerArg>-Xpkginfo:always</compilerArg>
                   <!-- add -h flag to javac -->
                   <compilerArg>-h</compilerArg>
                   <compilerArg>${project.build.directory}/nar/javah-include</compilerArg>
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index f49161c967d..7bc76769bb5 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -105,9 +105,10 @@
     </developer>
   </developers>
   <properties>
+    <maven.compiler.source>8</maven.compiler.source>
+    <maven.compiler.target>8</maven.compiler.target>
     <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
     <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
-    <javac.target>1.8</javac.target>
     <redirectTestOutputToFile>true</redirectTestOutputToFile>
     <testRetryCount>2</testRetryCount>
     <src.dir>src/main/java</src.dir>
@@ -129,7 +130,7 @@
     <curator.version>5.1.0</curator.version>
     <dropwizard.version>4.1.12.1</dropwizard.version>
     <etcd.version>0.5.11</etcd.version>
-    <freebuilder.version>2.7.0</freebuilder.version>
+    <freebuilder.version>2.8.0</freebuilder.version>
     <google.code.version>3.0.2</google.code.version>
     <google.errorprone.version>2.9.0</google.errorprone.version>
     <grpc.version>1.56.0</grpc.version>
@@ -148,7 +149,7 @@
     <junit5.version>5.10.1</junit5.version>
     <assertj-core.version>3.25.2</assertj-core.version>
     <libthrift.version>0.14.2</libthrift.version>
-    <lombok.version>1.18.26</lombok.version>
+    <lombok.version>1.18.30</lombok.version>
     <log4j.version>2.18.0</log4j.version>
     <lz4.version>1.3.0</lz4.version>
     <mockito.version>3.12.4</mockito.version>
@@ -188,17 +189,17 @@
     <license-maven-plugin.version>1.6</license-maven-plugin.version>
     <lombok-maven-plugin.version>1.18.20.0</lombok-maven-plugin.version>
     <maven-antrun-plugin.version>1.8</maven-antrun-plugin.version>
-    <maven-assembly-plugin.version>3.1.0</maven-assembly-plugin.version>
-    <maven-checkstyle-plugin.version>3.2.1</maven-checkstyle-plugin.version>
-    <maven-clean-plugin.version>3.2.0</maven-clean-plugin.version>
-    <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.10.1</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
+    <maven-assembly-plugin.version>3.6.0</maven-assembly-plugin.version>
+    <maven-checkstyle-plugin.version>3.3.1</maven-checkstyle-plugin.version>
+    <maven-clean-plugin.version>3.3.2</maven-clean-plugin.version>
+    <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.12.1</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
     <maven-dependency-plugin.version>3.6.1</maven-dependency-plugin.version>
-    <maven-deploy-plugin.version>2.7</maven-deploy-plugin.version>
-    <maven-install-plugin.version>2.5.1</maven-install-plugin.version>
-    <maven-jar-plugin.version>3.2.2</maven-jar-plugin.version>
-    <maven-javadoc-plugin.version>3.2.0</maven-javadoc-plugin.version>
-    <maven-shade-plugin.version>3.2.0</maven-shade-plugin.version>
-    <maven-source-plugin.version>3.2.1</maven-source-plugin.version>
+    <maven-deploy-plugin.version>3.1.1</maven-deploy-plugin.version>
+    <maven-install-plugin.version>3.1.1</maven-install-plugin.version>
+    <maven-jar-plugin.version>3.3.0</maven-jar-plugin.version>
+    <maven-javadoc-plugin.version>3.6.3</maven-javadoc-plugin.version>
+    <maven-shade-plugin.version>3.5.1</maven-shade-plugin.version>
+    <maven-source-plugin.version>3.3.0</maven-source-plugin.version>
     <maven-surefire-plugin.version>3.2.5</maven-surefire-plugin.version>
     <dependency-check-maven.version>8.0.2</dependency-check-maven.version>
     <nar-maven-plugin.version>3.10.1</nar-maven-plugin.version>
@@ -248,7 +249,6 @@
         <groupId>org.inferred</groupId>
         <artifactId>freebuilder</artifactId>
         <version>${freebuilder.version}</version>
-        <optional>true</optional>
       </dependency>
 
       <!-- logging dependencies -->
@@ -969,6 +969,16 @@
           <artifactId>nar-maven-plugin</artifactId>
           <version>${nar-maven-plugin.version}</version>
         </plugin>
+        <plugin>
+          <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+          <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
+          <version>${maven-javadoc-plugin.version}</version>
+          <configuration>
+            <!-- skip javadoc generation by default, use -Pdelombok to activate -->
+            <skip>true</skip>
+            <doclint>none</doclint>
+          </configuration>
+        </plugin>
       </plugins>
     </pluginManagement>
     <plugins>
@@ -981,17 +991,23 @@
         </configuration>
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
         <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
         <configuration>
-          <source>${javac.target}</source>
-          <target>${javac.target}</target>
+          <encoding>UTF-8</encoding>
+          <showDeprecation>true</showDeprecation>
+          <showWarnings>true</showWarnings>
+          <annotationProcessorPaths>
+            <path>
+              <groupId>org.projectlombok</groupId>
+              <artifactId>lombok</artifactId>
+              <version>${lombok.version}</version>
+            </path>
+          </annotationProcessorPaths>
           <compilerArgs>
-            <compilerArg>-Xlint:deprecation</compilerArg>
-            <compilerArg>-Xlint:unchecked</compilerArg>
-            <!-- https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MCOMPILER-205 -->
-            <compilerArg>-Xpkginfo:always</compilerArg>
-	      </compilerArgs>
+            <arg>-parameters</arg>
+          </compilerArgs>
         </configuration>
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
@@ -1014,12 +1030,12 @@
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-javadoc-plugin.version}</version>
         <configuration>
           <notimestamp>true</notimestamp>
-          <!-- Prevent missing javadoc comments from being marked as errors -->
-          <doclint>none</doclint>
+          <!--
+          Cannot specify subpackages with maven.compiler.release because of bug https://bugs.openjdk.org/browse/JDK-8175277
           <subpackages>org.apache.bookkeeper.client:org.apache.bookkeeper.client.api:org.apache.bookkeeper.common.annotation:org.apache.bookkeeper.conf:org.apache.bookkeeper.feature:org.apache.bookkeeper.stats</subpackages>
+          -->
           <groups>
             <group>
               <title>Bookkeeper Client</title>
@@ -1254,6 +1270,14 @@
               </execution>
             </executions>
           </plugin>
+          <plugin>
+            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+            <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
+            <configuration>
+              <!-- activate javadoc generation -->
+              <skip>false</skip>
+            </configuration>
+          </plugin>
         </plugins>
       </build>
     </profile>
@@ -1327,6 +1351,10 @@
         <jdk>[11,)</jdk>
       </activation>
       <properties>
+        <!-- prevents silent NoSuchMethodErrors that happen at runtime on Java 8 -->
+        <!-- see https://github.com/apache/bookkeeper/issues/4202 -->
+        <maven.compiler.release>${maven.compiler.target}</maven.compiler.release>
+        <!-- required for running tests on Java 11+ -->
         <test.additional.args>
           --add-opens java.base/java.io=ALL-UNNAMED
           --add-opens java.base/java.lang=ALL-UNNAMED
@@ -1349,6 +1377,20 @@
           --add-opens java.xml/jdk.xml.internal=ALL-UNNAMED
         </test.additional.args>
       </properties>
+      <build>
+        <pluginManagement>
+          <plugins>
+            <plugin>
+              <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+              <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+              <configuration>
+                <!-- for some reason, setting maven.compiler.release property alone doesn't work -->
+                <release>${maven.compiler.release}</release>
+              </configuration>
+            </plugin>
+          </plugins>
+        </pluginManagement>
+      </build>
     </profile>
     <profile>
       <id>apache-release</id>
diff --git a/stats/bookkeeper-stats-api/pom.xml b/stats/bookkeeper-stats-api/pom.xml
index 87aacb3d8aa..02463867355 100644
--- a/stats/bookkeeper-stats-api/pom.xml
+++ b/stats/bookkeeper-stats-api/pom.xml
@@ -33,12 +33,13 @@
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-javadoc-plugin.version}</version>
         <configuration>
           <sourcepath>${src.dir}</sourcepath>
           <!-- Avoid for missing javadoc comments to be marked as errors -->
           <doclint>none</doclint>
+          <!--
           <subpackages>org.apache.bookkeeper.stats</subpackages>
+          -->
           <groups>
             <group>
               <title>Bookkeeper Stats API</title>
diff --git a/stream/api/pom.xml b/stream/api/pom.xml
index 7db758e62dd..34ea6f78cae 100644
--- a/stream/api/pom.xml
+++ b/stream/api/pom.xml
@@ -41,9 +41,5 @@
       <groupId>io.netty</groupId>
       <artifactId>netty-buffer</artifactId>
     </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.inferred</groupId>
-      <artifactId>freebuilder</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
   </dependencies>
 </project>
diff --git a/stream/clients/java/base/pom.xml b/stream/clients/java/base/pom.xml
index 1a9bf4ee4e0..5df4c47c219 100644
--- a/stream/clients/java/base/pom.xml
+++ b/stream/clients/java/base/pom.xml
@@ -36,6 +36,11 @@
       <artifactId>stream-storage-proto</artifactId>
       <version>${project.parent.version}</version>
     </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>org.inferred</groupId>
+      <artifactId>freebuilder</artifactId>
+      <optional>true</optional>
+    </dependency>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>org.apache.bookkeeper</groupId>
       <artifactId>testtools</artifactId>
@@ -45,6 +50,19 @@
   </dependencies>
   <build>
     <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+        <configuration>
+          <annotationProcessorPaths combine.children="append">
+            <path>
+              <groupId>org.inferred</groupId>
+              <artifactId>freebuilder</artifactId>
+              <version>${freebuilder.version}</version>
+            </path>
+          </annotationProcessorPaths>
+        </configuration>
+      </plugin>
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
diff --git a/stream/distributedlog/common/pom.xml b/stream/distributedlog/common/pom.xml
index e2c571c1141..36d964a2c6e 100644
--- a/stream/distributedlog/common/pom.xml
+++ b/stream/distributedlog/common/pom.xml
@@ -90,8 +90,8 @@
         <artifactId>spotbugs-maven-plugin</artifactId>
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
diff --git a/stream/distributedlog/core/pom.xml b/stream/distributedlog/core/pom.xml
index a7d0acc4f87..a60acc09f72 100644
--- a/stream/distributedlog/core/pom.xml
+++ b/stream/distributedlog/core/pom.xml
@@ -90,8 +90,8 @@
   <build>
     <plugins>
       <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
diff --git a/stream/distributedlog/pom.xml b/stream/distributedlog/pom.xml
index a36939fba2e..944e4215746 100644
--- a/stream/distributedlog/pom.xml
+++ b/stream/distributedlog/pom.xml
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-javadoc-plugin.version}</version>
         <configuration>
           <sourcepath>${src.dir}</sourcepath>
           <notimestamp>true</notimestamp>
diff --git a/stream/proto/pom.xml b/stream/proto/pom.xml
index bec7f7c6f72..3f7b621db57 100644
--- a/stream/proto/pom.xml
+++ b/stream/proto/pom.xml
@@ -71,16 +71,9 @@
     </extensions>
     <plugins>
       <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
         <configuration>
-          <source>${javac.target}</source>
-          <target>${javac.target}</target>
-          <compilerArgs>
-            <compilerArg>-Xlint:unchecked</compilerArg>
-            <!-- https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MCOMPILER-205 -->
-            <compilerArg>-Xpkginfo:always</compilerArg>
-          </compilerArgs>
           <showDeprecation>false</showDeprecation>
           <showWarnings>false</showWarnings>
         </configuration>
diff --git a/stream/tests-common/pom.xml b/stream/tests-common/pom.xml
index 7ea60b63e76..5d6831e7bae 100644
--- a/stream/tests-common/pom.xml
+++ b/stream/tests-common/pom.xml
@@ -76,16 +76,9 @@
     </extensions>
     <plugins>
       <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
         <configuration>
-          <source>${javac.target}</source>
-          <target>${javac.target}</target>
-          <compilerArgs>
-            <compilerArg>-Xlint:unchecked</compilerArg>
-            <!-- https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MCOMPILER-205 -->
-            <compilerArg>-Xpkginfo:always</compilerArg>
-          </compilerArgs>
           <showDeprecation>false</showDeprecation>
           <showWarnings>false</showWarnings>
         </configuration>
diff --git a/tests/integration-tests-base-groovy/pom.xml b/tests/integration-tests-base-groovy/pom.xml
index 9d88767c78d..adae9a8b80d 100644
--- a/tests/integration-tests-base-groovy/pom.xml
+++ b/tests/integration-tests-base-groovy/pom.xml
@@ -38,11 +38,10 @@
   <build>
     <plugins>
       <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
         <configuration combine.self="override">
           <!-- combine.self="override" stops compilerArgs from parent pom being merged //-->
-          <source>${javac.target}</source>
-          <target>${javac.target}</target>
           <compilerId>groovy-eclipse-compiler</compilerId>
         </configuration>
         <dependencies>
diff --git a/tests/shaded/bookkeeper-server-shaded-test/pom.xml b/tests/shaded/bookkeeper-server-shaded-test/pom.xml
index e9f07a0b2ef..279e563f46b 100644
--- a/tests/shaded/bookkeeper-server-shaded-test/pom.xml
+++ b/tests/shaded/bookkeeper-server-shaded-test/pom.xml
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@
         <artifactId>spotbugs-maven-plugin</artifactId>
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
       </plugin>
     </plugins>
   </build>