Java Thread Stuck: InterruptedException swallowed and not handled

In my multi-threaded application, a thread sleeping inside a loop gets interrupted, but the interrupt flag is ignored or swallowed. The thread doesn’t stop and continues looping—leading to runaway execution or resource leaks. What’s wrong, and how should I fix it?

Catching InterruptedException without restoring the thread’s interrupted status breaks Java's cooperative cancellation mechanism. The thread continues without awareness of cancellation, which can lead to unpredictable behavior or inability to halt ([turn0search9][turn0search2]). Fix: • In the catch block, either propagate the exception or restore the interrupt flag: java Copy code catch (InterruptedException e) { Thread.currentThread().interrupt(); break; // or return } • Use while (!Thread.currentThread().isInterrupted()) to respect cancellation signals correctly.