--- old/src/share/vm/jvmci/jvmciRuntime.cpp	2016-07-13 21:41:40.000000000 +0200
+++ new/src/share/vm/jvmci/jvmciRuntime.cpp	2016-07-13 21:41:40.000000000 +0200
@@ -697,8 +697,21 @@
   assert(_HotSpotJVMCIRuntime_initialized == true, "what?");
 }
 
+bool JVMCIRuntime::can_initialize_JVMCI() {
+  // Initializing JVMCI requires the module system to be initialized past phase 3.
+  // The JVMCI API itself isn't available until phase 2 and ServiceLoader (which
+  // JVMCI initialization requires) isn't usable until after phase 3. Testing
+  // whether the system loader is initialized satisfies all these invariants.
+  if (SystemDictionary::java_system_loader() == NULL) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  assert(Universe::is_module_initialized(), "must be");
+  return true;
+}
+
 void JVMCIRuntime::initialize_well_known_classes(TRAPS) {
   if (JVMCIRuntime::_well_known_classes_initialized == false) {
+    guarantee(can_initialize_JVMCI(), "VM is not yet sufficiently booted to initialize JVMCI");
     SystemDictionary::WKID scan = SystemDictionary::FIRST_JVMCI_WKID;
     SystemDictionary::initialize_wk_klasses_through(SystemDictionary::LAST_JVMCI_WKID, scan, CHECK);
     JVMCIJavaClasses::compute_offsets(CHECK);