--- a/src/jdk.javadoc/share/classes/jdk/javadoc/internal/doclets/toolkit/util/Utils.java	Thu May 24 01:04:42 2018 -0400
+++ b/src/jdk.javadoc/share/classes/jdk/javadoc/internal/doclets/toolkit/util/Utils.java	Thu May 24 13:34:31 2018 +0530
@@ -2505,6 +2505,7 @@
             return null;
         while (!(kind.isClass() || kind.isInterface())) {
             encl = encl.getEnclosingElement();
+            kind = encl.getKind();
         }
         return (TypeElement)encl;
     }

--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/test/langtools/jdk/javadoc/doclet/testGenericMethodLinkTaglet/TestGenericMethodLinkTaglet.java	Thu May 24 13:34:31 2018 +0530
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2018, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
+ *
+ * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+ * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation.
+ *
+ * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
+ * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
+ * accompanied this code).
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
+ * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+ * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+ *
+ * Please contact Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA
+ * or visit www.oracle.com if you need additional information or have any
+ * questions.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * @test
+ * @bug      8188248
+ * @summary  NullPointerException on generic methods
+ * @library  /tools/lib ../lib
+ * @modules jdk.javadoc/jdk.javadoc.internal.tool
+ * @build    JavadocTester toolbox.ToolBox builder.ClassBuilder
+ * @run main TestGenericMethodLinkTaglet
+ */
+
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.nio.file.Paths;
+
+import builder.ClassBuilder;
+import builder.ClassBuilder.MethodBuilder;
+import toolbox.ToolBox;
+
+public class TestGenericMethodLinkTaglet extends JavadocTester {
+
+    final ToolBox tb;
+
+    public static void main(String... args) throws Exception {
+        TestGenericMethodLinkTaglet tester = new TestGenericMethodLinkTaglet();
+        tester.runTests(m -> new Object[]{Paths.get(m.getName())});
+    }
+
+    TestGenericMethodLinkTaglet() {
+        tb = new ToolBox();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void test(Path base) throws Exception {
+        Path srcDir = base.resolve("src");
+        createTestClass(srcDir);
+
+        Path outDir = base.resolve("out");
+        javadoc("-Xdoclint:none",
+                "-d", outDir.toString(),
+                "-sourcepath", srcDir.toString(),
+                "pkg");
+        checkExit(Exit.OK);
+
+        checkOutput("pkg/A.html", true,
+                "<a href=\"A.html\" title=\"class in pkg\"><code>A</code></a>");
+    }
+
+    void createTestClass(Path srcDir) throws Exception {
+        MethodBuilder method = MethodBuilder
+                .parse("public <T> void m1(T t) {}")
+                .setComments(
+                    "@param <T> type param",
+                    "@param t param {@link T}");
+
+        new ClassBuilder(tb, "pkg.A")
+                .setModifiers("public", "class")
+                .addMembers(method)
+                .write(srcDir);
+    }
+
+}