diff --git a/check_api/src/main/java/com/google/errorprone/util/ErrorProneScope.java b/check_api/src/main/java/com/google/errorprone/util/ErrorProneScope.java
index 18b2cbdac35..025ca8a5436 100644
--- a/check_api/src/main/java/com/google/errorprone/util/ErrorProneScope.java
+++ b/check_api/src/main/java/com/google/errorprone/util/ErrorProneScope.java
@@ -55,10 +55,13 @@ public boolean anyMatch(Predicate<Symbol> predicate) {
   private static final Class<?> FILTER_CLASS = getFilterClass();
 
   private static Class<?> getFilterClass() {
+    if (RuntimeVersion.isAtLeast17()) {
+      return null;
+    }
     try {
       return Class.forName("com.sun.tools.javac.util.Filter");
     } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
-      return null;
+      throw new LinkageError(e.getMessage(), e);
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/check_api/src/main/java/com/google/errorprone/util/RuntimeVersion.java b/check_api/src/main/java/com/google/errorprone/util/RuntimeVersion.java
index e8408ee0fe7..963bcd276da 100644
--- a/check_api/src/main/java/com/google/errorprone/util/RuntimeVersion.java
+++ b/check_api/src/main/java/com/google/errorprone/util/RuntimeVersion.java
@@ -90,6 +90,11 @@ public static boolean isAtLeast16() {
     return MAJOR >= 16;
   }
 
+  /** Returns true if the current runtime is JDK 17 or newer. */
+  public static boolean isAtLeast17() {
+    return MAJOR >= 17;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Returns the latest {@code --release} version.
    *